Dalian update: 'I don't believe in umbrellas'

A grey, dark day in Dalian today that started with drizzle in the morning and continued with pouring rain by lunchtime. It had been eight days again since the last rainclouds emerged, so one cannot complain. Of course, outdoor sports was out of the question so I spent the afternoon reviewing and learning new words and characters. Joel, my flatmate, had one of his odd moods again today. As said, upon finishing our lunch at a local eatery near the westgate of the University the rain came down in bucketloads. You simply NEED an umbrella when it rains here, and not only because it is a 20-minute walk to the flat. But Joel didn't have one... and he refused to shelter under mine or Henry's. "I hate umbrellas," he said. " I just don't believe in them." He watched 'Reservoir Dogs' once too many. So he rather got soaked to the bone and then vanished under the warm blankets in his room for the rest of the afternoon ;-).

Today they threw four Americans from South Carolina into our classroom. Exchange students who are to study in Dalian for just a month. Interestingly, they felt completely lost after the tingli (listening comprehension) class and asked to be transfered to a lower level. Guess that means we do make progress with our mandarin here!

In the Dalian photo album now also a few pics of the wine night I held at my flat the weekend before last. Even though I only had 24 hours to prepare (and clean) the appartment, it was a fun evening. The most liked bottles turned out to be the Italian wines: a red wine from Verona (Valpolicella) and a white wine from Piemonte. At the end we finished with grappa and a rather strange chocolate/mint Bailey's mixture. Bailey's is incredibly popular here, especially among Chinese women - one of which brought the aforementioned bottle along.