Goodbye Beijing, Hello Dalian!

Irish weather still persisted for my last day in Beijing! Bucketing down, so it was! Although the rain made the day very cool and tolerable compared with the previous day. So, didn't do much in the morning apart from going for some more yummy Beijing Roast Duck! They love the stuff over here and so do I!

My flight was due to depart at 4pm.we had planned to leave at 1:30. The rain was so bad that we were forced to take a taxi. The traffic was horrendous and we didn't arrive at the airport until maybe 3:10. Then we realised that we were at the wrong terminal!! So, cue the Olympic trolley pushing contest from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1! Got to check in the nick of time. When I got to the gate they hadn't boarded yet! And they still hadn't boarded by 4:30! All that rushing for nothing! Boarded and sat on the plane for another hour. They made some announcements about what was happening but I couldn't even understand her English since her accent was so thick! Sounds like she could do with a good English teacher, hehe! Maybe I could offer my services and make some extra cash!

Touched down in Dalian International Airport around 5ish! Seemed a lot smaller than Beijing! There were two students to greet me at the airport. Nice lads. They struggled to carry my 23kg bag to the waiting car that the University sent. So, my impressions of Dalian as we drove at night time to the university: Very clean and neat compared to Beijing. Seemed to be a lot of bright lights on the way. Don't know if they were casinos or hotels or bars. The city is supposed to be less crowded than Beijing and has less harsh weather- cooler summers and less freezing winters!

We arrived at the Uni. Seems like the uni is split in two by a road and there are some shops and restaurants and houses there in the middle where locals live and shop. So, my apartment building isn't exactly inside the campus and I am told that there are some locals living in the building as well. Not sure if the Uni owns the building or not and just lets out the spare apartments.

So, first impressions of the apartment were great! It has 4 rooms: large living-room/kitchen, large enough bedroom with double bed and air conditioning, bathroom with 24 hour hot water and study room with computer (where I am right now). I also have a TV, fridge, microwave, rice-cooker, hot water machine and a hob thing. I better learn how to cook some Chinese food. Maybe some students can teach me some simple dishes! So, this gaff is better than what I had in Dublin, and I don't pay rent!

I am going to get internet soon. I guess that it isn't supplied I guess cos the house isn't on campus. It's supposed to be cheap anyway.

Another thing that made me happy was that one channel shows English football. So, I got to see Liverpool's crap opener against Middlesboro! Commentary is all in Chinese. Better brush up on my Chinese footie vocab. Dalian has one of the best football clubs in China, so I will have to go and see them as well!

There are plenty of shops and restaurants around and also a small supermarket. So, I can pick up anything I need quite easily. I am told that it is a half hour journey to town, so that's not too bad. I'm not sure if I will get a bike or not cos it might be a bit dangerous on the roads. Most of the locals don't cycle cos there are too many hills here! We'll see!

So, this is my first ever night living in a place on my own. Sort of strange but it's good to have my own place that I am responsible for. So, here's hoping for a great year here!!