DAY 2

This is yours truly who woke up at 05:30 to this view from her dorm room. Dalian mornings are as cold as its nights. I’m surprised I was willing to reach for my camera to take this photo, sacrificing my hand to the unfamiliar chilly weather.


It started pouring down pretty hard but fortunately breakfast was served in the next building, where I spotted metal trays. Little did I know that I had to use them quite frequently for my meals here in Dalian. To top it off, I realized chopsticks had to be used even when eating rice out of a plate instead of a bowl. My chopsticks skill (and the lack of it) felt inferior.


We walked on the worm-infested road to the school library to make our library cards. For the fun of it, my friends created a Chinese name for me who is Indo-Chinese but can neither speak nor write the language. I managed to write it pretty nicely for a beginner, yes?







Meet Catherine, my local buddy whose Chinese name I cannot remember (as with most Chinese names). She and I share some common interests, for example spicy food. She is excited about bringing me out to have local spicy food.



During the visit to the school history gallery, I learned that DPU has been around for about 50 years, same as Singapore Polytechnic.



After the opening ceremony, my group of 7 friends and myself went to the city for the first time. We took a bus; 1 RMB and 1 hour later we arrived at Wal-Mart to do some grocery-shopping (dorm life is all about buying groceries). The bus from DPU to the city was crowded, but it was nothing compared to the bus we rode home. It’s no exaggeration if I say we were packed like sardines. Singapore buses will never be that crowded. The 8 of us were probably pretty noisy but in the overcrowded bus I think nobody could tell.