More Pictures… Click to see the blog (7/12 – 7/13)

Photos from our window on the 24th floor…The light shows that appear on the buildings are amazing. The colors are constantly changing, and the patterns changes also. The third picture in this set is a fountain outside the mall below us. There is probably not a view like this from a residential setting anywhere in Pittsburgh, or many US cities. Wait until you see the pictures from Hong Kong!

We made the decision to join LION Education this summer in October. When we did, and found out where we would be going, I told a colleague, Kelvin Gregory (He was intstrumental in getting us here). Kelvin told me we had a visiting researcher at CMU from Dalian, and that she was leaving in a week. We managed to meet Ying Zhang before she left CMU for Dalian, we had bagels and coffee together at Pittsburgh Bagel Factory. Ying is a delightful person with a great deal of enthusiasm for her city, and she could not wait to show it to us. On Saturday the 13th, we got together with Ying in Dalian, and she treated us to a grand tour and a fabulous lunch.

Some pictures of our lunch – we missed pictures of the giant shrimp (they were grilled and about 6″ long) and the mussels with herbs, garlic and clear vermicelli. Pam provided the descriptions, pictures, and narration for the food.

This is noodles in a broth with clams, scallions, and mushrooms. You can (we did) eat noodles with chopstix – I did this almost every day when i was in Sanmen 10 years ago (was it really that long?). You can’t eat the broth with chopsticks, so a spoon or tipping the bowl is necessary.

These are some very small but tasty clams with garlic, spices and peppers.We also grabbed these with chopsticks.

This is tofu in a broth with Chinese cabbage topped with cooked sea urchin, which Dalian is famous for. Ying cautioned us that we should not eat raw sea urchin, a delicacy, until we had been here for a while and adjusted to the local bugs.

This is lotus root stuffed with kidney beans. It is as weird as it sounds, served cold, and Pam thought is was quite tasty. I thought it was just okay, but i probably would not order it again.

This is a dish of Chinese vegetables, consisting of Chinese cabbage and mushrooms in a broth. We both liked this a lot. Also eaten with chopsticks. Really everything was except the liquids. We are getting better with practice, and Ying gave us some help as well.

After trying to eat all that food and failing, we got back in her car (a Subaru Forester) and toured Dalian. She took us to the university where she teaches and to the university where I would be teaching. The next photo is the three of us in front of a statue of Chairman Mao that is at the entry to her campus.