First full day in Dali, and it's been quite busy~ It's been raining consistently, what with it being monsoon season, so this morning's trip to the Dali University was a little bit waterlogged but really interesting all the same. The main building (with the massive sculpture in front) is where I'll be going to my part time language course, but there's pretty much everything else there too - definitely the place to get cheap food and clothes at broke student prices! (e.g. large bottle of Lipton peach ice tea for 3.50¥ ... so roughly 35p).

After a *cheap* - but delicious - hot pot lunch we went down to visit the elderly home which is just outside Dali Old town. The team out here have been visiting regularly for a while now, which is quite rare considering the restrictions the government usually places on foreigners being allowed into institutions. In Chinese society being childless and having a disability are still very much stigmatised meaning  disabled, and elderly people with no children to care for them are considered a burden on society. Although the home near by is well funded and maintained by the government the people living there almost never have any regular visitors and there is a low staff to resident ratio (3:30), so simply spending time to socialise like playing a game or doing craft activities is really valuable to them since they have very little contact with anyone outside their home.

This evening was a pizza night at Sleepy Fish, amazing because everything is made in the kitchen (yep even the dough) and then cooked fresh outside in a wood fired pizza oven! Naturally the event attracts a lot of the local expat population, so even though the oven was a bit slow cooking (because of the rain..?) there was still plenty to do in the kitchen~

Looking forward to finding out when my course starts - I have been told you're usually given about 18 hours notice... But in the meantime I'll continue getting to know Dali and sleeping off my jet lag.

Managed to fudge my way through the airports with a few panicked phone calls and a last minute sprint to a closing gate! Anyway I've arrived at Sleepy Fish Lodge in Dali where I'll be spending the year. Here are some photos from my journey over - at the moment I'm having a few issues with the blogging app and internet on my phone, which is probably why this post looks a bit weird and has too many photos... but hopefully I'll be able to sort it out soon~

Where else to start than a panorama? I ventured outside to soak up the late British summertime sun, so already pictures from a few day ago seem slightly nostalgic.. and I haven't even left yet. Ah well, I thought I'd enjoy the moment before descending into the frenzy of packing, forgetting, and repacking...

Currently sitting at the gate... one hour until take off! With a bag of oreos and cadburys safely to myself I'll guess I'll just be chilling for a bit with my coffee~