Summer was fun, glad to be back!

Hi all!
Well, it's been quite a while since I last updated this blog.  I didn't see much point in doing entries during the Summer so I'll do a bit of an overview of what I was up to although since it was mostly in Canada I know the interest level of my viewers is lower for this parts.

I'm always having to pose for pics but never get a copy
of it myself.  This time I made sure I did.

I had a miserable time trying to get home.  I got on the plane in Beijing which was going to Vancouver.  I almost always buy direct when possible but it was WAY more expensive for some reason, usually it's not.  Anyway, boarded the plane (one of the last ones on as usual) and it kept just sitting there. Finally they claimed they were waiting on "paperwork".  This lasted over 2 hours and during this time we could see a storm coming off in the distance. Finally they informed us that we were good to go but by then the storm had hit and all flights were grounded. Storm lasted about 3 hours, still sitting in the plane.  Haven't left the gate. Storm ends. We're told that since we've been on the plane for 5 hours that we're required to get off and they have to cancel it.
So we have to get off and they put us in a hotel.  This is the 3rd time I've had this happen to me. Always seems to happen when I'm going home from a big trip.  Europe, Israel, China.  Somehow I got separated from the group and couldn't find them anywhere and there was no one around directing people.  Fortunately I had heard the name of the hotel and (after a lot of work and bad chinese) I found my way there.
The next morning I had to check in again and saw that they had not given me much time for my transfer at Vancouver.  They assured me it would be fine.  It wasn't.  Flight left late again so I missed my flight to TO but at least that one is common so I got another one.  By the end of the trip I had 5 boarding passes for a Van to TO flight.
When I finally got to TO my parents were waiting for me with a chocolate milk which was a fantastic greeting!
Over the Summer I saw friends and family and enjoyed eating western food again.  It was good to be home but with everyone always working it could be boring at times as well.
When I got back to China I flew to Nanjing for a few days to visit my friend.  It was a much prettier city than Dongying but maybe not quite as interesting.  I did have fun wandering around and climbing small mountains though.
The day we came back to Dongying we took a fast train to Jinan. It's about 800 kms and took about 3 hrs.  After that we had to take a bus back here.  I'm guessing the taxi took us to the crappy bus station because we ended up on a very 2nd class bus. The thing couldn't top 90 and was shaking badly the whole way.  It also stopped constantly trying to get new people.  Took almost 4 hours to get 200 kms.
Back in Dongying my friend's been with me the last few days and it's been INCREDIBLY handy.  I have an ok apartment now and wanted a good tv so when people come over we can watch movies.  There's no way I could have done it on my own.  Sure I could find one and give them money but nothing is that simple here.  THey wouldn't take cash, had to use a banking card which mine isn't set up for.  They also wanted me to get a 3D tv and I found a great deal on one. Was about to get it when I asked about the glasses.  They only give you one pair and each additional one is $50!! You'd likely want 4 pairs so that's $150 or about 30% of the entire cost.  I went with a bigger, non-3D one.
You can't actually take it home with you.  THey deliver it the next day.  Despite me being at a large school that everyone knows about the driver was absolutely unable to find the place.  He must have called 10 times trying to figure out where to go.  Pretty sure I would have thought it was just my bad Chinese, it's good to know it happens when there's no language barrier as well (my friend always did the talking).
Anyway, guy brings the box, leaves.  This seemed odd to me as I still owed a bit of money.  I set up the TV but there was no stand.  I told them I didn't need a wall mount but I assumed it would come with a small plastic stand.  I ended up just using styrofoam.  Next day ANOTHER guy comes to get the rest of the money. He also brought a stand for me.
So there were 4 people involved in this sale: sales lady, person who took the money the first time, the delivery guy, and another guy to take money.  That's one way to keep a high employment rate.
My classes start on Monday.  I don't have my schedule yet. I hope to get it within a few days.  I'll also try to get an updated address but anything sent to my old address will still get to me as it's the same city and I have friends there.
Always good to hear from you all! Enjoy the pictures from my Summer 12 album!
Wiseguy1