rubble! an odyssey

People want to know, what's Dongying like? How does a foriegner get along in it? What's the feel of the city? For the answers to these questions it's best to go to the Expat's Guide to Dongying.

As useful as The Expat's Guide is, there is, alas, something missing from its pages. The feel is just a little off. This is a lack that I can very definitely put my finger on, not some mysterious je ne sais quois. What the Expat's Guide lacks that Dongying has in spades is simply this: piles, rubble and hookers.


One of the more impressive piles near my kindergarten.


There is a brisk pile derived economy in Dongying.




Certain parts of the city have a "recently shelled" look to them.


This is where the sidewalk ends.


One of the many piles of kittens to be found around town. Other popular piles include puppies, meat and shiny.


Jeez, this place has a lot of hookers. According to the locals, only foreigners ever visit hookers. By our estimate there are about 46 foreigners living in Dongying. About half of those are (more or less) heterosexual females. The number of hookers would be impossible to estimate but 500 would be a good basement estimate. Either the locals are totally full of it or these figures speak volumes about the expat sex drive.


Taking pictures of hookers is hard. If they see you they will start bellowing at you to come get your hair washed.

[Note: good photos by The Girl; crappy, oddly composed photos by otis]