congi (sort of like a rice soup, which is definitely not western but is delicious), baked beans with corn (an interesting choice that was surprisingly tasty!), some pastries whose content I decided not to brave (veganism and pastry don't often get along) and wait staff that were overly zealous in the clearing of your empties.

I sat next to a woman from Australia while a family behind me chatted in a Slavic language that I couldn't recognize. I asked one of the waitresses for the word for watermelon in Chinese and proceeded to have the typical conversation about where I learned Mandarin and why I have come here. She giggled behind her hand when I spoke and then tittered with her fellow waitresses behind the bar.

Just as I was leaving the hotel restaurant, I noticed the condiments were as international as the conversations. Here is an image of the two options: jam from Austria and butter from New Zealand.

It's time to really be in China now. No more of this veiled arrival business! Off to the university I go...