Rain + 8 million people + random spots of dirt sidewalks and roads + no idea where you are going = wet, dirty, frustrating experience.
The short version is that we eventually hopped on a public bus that took us to a shopping centre downtown for a couple hours of window shopping. The longer version entails walking into several stores and hotels in the rain, without an umbrella in search of someone who could speak English well enough to tell us which bus to catch. We were not very well prepared for our first unsupervised outing. We did find some good stores eventually. Since it was cold and rainy, there was no point in trying to do anything else.
The highlight of the day was a university basketball game - Nanjing versus Shanghai. Nanjing lost in double overtime. I'm not sure what lucky dragon shoe they had tucked away to even make it that far. They didn't play very well but it was exciting. And cold. They leave the doors open and it was about 5C outside. The poor little cheerleaders just about froze to death.
Here are a few highlights from the game. - maybe not, I've tried three times to load photos with no luck so here's the video of the half time show
Today (Sunday) has been another adventure. It is sunny - well hazy - and I just came back from a little walk. Just down the road from the university is a farmer's market. I had no idea it was there so it was a fun discovery. And for whatever reason I didn't take my camera. INSANE. I cannot get over all of the stuff for sale. Lots of food stands where the food looks good but it would be unwise to give in to temptation. The way to resist is to wander a little further in to see the origins of your food. Live chickens - killed while you wait. Now that is fresh.
I did pick up some fresh fruit and vegetables plus 12 Johnny Depp movies for $3 on one DVD :)
Tonight is potluck Sunday. I will be making eggplant in peking sauce and curried fresh tofu stirfry with rice noodles. YUM. I am sporadically eating meat but with some of the things I have seen, vegetables seem to be the wise choice.
And Kal - yes I am a little over the top with the cleaning but you have to see this place. It is like living on a farm with 8 million people. The amount of crap that gets tracked in...blech. I will try to ease up - back away from the mop. But I still have time for some fun so it isn't really a hardship.
Things learned this weekend:
- do not count on someone who speaks English to be available when you are lost
- take an umbrella when it is raining
- all part of a chicken can be eaten
1 comment:
Only jumping 5 Chinese people, that's like jumping 1 American.
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