Well if that last post wasn't on the boring side, a step by step account of my first visit to China, I don't know what is. Now, for a bit of personal commentary on my first trip to China.
People, many, many people. How do you get away from them all? Bicycles, many many bicycles and many of them motorized. Traffic, a bit hairy at times, such as you are trying to take a left at an intersection and cars going straight go on either side of your car. It is just amazing to me there were not more cars with stripes scraped along the sides from all the lane changing and interesting maneuvering.
Smog....a combination of pollution and dust in the air, you can see what you are breathing:( We pulled up at an intersection, there were some bushes planted in the median, they were so covered with dust the leaves looked gray, I said to Mike, "how can the plants even breathe through all that?" I will say you don't see much trash or many cigarette butts on the ground as there is an army of street sweepers going around constantly cleaning up the streets and sidewalks. Everyone told me I was seeing the worst of the air pollution. It was bad/sad and a bit scary. Hopefully China will wake up and admit it is a serious problem and do something about it. I never saw the sun even though it was very bright, like a white blanket over the world between you and the sky. A large percentage of the population smokes. I wonder if they all didn't smoke for a day how the air would look?
Spit, gross, need I say more. Seems to be a national pastime. Gotta be sure not to be downwind!
It will take a bit of getting used to, not being able to see the sun most days. When we came home it was amazing how vibrant everything was after days of hazy grayness. Now for months. Maybe I will need one of those sun light lights so I don't get SADD
I had fun in the grocery stores. Although the packaged chicken in the meat area with its featherless head very much in evidence caused a bit of consternation. I asked Fei about it and she said they use those for soup. With the head, really? I think I will take the head off for my soup!
I would say maybe half the items I looked at in the store had written in English what they are so I think I can survive in the locals/natives grocery....some stuff I may take a while to figure out. Hopefully I can find a person who speaks and reads Chinese and English to guide me.....I imagine I would have to bring them with me, tehe. Live and learn....buy the wrong thing? Don't make that mistake again......
Getting kind of wordy. Gotta pack for vacation.
Zàijiàn
Not necessarily the cats point of view.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Sunday, April 1, 2012
A Whirlwind
Well I haven't posted in a while because I had hoped to learn how to Post a picture:( haven't done that so here we go anyway.
I am sure that was not the fastest trip anyone has ever taken to China but it sure was a quickie! We landed in China at about 4:00 pm on Monday (that is 4:00 am here in SC) We left about 5:00 pm on Thursday. That is approximately thirty six hours in country. Woosh! All business.
We were on our own on Monday evening, found a mall near our hotel with many floors and tons of restaurants. We decided to have Thai. I ordered a bottle of water, they brought a cup of hot water:) They had forks! Have to learn how to say bottle of water!
On Tuesday morning we were picked up at 8:30 by real estate agent Monica and her driver to go look at houses. We saw so many houses, none of which will probably still be available when Mike can actually put an offer in to a landlord. It gave me a good feel for what is out there. We also saw a couple apartments....not for me. The houses are located Northeast of the downtown area in neighborhoods called compounds. The compounds all have security guys and are gated. They also have club houses with pools and exercise areas, some have stores and others have restaurants. It is to one of these restaurants we went for lunch....they gave me chopsticks! Now some of you are saying so??? well, I have never been able to master chopsticks, I managed to eat my lunch, yahoo for me! Certainly cuts down on consumption as the length of time to eat gives you (me) time to feel full:)
Dinner on our own that night was fun, went back to the same mall (not like our malls) and had some dumplings and a chicken dish, very delicious. Have you ever tried to eat a slippery large sized dumpling with chopsticks, for my second chopstick meal, I did OK.
Wednesday morning we were picked up at 9:30 by Fei and the same driver to have an orientation day. We went to so many places....Olivia's school to meet the guidance counselor and for me to have a tour (Mike already saw the school last fall), The bank to open an account...I now posses a Chinese ATM card, Wahoo! We went to grocery stores..several that are mostly used by expats and one that is used mostly by native Chinese, it was five stories and huge, we didn't make it to the top floor. We went to the hospital, a smaller clinic, a pet supply store and some other shopping place. Probably some other places I am not remembering right now. For dinner we met Mike's new boss, his wife and one of the staff Mike will have working for him at a Western style restaurant. I was feeling a bit carsick as we went in a taxi (that is another story) and I do not do well in the back seat........
Thursday found us packing up then going to shopping area that is directed mostly towards tourists. You have to bargain...never pay the price they first quote you....did not like the process, let Mike do it all. I am not sure I will ever like that process:(
We went back to the hotel got our stuff and were picked up by another woman who is working for Mike and she took us to lunch then the airport....woosh. Left there at about 5:00 Beijing time and got to SC at 1:00 AM SC time Friday morning. I have a hard time actually figuring out how long we were in transit,suffice it to say it was a long time!
Zàijiàn
I am sure that was not the fastest trip anyone has ever taken to China but it sure was a quickie! We landed in China at about 4:00 pm on Monday (that is 4:00 am here in SC) We left about 5:00 pm on Thursday. That is approximately thirty six hours in country. Woosh! All business.
We were on our own on Monday evening, found a mall near our hotel with many floors and tons of restaurants. We decided to have Thai. I ordered a bottle of water, they brought a cup of hot water:) They had forks! Have to learn how to say bottle of water!
On Tuesday morning we were picked up at 8:30 by real estate agent Monica and her driver to go look at houses. We saw so many houses, none of which will probably still be available when Mike can actually put an offer in to a landlord. It gave me a good feel for what is out there. We also saw a couple apartments....not for me. The houses are located Northeast of the downtown area in neighborhoods called compounds. The compounds all have security guys and are gated. They also have club houses with pools and exercise areas, some have stores and others have restaurants. It is to one of these restaurants we went for lunch....they gave me chopsticks! Now some of you are saying so??? well, I have never been able to master chopsticks, I managed to eat my lunch, yahoo for me! Certainly cuts down on consumption as the length of time to eat gives you (me) time to feel full:)
Dinner on our own that night was fun, went back to the same mall (not like our malls) and had some dumplings and a chicken dish, very delicious. Have you ever tried to eat a slippery large sized dumpling with chopsticks, for my second chopstick meal, I did OK.
Wednesday morning we were picked up at 9:30 by Fei and the same driver to have an orientation day. We went to so many places....Olivia's school to meet the guidance counselor and for me to have a tour (Mike already saw the school last fall), The bank to open an account...I now posses a Chinese ATM card, Wahoo! We went to grocery stores..several that are mostly used by expats and one that is used mostly by native Chinese, it was five stories and huge, we didn't make it to the top floor. We went to the hospital, a smaller clinic, a pet supply store and some other shopping place. Probably some other places I am not remembering right now. For dinner we met Mike's new boss, his wife and one of the staff Mike will have working for him at a Western style restaurant. I was feeling a bit carsick as we went in a taxi (that is another story) and I do not do well in the back seat........
Thursday found us packing up then going to shopping area that is directed mostly towards tourists. You have to bargain...never pay the price they first quote you....did not like the process, let Mike do it all. I am not sure I will ever like that process:(
We went back to the hotel got our stuff and were picked up by another woman who is working for Mike and she took us to lunch then the airport....woosh. Left there at about 5:00 Beijing time and got to SC at 1:00 AM SC time Friday morning. I have a hard time actually figuring out how long we were in transit,suffice it to say it was a long time!
Zàijiàn
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