Yep. We have officially been here for a week. One week. It seems like we have been here a lot longer. So much has happened, but at the same time, so little has happened. First and foremost for me, the jetlag seems to be gone, finally. I actually slept until seven am. But other than that, it has been an extremely busy week. We usually leave the house at around ten am and don’t get back until around eight or nine. Most of that time has been spent looking for apartments. The number of apartments looked at is now up to twenty-five, and Amanda is supposed to look at a few more today. Why are we still looking? Well, once again, something has happened between the time we decided we wanted the apartment, and closing the deal. The landlords went up on the price that they were offering. So we are looking again. I actually found another that I really liked but it has to get Amanda’s stamp of approval as well. I think she is going to try to see it today. We are going to try to close the deal on something today. I didn’t realize it would be so hard finding an apartment. Oh well, we will just have to wait and see.
We have been to Paris, Berlin, Seattle, Washington DC, Victoria BC, and New York. Each city has its own personality, its own charm. Here, it is no different. Sure, as with every big city, there is a lot of noise. There are the sounds of the cars, buses, and scooters as they speed along on their way. There are the sounds of the security alarms that go off intermittently, and of course there are the horns. They have taken horn blowing to a different level. There must be a law dictating how often each vehicle’s horn must be used. If so, then in this regard, they are the most law abiding people ever. The scooters even blow at you, especially when they come up behind you on the sidewalk. But the noise has not bothered us at all. It is just part of the soundtrack of life here. Just like the piercing strands that the old ones practicing their tai chi to.
One of the things we like about here is the skyline. I think Amanda put it pretty well when she said “there are skyscrapers but you can still see the sky”.
Another thing that I like is the people. Even with all of the stares, the pointing, and the laughing, I never feel nervous walking down the street. There is no hostility or malice in it. It is just simple amazement and wonder. They normally do this to most waigouren, but most foreigners that they see are Caucasian. When they see me, with my dark skin, I can only imagine what must go through their mind. One little girl of about two or three, that we were
passing on the street, says to her mother “wo hen haipa”! (I am very afraid!) I seem to get that type of reaction from about half of the children. Most parents though will point us out and encourage their children to say hello. A couple days ago I was walking with a waigouren friend and he heard a person we passed say “ta hei si” or “he is black”. So my friend goes back, put’s his finger to his lips and whispers while pointing at me, “shh, ta hei si”. We all got a good laugh out of that.
There seems to be an inner strength and pride in most people. You can really see it in the way they work. Whether it is the old women sweeping the sidewalks with straw brooms, the cashiers and clerks at JaLaFu, the waiters and waitresses at restaurants, or the realtors they all seem to take their work very seriously.
Now I know, all of these observations come after just one week. But it has been my experience that the greater part of enjoying a place does not depend upon the place or its people, it depends upon you. - Frank
We have been to Paris, Berlin, Seattle, Washington DC, Victoria BC, and New York. Each city has its own personality, its own charm. Here, it is no different. Sure, as with every big city, there is a lot of noise. There are the sounds of the cars, buses, and scooters as they speed along on their way. There are the sounds of the security alarms that go off intermittently, and of course there are the horns. They have taken horn blowing to a different level. There must be a law dictating how often each vehicle’s horn must be used. If so, then in this regard, they are the most law abiding people ever. The scooters even blow at you, especially when they come up behind you on the sidewalk. But the noise has not bothered us at all. It is just part of the soundtrack of life here. Just like the piercing strands that the old ones practicing their tai chi to.
One of the things we like about here is the skyline. I think Amanda put it pretty well when she said “there are skyscrapers but you can still see the sky”.
Another thing that I like is the people. Even with all of the stares, the pointing, and the laughing, I never feel nervous walking down the street. There is no hostility or malice in it. It is just simple amazement and wonder. They normally do this to most waigouren, but most foreigners that they see are Caucasian. When they see me, with my dark skin, I can only imagine what must go through their mind. One little girl of about two or three, that we were
passing on the street, says to her mother “wo hen haipa”! (I am very afraid!) I seem to get that type of reaction from about half of the children. Most parents though will point us out and encourage their children to say hello. A couple days ago I was walking with a waigouren friend and he heard a person we passed say “ta hei si” or “he is black”. So my friend goes back, put’s his finger to his lips and whispers while pointing at me, “shh, ta hei si”. We all got a good laugh out of that.There seems to be an inner strength and pride in most people. You can really see it in the way they work. Whether it is the old women sweeping the sidewalks with straw brooms, the cashiers and clerks at JaLaFu, the waiters and waitresses at restaurants, or the realtors they all seem to take their work very seriously.
Now I know, all of these observations come after just one week. But it has been my experience that the greater part of enjoying a place does not depend upon the place or its people, it depends upon you. - Frank
hey guys, is that anything like that song by barenaked ladies? "it's been... one week since you looked at me..." ok sometimes i'm too witty for my own good...
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