Um, WOW! is all that really sums up the last few days.
Day 1 in my apartment was quite interesting. The beds a rock but I slept fine...(note to self---need to get one of those puffy mattress thingy’s) Trying to get the shower to work was funny…aka no hot water to be found. So rather, I had some buckets in the bathroom (see above bathroom photo) and a tea kettle…so
guess what I did?! Yep, I filled up the buckets and did a camping shower. (Thanks mom and dad for taking me camping, otherwise I have probably cried…haha) Also, couldn’t figure out how to work the
hot plate…so rather, I ate a banana and some nuts…not a bad breakfast and lunch. Luckily, one of the women from the school came to check on me and to bring the men to install my internet service…she got on the phone with the landlord and we got everything fixed. Who knew that there was a button for hot water above the entry to the bathroom?! Not me! As far as the hot plate, I’ve never actually used one and
didn’t know the pan had to be big enough to cover the plate…definitely not like using a gas stove.
Ahh…now to mention the Wal-Mart, yes, apparently they are taking over the world here too. My first trip to a Chinese Wal-Mart was again, umm Wow! It was a sea of oversized carts, fun things like mattress pads (yea!), some things I never knew existed, lots of comforters, instant coffee (very important to my
existence!), people who stare and say “Hello” 4 times as well as those people who don’t care if you have ankles or leaving their carts in everyone’s way. Remember, this city has 9 million people, this is the
biggest store in the area so there were probably about 1000 people in this store, and NO, I’m not exaggerating in the least!!
Even with the mattress pad on the bed, it’s really hard to sleep on. But I’m hoping that I’ll get used to it…it is very different than my “Heavenly” Westin bed back in the US. It’ll grow on me or I’ll just drink a lot more coffee (“bye-bye stomach lining!”).
The traffic here is nuts, the lines in the streets are a suggested guideline and not a single person follows the traffic law...that is, except for some red lights. Traffic accidents are very common, but by far the funniest one that I have seen so far was two men arguing in the streets...both had gone through a red light and they were yelling at each other and pointing at the light, as if to say, "no I had the right of way..." but in actuality we all know who was at fault...
Ohh...one of my favorites so far... It's okay to drive and park on the sidewalk, as there isn't enough parking for all of the cars. 10-20 years ago a car was a luxury, now it's a daily way of life and there are no parking lots or places to park, except for the sides of the street...and the sidewalks...thus, the cars that have parked on the sidewalk also use the cross walk. I know this because I was in the car when we were riding on the sidewalk with the pedestrians as well as using the cross walk...haha. What an experience!!! :)
Day 1 in my apartment was quite interesting. The beds a rock but I slept fine...(note to self---need to get one of those puffy mattress thingy’s) Trying to get the shower to work was funny…aka no hot water to be found. So rather, I had some buckets in the bathroom (see above bathroom photo) and a tea kettle…so
guess what I did?! Yep, I filled up the buckets and did a camping shower. (Thanks mom and dad for taking me camping, otherwise I have probably cried…haha) Also, couldn’t figure out how to work the
hot plate…so rather, I ate a banana and some nuts…not a bad breakfast and lunch. Luckily, one of the women from the school came to check on me and to bring the men to install my internet service…she got on the phone with the landlord and we got everything fixed. Who knew that there was a button for hot water above the entry to the bathroom?! Not me! As far as the hot plate, I’ve never actually used one and
didn’t know the pan had to be big enough to cover the plate…definitely not like using a gas stove.
Ahh…now to mention the Wal-Mart, yes, apparently they are taking over the world here too. My first trip to a Chinese Wal-Mart was again, umm Wow! It was a sea of oversized carts, fun things like mattress pads (yea!), some things I never knew existed, lots of comforters, instant coffee (very important to my
existence!), people who stare and say “Hello” 4 times as well as those people who don’t care if you have ankles or leaving their carts in everyone’s way. Remember, this city has 9 million people, this is the
biggest store in the area so there were probably about 1000 people in this store, and NO, I’m not exaggerating in the least!!
Even with the mattress pad on the bed, it’s really hard to sleep on. But I’m hoping that I’ll get used to it…it is very different than my “Heavenly” Westin bed back in the US. It’ll grow on me or I’ll just drink a lot more coffee (“bye-bye stomach lining!”).
The traffic here is nuts, the lines in the streets are a suggested guideline and not a single person follows the traffic law...that is, except for some red lights. Traffic accidents are very common, but by far the funniest one that I have seen so far was two men arguing in the streets...both had gone through a red light and they were yelling at each other and pointing at the light, as if to say, "no I had the right of way..." but in actuality we all know who was at fault...
Ohh...one of my favorites so far... It's okay to drive and park on the sidewalk, as there isn't enough parking for all of the cars. 10-20 years ago a car was a luxury, now it's a daily way of life and there are no parking lots or places to park, except for the sides of the street...and the sidewalks...thus, the cars that have parked on the sidewalk also use the cross walk. I know this because I was in the car when we were riding on the sidewalk with the pedestrians as well as using the cross walk...haha. What an experience!!! :)