Craig went to work and I decided that today was the day I was going to buck up and get out on my own and do a little exploring. I left the hotel and headed out on foot to check out the surroundings. I walked around the side of the hotel and down a little bit. I found a bank and a little store right in the hotel complex. I thought it was kind of funny, because when we asked at the front desk if they had an ATM they told us we had to go to the bank. It was dark when we checked in and the clerk said we needed to go out the side door and down the street. We thought it was like a block away or something. The language barrier can be quite interesting at times (like most of the time).
After I came back to the hotel, I called Cherie and we made arrangements to meet down by the International School by the McDonalds. This required me getting a taxi. I went down and the bellboy got me the taxi. I gave the driver a card with the address on and off we went. When we got there, he handed me the receipt and I had no idea whatsoever how much it was. I held up some bills and he pointed to one of them. The bill was 13 rmb, which was about $2.50 in American money. I waited for Cherie for a while. I felt kind of inconspicuous, but I survived. She rode the metro (subway) from her place. We went to lunch at the Potato Bistro. I wish I could adequately describe what it is like going to these places. (Hopefully, soon I will figure out how to send some pictures. The one picture I sent came from Cherie’s phone.) We walked through a filthy entrance-way and got on a filthy elevator. The bistro was on the third floor. There was a patio and inside seating. The place was really nice and the food was excellent. I had a bit of an upset stomach earlier in the day and was a bit worried about eating too much. I had pumpkin soup and a potato. Cherie had pasta that looked good.
Cherie showed me the area. We went through the open-air markets and then went to the Scugo which is a store like that Metro Store we went to. Cherie took me through the grocery isles and pointed out the different foods. She showed me what was good and what to avoid. I don’t even want to discuss the meat department. It makes me queasy thinking about it—and the smells, oh my! When we walked past the meats that were cooked and for sale, I asked Cherie if she would eat any of it. I won’t say what she said, but the answer is NO! The bakery was right next to the cooked meat—poor choice of location because some of the baked goods looked pretty good. Cherie bought a few groceries. You bring your own bags and bag the groceries yourself. You only buy what you can carry on the metro and then walk to your place. We rode the metro to Cherie’s. She has a nice home. It is what they call a villa here in China.
Cherie downloaded some apps on my phone and showed me how to use them. Craig and his driver picked me up on the way home from work. They had a Western Bar-B-Que at the hotel and we went to that. It was a buffet with Western food. My favorite part was the European desserts. They had a band that was trying to play country music—Chinese style I guess. When the band wasn’t playing, they played recordings of country music—a lot of Johnny Cash and some others. It was a nice evening.
I felt like it was a good day. I learned that I can do things that I never thought I would ever do.
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