Feb 22 08
I bet there will be many weddings tonight, as the date is 2008-2-22 and twos are lucky for couples, and 8 is also considered lucky. A colleague is having a going away party as he is getting ready to head to his home country.
I bought a new pink bike with two locks this time. One lock is a heavier cable lock that I can hook through the bike so either the thief would have to carry the bike away or cut through the frame of the bike or the cable. It also has a round sliding key lock on the frame and back tire. Those are the ones I wonder about being able to cut through. I know if someone is determined enough it will be stolen again. It's a pain, but knowing that I spent on that first bike what I would spend on a full tank of gas in the states puts things in perspective.
Thinking on more positive moments, yesterday the lanterns were wonderful at Yu Yuan. You had to pay an entrance fee of RMB 50, but that included coupons for RMB 10 off of snacks. So I finally got the chance to try the little lanterns. Inside is some hot meat and steaming liquid surrounded by a shell that is fried on one side, looking something like a lantern.
Firecrackers, bombs and sparklers were lit once again celebrating the end of the spring festival holiday. Officially people go back to work on Monday.
On the way back I found a vase for flowers being sold on the street that I bargained a fair price for, surely more than locals pay, but fair in my opinion. I ate squid on a stick and shopped for boots. The salesladies were so proud they had one pair of boots they thought would be in my size. I tried them on, and they almost fit, but I needed about a half size larger and they didn't have it. It's the story of my life regarding shoe-shopping here. It's better to bring shoes from the states.
Waiting for the subway, I snapped a few photos of some billboards I liked that almost looked like native American themes. A mother and daughter were curious and asked me if I understood them when they were speaking. I said yeah, some of it. They liked the color of my natural hair. The only time you see my color on a Chinese if it's dyed or they are mixed race. They got a big kick out of talking with the foreigner. I enjoyed entertaining them.
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