Settled in and Looking Around Jinsong

Well, after a really good first nights sleep we decided to start taking a tour of our temporary neighborhood. Of course the first thing we realized was that it was Sunday and we had no Chinese money to buy any food so we headed out in search of a bank that was open....on Sunday! Our fingers were crossed that we would find something because the idea of waiting 24 hours to eat...did not appeal to any of us! At least we seemed to be adjusting to the huge time change because we actually felt pretty good. I had a really hard time adjusting to the time change in Costa Rica for some reason so I am happy that this seems to be going much smoother!

The first thing we noticed is how clean and open the sidewalks are and how there didn't seem to be an over bearing amount of people out and about and pressing against us like we experienced in San Jose. We saw all kinds of interesting things on our walk.... like this cool little motorcycle with a metal body that you can use to go places like a taxi. Some have rear seats that face forward/front and others, like this one, have a rear seat that faces out the back so you can see where you have just been....but not where you are going! LOL!

After walking around for a little while we found a woman who could speak a little bit of English and she told us that there was a bank right across the street and they were open....Yay we get to eat!! After a quick stop at the bank to exchange our money from dollars to yuans we headed for....McDonalds! Ten minutes later, and after much finger pointing at a picture menu, we sat down to eat our 3 meal deals that cost a whopping total of $5.65....I said total...not each! I'm really starting to like China! After filling our stomaches we decided to continue our tour of our new neighborhood....but not before a quick stop in the restroom before we head out to explore!

You can imagine my surprise when I went into the bathroom and waited in line for my turn and discovered ...this toilet waiting for me on the other side of the door. After living in Costa Rica for 6 months I was used to the toilet paper dispenser being outside of the bathroom so I had remembered to grab some before I went in, but nothing could have prepared me for what awaited me on the other side of the door. I thought I had gone into the mens room by mistake until I remembered that there had been two women in line in front of me! This is when I learned what the definition of a 'squatty potty' was. As you can see from this picture I ran back to our table and grabbed my bag with the camera so I would have proof that these things really existed!

Once the horror wore off and I figured out how it worked...we headed down the street to explore. Most of the buildings have their signs in Chinese symbols so we realized very quickly that this was not going to be as easy to get around as it had been in Costa Rica. There were all kinds of interesting things to see and we took lots of pictures as we explored our neighborhood. We found a really neat flea market type building that had 2 floors and lots of booths. You could find everything from towels to telephones to computers to shampoo. You name it and it was probably there! Outside was where you found the food vendors selling hot food, nuts, and strawberries on a stick.

It was pretty cold...actually it was freezing...so we headed back to the apartment with our towels so we could take a much needed warm shower. After another good nights sleep we decided to explore in the other direction from our house.  There are so many interesting, unique and unusaul things to see here that I feel as if I am not completely dressed unless I take our camera with me. You never know what you are going to see when you are out and about. There are a lot of bicycles here and that has lead them to be the subject of several of our pictures.

We set out for a walk around the neighborhood and 5 hours later we had discovered 8 bus stops....2 malls...the CCTV television station....and Walmart. It was actually quite a productive day! We walked up one side of the road...crossed over to the other side of the highway using a walking overpass and continued up that side: where we saw our 1st double decker bus...just like in Harry Potter! We saw the cutest dog sitting outside of a mall...tied to a pipe...waiting patiently for his (or her) owner to return. We also saw a very creepy looking Santa!



CCTV television station...the only English speaking channel we can find!




A pedestrian overpass




Our 1st double decker bus sighting



Isn't he/she a good doggie? Waiting so patiently for his owner to finish shopping!



Creepy Santa!



We have a month to explore Jinsong before our next rent payment would be due. Of course we won't be here for that. We are going to be out and about hunting an apartment as close to my work in Wangjing as possible. It will be so nice to have an apartment where we have an actual living room...bedrooms...kitchen we can actually use and a bathroom we don't have to share with the other people living in the hostel with us. Next post...how about some work related information? Until then.....miss you guys!