I have been in China for a little over one week now. What an experience it has been. Beijing was a sight and words cannot describe what I have seen. I thought New York City had a lot of high rise buildings! Shopping in the Pearl and Silk Markets is quite an experience. You feel like people are pulling you in a hundred directions at once. "Lady, you buy Coach purse" "Lady you buy necklace" "You buy American jeans" Well, you get my drift. Never, ever make eye contact.
My first impressions of Chengdu, our new home, were mixed. It's not as busy as Beijing but there are still lots of high rise buildings, both homes and office space. The traffic is something that is best experienced. I've never seen so many bicycles and motor bikes in my life. You literally take your life into to your own hands when you set foot on the streets. Remarkably everyone seems to get to where they want to go unharmed but don't ask me how! And don't get me started on the cars and taxi cab rides. Hundreds of cars jockeying for two or three lanes of traffic at one time, sometimes making their own lanes and sometimes in the wrong direction!
We spent two days looking at townhomes and homes around Chengdu. Our favorite area was a new development called Luxehills just outside of the city. It's very quiet out there and away from the hustle of the city. Oh, and there just happens to be a golf facility that Joe is very excited about! We found two places there that we like and are beginning negotiations with the landlords about furnishings and such. One landlord wanted Joe to play golf with him that very day!
We also saw some of the shopping areas where we will probably do most of our shopping. One is called Metro and it's like going to Sams back home. Joe has already found a BBQ grill for our new home! We also went to an IKEA to look around and also a store called Carrefour which is the French version of our Walmart. Well, kind of! Although written in Chinese, we were able to find a lot of the things we now use just by noticing the packaging. One thing I was a little uneasy about was the meat section where you pick out your meat and put it in your own bag! Scary! There was also a section where you get to pick a live fish from a tank! Imagine my surprise when a little man stuck a net into the tank and brought out a flopping fish! Talk about fresh. Do I have some adjustments or what!!!!
Joe took me to a few Western restaurants while we were here. Peter's is a Mexican place that has pretty good chicken fajitas and great Margaritas. We also went to a place called Zoe's which is part owned by a Vought retiree that has burgers, BBQ, steak and great mashed potatoes. Lastly, we went to a place that is frequented by westerners called Bookworm. It's got great western style food (we had pizza!), used books and great atmosphere. It has various activities during the week as well as some regular things going on. I think we will spend a lot of time there and hopefully meet some new friends. Our last night in Chengdu we had dinner with some people who work with Joe that now live in Chengdu. One is there for a few months and the other has been there for 12 years! We had traditional Sichuan food and what an experience! Talk about hot! One dish came out to us completely covered (mounded) in peppers and you had to dig through them to get to the chicken. WARNING: Some peppers will make your lips numb!!!
I think I can safely say it will be quite an adjustment but I think it will also be an experience that Joe and I will always look back on and say we were glad we did it. I just can't wait to have visitors come and be able to show it all. Surprisingly the people are very gracious and friendly so far and believe it or not they are not much different from me and you. They eat, work and live their everyday lives in much the same manner as we do, just with some cultural differences and much more simpler. I guess it is true that people are basically the same wherever you go.
Love to you all. Continue to keep us in your prayers. Be home Friday! The good byes begin.
My first impressions of Chengdu, our new home, were mixed. It's not as busy as Beijing but there are still lots of high rise buildings, both homes and office space. The traffic is something that is best experienced. I've never seen so many bicycles and motor bikes in my life. You literally take your life into to your own hands when you set foot on the streets. Remarkably everyone seems to get to where they want to go unharmed but don't ask me how! And don't get me started on the cars and taxi cab rides. Hundreds of cars jockeying for two or three lanes of traffic at one time, sometimes making their own lanes and sometimes in the wrong direction!
We spent two days looking at townhomes and homes around Chengdu. Our favorite area was a new development called Luxehills just outside of the city. It's very quiet out there and away from the hustle of the city. Oh, and there just happens to be a golf facility that Joe is very excited about! We found two places there that we like and are beginning negotiations with the landlords about furnishings and such. One landlord wanted Joe to play golf with him that very day!
We also saw some of the shopping areas where we will probably do most of our shopping. One is called Metro and it's like going to Sams back home. Joe has already found a BBQ grill for our new home! We also went to an IKEA to look around and also a store called Carrefour which is the French version of our Walmart. Well, kind of! Although written in Chinese, we were able to find a lot of the things we now use just by noticing the packaging. One thing I was a little uneasy about was the meat section where you pick out your meat and put it in your own bag! Scary! There was also a section where you get to pick a live fish from a tank! Imagine my surprise when a little man stuck a net into the tank and brought out a flopping fish! Talk about fresh. Do I have some adjustments or what!!!!
Joe took me to a few Western restaurants while we were here. Peter's is a Mexican place that has pretty good chicken fajitas and great Margaritas. We also went to a place called Zoe's which is part owned by a Vought retiree that has burgers, BBQ, steak and great mashed potatoes. Lastly, we went to a place that is frequented by westerners called Bookworm. It's got great western style food (we had pizza!), used books and great atmosphere. It has various activities during the week as well as some regular things going on. I think we will spend a lot of time there and hopefully meet some new friends. Our last night in Chengdu we had dinner with some people who work with Joe that now live in Chengdu. One is there for a few months and the other has been there for 12 years! We had traditional Sichuan food and what an experience! Talk about hot! One dish came out to us completely covered (mounded) in peppers and you had to dig through them to get to the chicken. WARNING: Some peppers will make your lips numb!!!
I think I can safely say it will be quite an adjustment but I think it will also be an experience that Joe and I will always look back on and say we were glad we did it. I just can't wait to have visitors come and be able to show it all. Surprisingly the people are very gracious and friendly so far and believe it or not they are not much different from me and you. They eat, work and live their everyday lives in much the same manner as we do, just with some cultural differences and much more simpler. I guess it is true that people are basically the same wherever you go.
Love to you all. Continue to keep us in your prayers. Be home Friday! The good byes begin.
2 comments:
I can't wait to see ya'll!!!!
I've missed you a lot and I want to see all the goodies you bought :)
Hi Kim and Joe,
This blog is a wonderful idea. I feel like I am traveling with you. I know your good byes will be so hard, but it sounds like you are excited about the sites in China now. I'm glad you made your first trip good. I will keep checking in on you and praying for everyone during this little detour. That name is cute! Karen Eddlemon
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