Saturday, October 25, 2008

DAY 20 -- ANYONE HUNGRY?

Today was Friday and I was supposed to finish off the week with my regular routine but my therapist Andy took the day off which in turn gave me the day off meaning I would have to make up for it on Saturday. We were going to try our West Lake outing again this weekend and yet again there is a glitch, maybe it's just not meant to be. We decided to go for a little tour and head over to Pizza Hut for some cheesecake that is supposed to be very good; sweets and desserts are definitely not a big thing here. It was cooler today and overcast looking like it might rain but we headed out anyway. We started off checking out a new store that we were told has "good shopping". It was a very upscale department store with 4 floors selling everything from jewellery, watches, shoes and clothes but we didn't get past the first floor. It was very expensive, our notion that things are less expensive in China was proven totally false here!
TK was pushing me through the fine china and accessories section in some very tight places with glass showcases and I knew I wasn't interested in anything here and I wasn't sure about the you break it, you buy it policy. TK's wheelchair navigation is sometimes very careless and I just wanted to get out of there! There were very few customers but plenty of employees, probably at least 5 workers to every customer and this is not at all uncommon to see! It's also very uncommon to see white people and we were sure getting some looks in this store. We're used to being stared at where ever we go but today seemed even more than usual and not just in this store. I guess it can be a little intimidating and annoying at times, now I know what celebrities go through!
We had to cross the street eventually to get to Pizza Hut which is very scary, especially for me because I'm the one sitting in a wheelchair with absolutely no control. Pedestrians have no right of way in China, the rule is watch out or you'll get hit! There are very few crosswalks with lights to indicate it's safe to cross even though they have lines painted on the road to indicate a crosswalk. People step out into traffic and vehicles just dodge them! You see someone crossing a four lane road stopped in the middle with cars whizzing by in both directions, even with children, it's totally ordinary for the Chinese and totally insane! So having given that prelude you can imagine how nervous I was crossing this street and that is exactly how we had to cross, stop halfway in the middle of the road with cars dodging us and wait until we could make a break for it to get across! My mom will absolutely shit reading this.
Well we made it across safely, had a snack and desert at Pizza Hut (the desert wasn't really good) then decided to hit the grocery store. The grocery store is an experience in itself, you're very hard pressed to find anything considered ordinary food in terms of what we're used to. I must admit TK is doing a great job cooking for me and today we bought chicken breasts to make with some pasta. I've included some photos of what ordinary food looks like to the Chinese, YUM YUM!
click on image to view it larger

CHICKEN DRIED, COLORED BLUE, CHICKEN FEET
I've eaten one of these out of that bowl


We haven't bought any eggs, haven't found any laid by a hen!
I don't know what they do with dried fish


I'm not even able to tell what some of this dried stuff is!
No uncle Ben around here.


These turtles aren't for your aquarium, your Bar-BQ
Live eel, UGHH!























2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi U 2
You're rite Lee- between the traffic, food and no speaka de english I think I would last about a couple of hours there- does potatoes and gravy sound good?? Is just about over for you -am proud of your strength you've had! Keep it up!! lamy mom xoxoxo

Terrie said...

Lee & TK,
How are you feeling? Are you noticing any change? What are they telling you?
I am enjoying your blog and the photos were cute.
The staff seems to be very attentive, and that is good.
TK, go to whaleyworkshops,com and click on the link above the Rolling Mill Workshop announcement.
Also when you get back, Barbara and Debbie want to join us to practice stone setting. They were both at the workshop. It went very well.
Yummy on tha Peking duck hanging, try it before you leave, it is wonderful.
Hugs,
Terrie