First Full Saturday in China

Yesterday we continued our effort to settle in by stocking our freezer, adding to our fridge and finding a suitable used bike for Christina.

Christina rode side-saddle on the back of my bike, and we sped off for the vegetable market, and the nice vendor we had met a few days back. Being unable to lock up the bike it provided the perfect opportunity for Christina to practice more language acquisition on her own while I stood guard over our transportation. Armed with Chinese numbers from 1-10 and the phrase: "How much per 1 jin? (Chinese measure of weight)" Christina was ready for the task at hand. No more than 5 minutes later, she reappeared, vegetables in hand and a large smile on her face having successfully communicated, purchased, and received a fair price for three large tomatoes and two green peppers.

From the vegetable market we set off to the German Butcher Shop. The German butcher shop is more expensive than the local meat market, however in the comfortable confines of the air-conditioned shop, without the often nauseating smells of the local meat market, the elevated price is easily overlooked. With our ground beef, chicken breasts and rolls (which were a total up-sell by the butcher to Christina) we rode back to our flat to wash the vegetables, and to portion the meat for freezing.

After relaxing for a few hours in the mid-afternoon, we headed out to the neighboring town of Tanggu with some new friends. The first stop on the trip was to the local cloth market, which could be coined, 'Textiles Galore'. Stacked neatly and towering over the aisles, these textiles can be bought, and shaped into wonderful pieces of clothing, bedding or whatever your need might be. Our friends directed us to one tailor in particular who is an excellent jacket-maker. The winter months are bitterly cold, and a down-filled jacket does just the trick. In a weeks time, for a mere 40 dollars, and 10 minutes of conversation to get the style just right, Christina will be the proud owner of a custom-tailored down-filled jacket (pictures to follow in a weeks time). Although it seemed a bit absurd to be buying a down-filled jacket while it was 30+ degrees, Christina was reassured that come November she would be incredibly thankful. From here, we trekked a few blocks to the Foreign Warehouse. On this stifling afternoon, the air-conditioned confines of the Foreign Warehouse were a welcome relief, and after perusing the menu, Christina settle on some mustard so that we could attempt to make honey mustard chicken later this week!!

Braving the heat, the traffic and the crowds we headed for our last destination, the hallowed Junk Market. We have it on very good authority that some of our friends are able to spend 5+ hours here every Saturday, looking browsing and chatting, but we did not know what to expect. After arriving, the Junk Market is quite simply sensory overload. You name something and it can be found at the junk market. Our hunted item was a 'retro' bicycle for Christina complete with comfortable seat and a basket. We waded through tables upon tables of merchandise, following our experienced friends who were able to cut through the traffic with the greatest of ease, until at last we had arrived, the bike zone.

After only 10 minutes of looking Christina had spotted 'THE ONE', a Japanese crafted, sky blue masterpiece. After negotiating a new set of handlebars, as per Christina's request, and re-aligning the spokes, all done in a mere 30 minutes, the bike was ready. We settled on a very fair price of 60 dollars (good for an imported used bike), and after accessorizing with a distinctive red bell, we set off for home, with Christina side-saddle and me riding.

On the ride home Christina made friends with some road-construction workers, smiling and waving to each other, while I peddled, avoiding cars, trucks, scooters and the like. We arrived home, happily parked the new purchase and hiked up the six floors to our flat. Vegetables, Meat, Tailored Jacket, Mustard and a new bike, all in one day!!