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| Country of the red dragon |
I've been in China now for a week, and I can honestly say I've never felt more out of place. This country is almost a full 180 degree turn from River Falls. Don't get me wrong it's been fun and definitely one of the most entertaining times in my life, but sometimes you have to wonder how everything can be so hectic, yet so harmonious. Everybody is always running to something; be it work, an appointment, or class the pace is always fast. It probably doesn't help that there are 8 million people in this city all trying to get somewhere at the same time. By the way, the traffic jams here are horrendous. The traffic laws are either non-existent or not enforced, and it's noticeable.
The city itself is pretty magnificent. Hangzhou is probably the most metropolitan place I've ever lived, furthermore it's MASSIVE. Everything that I've done so far has been within an area of 3 miles, and yet it's taken us a week to just do that. The only downside to such a modern city is the plethora of high end retail stores. There's almost nothing besides Gucci, Prada, and Louis Vuitton. Trying to shop thrifty won't happen here. But on the topic of prices, food is dirt cheap. Good food too. If 1 US dollar = 6 Chinese yuan, and a full size, delicious meal costs 10 yuan, then it's only $1.70, which hardly buys you anything at Mcdonald's anymore. Another cheap food is Baozi, which is a steamed bun and you can get 3 and be stuffed for a mere 6 yuan.
That's was just a small part of my experience so far, but I'll update the blog often with more in-depth topics like food, sports, people, and subjective general observations. I'll also try to journal my time here and write what I did that day and things like that.
Until next time,
Tony
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