"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."-Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Ni Hao!

I can tell you all, I am quite frustrated now! I just wrote out a long entry, nicely worded, and clicked save, and instead of posting and saving, it just erased all my writing!!! Alas, this is often the case in China's computer bars, especially in the more ghetto of places (and dare I label Hefei as "ghetto.").

All right, let me start again.

Since last week when I last wrote, I've enjoyed my own assortment of casual adventures. Nothing big and overly exciting has happened, but these days I wonder out onto the streets of Hefei and see the sights and take in the smells (sometimes ew) and sounds (loud, mostly car honking). Just yesterday I got into a cab and made my way to Bu Xing Jie (shopping walkway). At every stop light, the cab driver rolled down the passenger's window and shouted at the neighboring cab: "Hey! Guess who's in my cab!!!" That's right, foreigners are few and far between.  The cabbie tested his "witty banter" on me, but he spoke Hefei dialect, which I do not understand.  There was much nodding and agreeing "yes" where I thought it was appropriate.  This cab driver was so excited about having a foreigner in his cab, that he had to shout at every other cab he saw and report his news. He even called one guy on his cell phone, when he couldn't get his attention at a stop light. I closed my eyes tightly as he almost hit people on bikes, or kids haphazardly crossing at an intersection.

One day I went to Carrefour (a French chain of stores, similar to Walmart, but sadly not in America).  Carrefour is blessedly close to Anhui University, and if you are willing to walk through a slightly shady neighborhood (filled with noisy elementary schools, women selling vegetables, and old men playing ma zhong (mah jhong), you can get to Carrefour in about 15 minutes.  The first time I went to Carrefour that day (I went 3 times, for lack of activity, and a forgetful mind), I left behind my camera and purse and just took a backpack, since I intended to buy water.  Once I arrived at Carrefour, I braved the large and frantic crowds.  China is a country with 1.4 billion people. It's hard to truly understand the magnitude of this until you actually go to China and see it for yourself. In the store are probably thousands of people, all struggling to get their items as quickly as possible. They push carts wildly around the aisles, and mere basket-carriers must learn to dodge this sometimes deadly weapon.  All's far in love and China, my friends. 

As I walked around the store, I struggled to understand the young girls who shouted out deals and sales on megaphones, pointing excitedly to large yellow signs with black marker scribble on them.  As I walked down one aisle, I lingered to look at something. I was jolted back to reality when a young man dumped a large glass of juice onto the floor one foot in front of me. Startled, I jumped back a little.  He smiled, and addressed me "mei nu" (beautiful miss). "Ah! There is now juice on the floor!" he said, pointing. "But wait, wait. I can clean it up!" He grabbed a special mop, and started mopping up the juice. He changed the paper-towel like end of the mop and dried the floor. "Wow! How clean!" he shouted at me, and others watching. "Y25.5 yuan for you, beautiful miss!" I shook my head no. He wasn't satisfied with this. He started to pour more juice onto the floor, but I escaped.

In the candy aisle, an old woman approached me, and had me follow her to the bulk candy section, to advise her on which chocolate tastes better.  She was very sweet and friendly, and I didn't tell her that the chocolate was a chinese brand, not found in America.  "I thought I'd ask you since you're a foreigner!" she yelled (though I was standing next to her). I advised on one or two flavors. She spent a long time picking out only those flavors, digging her hand down into the barrel and sorting patiently.

On the way back from Carrefour, I walked back through the before-stated ghetto neighborhood (which I am actually quite familiar with, as I took this path often in 2007).  I was minding my own business, whistling, when I suddenly heard an outraged clucking. I looked down to see a disgruntled chicken staring up at me. I jumped back a little in surprise. The chicken was not afraid of people at all.  He stood in my way, and it was hard to get around him, seeing as the path was somewhat narrow.  I was afraid to step over him, since I had a lot of bags, and I thought he might move and I might step on him again.

I looked right, he looked left. No owner was to be found. We were alone in the alley-way. We looked into each others eyes. I saw something dark and evil there.  His eyes, those small, black, endless specks, peered at me angerly, as if to say, "Get out of my way, lao wai (sarcastic term for "foreigner"), or I'll bust up your knee caps!"  After a few minutes of our staring-showdown, the chicken was bored, and resumed his activity of pecking at the garbage piled high on the side of the path.

Some foreigners feel uneasy taking this dirt path, and some will walk around the long block to get to Carrefour. I myself like the adventure, and the unknown. I am not afraid of stares and pointing (but a little afraid of that chicken, I admit).

This is hard to believe, I know. If only you could see it though.  It all really happened. Someday I will write a book about China, and Hefei will have it's own chapter (or two).

But now, dear readers, I must return to my dorm. Thankfully, I brought a few books with me (one is a biography of Christopher Marlowe, "Christopher Marlowe: poet and spy" which I love, and the other is a book of writings by America's founding fathers). Though I love history dearly, I wish I had brought some silly novel with me. Man (and woman) can't live on history alone!

Right now, I will return to my room, and resume beating my ill-tempered "heater."

Until next time, zaijian!

~Monika