Weekend One

Our first weekend here in China was a huge success, and much of that is due to our wonderful sponsors- P and J. They have been fantastic about showing us things and checking in. We are very lucky to have them. They invited us into their home to for a meal, helped PM buy our subway cards, and showed us both how to navigate the winding streets and alleys.

Saturday, P and J took us to the local Costco, called Metro. This was our first real trip to the store and there was so much that it was a bit overwhelming. None-the-less, we had a lot of fun looking at all the different products. I mean who doesn't want to try some Taiwan dried meat floss?!

On Saturday afternoon, P took us out to the frozen meat market. Much of the meat there is imported from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the US, which means you can find certain cuts that you can't buy except at the expensive western stores. This was the first time I felt like I was in "real" China. China around our apartment is new China. Everywhere you look, there is another large shopping mall. But the meat market area matched the image I had in my mind of what China would be like. It was reassuring and I felt a lot more comfortable there than I have so far in all the ritzy malls. The streets of the medicine market and wet market definitely had some sights, and smells, that were new.

After wandering around the meat market, the traditional medicine market, and several fun streets, PM and I decided to wander around Shamian Island. The island was previously the foreign concession point during the first and second Opium wars and was home to many consulates back in the day. Our walk there was very peaceful and quiet and the island is home to architecture not found in the rest of the city. PM and I couldn't help but think of Skopje when we saw just how many statues they had there.  

Sunday morning we met a group of friends for some dim sum. It was delicious. We, of course, had way too much food. The pork buns, egg custard tarts (they make them without milk here!), and soup dumplings were definitely highlights. The turnip cake was the low with PM saying it, "tastes like the zoo". While a fun place to visit, it is not a fun thing to taste.
 

I think I can speak for PM, as well as myself, when I say that we had a great weekend and are excited to see what future weekends bring.