Stressing Out For Nothing — Zhengzhou, China
What a great few days I have had! All the worry about getting to Shenzhen and back in time for work was easy in the end. Maybe it was all my good planning that made the trip run so smoothly. It started with my fellow English teachers taking some of ,my classes.I am indebted to them.
The actual travel went quite smoothly. I have said in the last blog that I caught the bus and then the flight which were both extremely easy. Todays trip back was nearly as smooth. The only hiccup was when I got to Zhengzhou I went to catch the bus and I asked at the counter showing my previous ticket from Luoyang ad they must have thought that I had bought a ticket for the return journey but I hadn't. The bus was leaving right away so I was herded onto the bus and then I sat down and thought that I would still have to do something as I didn't have a ticket. The driver and his offsider didn't understand what I was on about so I got back on the bus with my money in my hand. Then a lady came on and spoke to me and I gave her the money which she gave to the man I had first spoke to. I didn't really care as long as I paid someone. I have no idea whether he pocketed the money or went a bought a ticket for me. Don't really care as I got home safely and one and a half an hours early.This was because I caught the earlier bus as I didn't think I would make it with only 20 minutes to land, pick up my bag and find where I needed to catch the bus.
I quickly unpacked and did my washing and was able to go to the coffee shop before work.
I have taken some shots out the window of the bus as I need to get a red line on my blog to Zhengzhou and back as I have been there and it is not marked on the map. You prononce the name of that city like "John Jo". I have terrible difficulty with it.
The countryside is very dry and looks worse as all the trees have lost their leaves.They all look like poplar trees but don't have all the shoots coming out the bottom so are something similar. I figured that next time I go past that wasy the trees might have their leaves and I will not be able to see what is behind them. There were many people out collecting sticks and carting them back home. From what I could see most of the people were older or women. I gather all the young ones have gone into the towns to get work. They all had their thick coats on. Most of the land is used for agriculture and there are vegetable farms and fruit tree farms. Many of them have had corn in them and they are burning the husks which just causes more pollution. Many of the paddocks have been ploughed ready for the next crop.
In Shenzhen we were wearing T-shirts so it was a bit of a shock to get back here to the cold. I think they said it was 12 degrees. Anyway I needed my coat and jumper when I came from the airport. The surprise I got when I entered my apartment was the gurgling sound of the water going through the pipes. The heating is on so I came back at the right time as it only went on this morning. There is no gurgling sound now so they must have got all the air pockets out. There is a water filled wall heater in each of the rooms. Livia said that I can dry my socks and slippers on the heaters if I wish. I was worried about the curtains as they hang all over the heaters. Livia has assured me that the place won't catch alight.
I gave the girls at school some sweets that were a speciality from Guangdong Province and they were very happy with that. Melissa whose wedding seems to have been going on for ages had a box of lollies for me from her wedding reception. She showed me her wedding photos with the big white dress and she looked beautiful. The photographer did a really good job with lots of outdoor shots.She said her husband was a little bit fat but he looked quite handsome to me.
It was sad to leave Taryn in bed this morning at 5.30. Actually she did walk me to the lift. I am a bit worried as I have left her to shop.This may not be a good move as she will not have much room in her bags for all that she wants to buy. I felt I was a restraining influence on her but I gather she will go back to Luohu Commercial Centre by herself and spend in an uncontrolled manner without her mother questioning her every purchase. I really couldn't have spent much more time there shopping as you have people following you around all the time asking, showing, guiding you everywhere. They also seem to know what you have bought and want to know if you want another one. I get very sick of bargaining as you never really know what kind of price you are getting. You just have to be prepared to pay whatever you agree to in the end.
I have come home loaded with stuff from home as well as a couple of new bags and a couple of pairs of trousers. There was also a small purse and a belt purchased so I felt quite good that I didn't go overboard. The handbags were beautiful and I could have bought heaps.
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