Sidewalk Guides
Jet lag is not fun. My body still thinks it is back in California when it is really in China. China is 16 hours ahead, so in general, day is night and night is day. I managed to stay up until 7P China time, but then my body couldn’t stand it anymore and it was time to go to bed. I slept until almost 4A which I think was good.
Yesterday was a good day. The big event of the day for me was a visit to the local police station and a cell phone store with my son. It is cold outside, but not as cold as I expected. It is dry and that makes the freezing temperatures tolerable. The good brisk walk helped as well. As we were walking to the police station, I noticed something in the sidewalk that I had noticed before. In the middle of the regular tiles there are tiles that have raised vertical bars on them. These are required to help guide people who are visually impaired. It would be a great idea if the sidewalks were continuous, but in most cases they aren’t.
We had to go to the police station to register as foreign visitors. We weren’t successful in completing the process because the requirements had changed, and we were missing one piece of documentation. We’re hoping to finish the process today. The fun thing for me was seeing my son work through the process entirely in Chinese. He said there were a few things he didn’t understand, but it was clear his language training has been successful.
We needed a new SIMM card so that we can communicate in China with our cell phone. I couldn’t understand a thing the salesperson was saying, but I was able to pick up that he was trying to upsell my son on a new and expanded plan. After the negotiations were complete, we headed out with a new SIMM card installed in the phone. We still have some work to do with our U.S. carrier to make it all work, but we’re making progress.
The walk took us in a big circle, and it was fun to get back to the area that I remember from our previous visit. It felt great to know where I was and to realize that I could get back to the apartment on my own if I needed to. The rest of the day was spent in the apartment with family. The highlight of the day was opening the tubs of stuff we had brought from home. It was wonderful to see grandchildren thrilled by chocolate chips, granola bars, wool socks, and prunes.
I don’t know what today holds and I’m looking forward to whatever it is.
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