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Feb. 12th, 2007 11:42 pmTonight we hired Driver Fang to take me to town for a shopping trip at Carrefour. I asked Mariannette to go with me, so I didn't have to shop alone. After Fang picked us both up, she took us in the opposite direction from Carrefour, which was baffling. Before long, we pulled up at a different store and picked up five more people. All of us squeezed into the 5 seater car, making a total of 8 people. In the backseat we had four across with one person sitting on top. All these people were her family and we were taking them home before we went to Carrefour.
Every day when we drive back and forth to campus, we pass along the same main road. We never have occasion to turn off into the side roads. I mentioned to Chris once that this stretch of road seems very 2 dimensional. Well, tonight I had a chance to turn off the main road and see the back streets. It was both fascinating and frightening. The road we drove on was only wide enough for one car. Fortunately, we didn't meet any other traffic along the way. Also, the road passed back and forth over a pond-type thing. There were no guard rails on this narrow road as it passed over the water. At one point, both Mariannette and I gasped and grabbed onto each other as we thought the car was about to plunge into the water. We eventually pulled into a large gated compound. It appears that Fang and her whole family live together in this complex of houses.
After dropping the family off, we finally headed onto Carrefour. It was a madhouse there. Just to give you an idea: when I was home in the States during the Christmas shopping season, I was happily amazed by how un-crowded the stores were. Even Wal-Mart on Christmas Eve seemed crowd-free in comparison with daily shopping in China.
Every day when we drive back and forth to campus, we pass along the same main road. We never have occasion to turn off into the side roads. I mentioned to Chris once that this stretch of road seems very 2 dimensional. Well, tonight I had a chance to turn off the main road and see the back streets. It was both fascinating and frightening. The road we drove on was only wide enough for one car. Fortunately, we didn't meet any other traffic along the way. Also, the road passed back and forth over a pond-type thing. There were no guard rails on this narrow road as it passed over the water. At one point, both Mariannette and I gasped and grabbed onto each other as we thought the car was about to plunge into the water. We eventually pulled into a large gated compound. It appears that Fang and her whole family live together in this complex of houses.
After dropping the family off, we finally headed onto Carrefour. It was a madhouse there. Just to give you an idea: when I was home in the States during the Christmas shopping season, I was happily amazed by how un-crowded the stores were. Even Wal-Mart on Christmas Eve seemed crowd-free in comparison with daily shopping in China.