Apart from the mortal danger, Zibo is a great place for bicyclists. The city is level, the boulevards are wide and tree-shaded, and there are lots of pleasant routes in the city, for example along the river.
With the help of a student from the school, I recently visited a second-hand market to buy a bicycle. The student negotiated with the bicycle vendor and translated for me. "She says you should not buy that bicycle because you are fat," he explained helpfully. We got a sturdier bicycle that has held up so far.
For my first forays into the mayhem that is Zibo traffic, I chose Zhongrun Avenue near my apartment complex because traffic is light on this wide boulevard and the streets are well lit. In the cool of the evening, there are lots of couples out walking. I pass a barbeque restaurant -- these are easy to recognize because of the smoky aroma and the fact that the patrons sit outside on little stools around low tables. I sure look forward to going to these places with Ross when he finally arrives in China. Except for the little stools around low tables part. We'll work something out.
With the help of a student from the school, I recently visited a second-hand market to buy a bicycle. The student negotiated with the bicycle vendor and translated for me. "She says you should not buy that bicycle because you are fat," he explained helpfully. We got a sturdier bicycle that has held up so far.
For my first forays into the mayhem that is Zibo traffic, I chose Zhongrun Avenue near my apartment complex because traffic is light on this wide boulevard and the streets are well lit. In the cool of the evening, there are lots of couples out walking. I pass a barbeque restaurant -- these are easy to recognize because of the smoky aroma and the fact that the patrons sit outside on little stools around low tables. I sure look forward to going to these places with Ross when he finally arrives in China. Except for the little stools around low tables part. We'll work something out.
Then I pass the neighboring apartment complex. I like their gate; it has a kind of 1960's World's Fair vibe to it. Another two long blocks and I arrive at the New Mart. I mention shopping a lot, I know, but we women generally navigate by landmarks, and shopping centers are recognizable urban landmarks. This particular shopping center has a Starbucks and they are so happy when a foreigner stops in. Ross is sending me some care packages of "Seattle's Best Coffee" but in the meantime I spend big bucks (85 yuan, about what you'd pay in Canada) for a pound of Starbucks coffee. Regular coffee is hard to find in the stores.
The evening also brings out more street vendors at almost every corner, selling clothes or housewares, and I saw several mobile bookstores in the gathering twilight. Watermelons, cherries, plums and apricots are offered for sale. Old men sit and chat, grandmothers walk with their little grandsons and daughters. Most city busses have stopped by 7:00 pm but the neighborhoods are alive with activity and no wonder -- apartments are small and probably stuffy in this heat and the street is a pleasant place to be in the evening breeze. Furthermore, there is a truly impressive amount of urban planting in this city -- trees and flowering shrubs and flowers.
The evening also brings out more street vendors at almost every corner, selling clothes or housewares, and I saw several mobile bookstores in the gathering twilight. Watermelons, cherries, plums and apricots are offered for sale. Old men sit and chat, grandmothers walk with their little grandsons and daughters. Most city busses have stopped by 7:00 pm but the neighborhoods are alive with activity and no wonder -- apartments are small and probably stuffy in this heat and the street is a pleasant place to be in the evening breeze. Furthermore, there is a truly impressive amount of urban planting in this city -- trees and flowering shrubs and flowers.
Up ahead, I spot what I have been hoping to find -- a group of people exercising together, just minutes from the gate to my apartment complex. Every morning and evening, Zibo citizens take to the streets and the parks to do tai chi or ballroom dance or do martial arts or gentle calisthenics. Naturally, I would like to summon the courage to join one of these groups. But this particular group is led by two women who appear to have studied belly dancing and they are playing Middle Eastern music and demonstrating their dance moves for the women gathered around. I know any number of women, mostly Unitarians, who wouldn't hesitate to join this group and start doing the shimmy on the sidewalk, but not me. I'll look for something a little more traditional.
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