aadler: (Muse)
[personal profile] aadler

Like yesterday, I slept in a bit longer than Susan, but not a whole lot. Last night’s alcohol had left me a little dehydrated, but no hangover. Susan and I made something of a breakfast of things we’d already brought with us, and eventually Kevin came to get us for today’s activities.

I may not remember everything; it was a busy day. But Kevin took us first to the place where he works, and we met some of his co-workers, and he showed us some of the things he’s been preparing for the classes he teaches. Then we took a bus to another part of the city, and he met another co-worker, who led us to a particularly well-recommended noodle shop, where we had lunch. From there we started elsewhere, paused for awhile to talk with a street policeman (Kevin initiated the conversation because he’d never before seen a helmet of the kind the man was wearing; he let Kevin wear it for a photo, and explained that he and his cohorts are assigned to maintaining order at the street level).

(Somewhere along the line, Kevin explained to us that it had been a bit embarrassing for Mei-li when her father called her to take part in her own matrimonial negotiations. Traditionally, Kevin — and we, and her father and perhaps her mother — would have dealt with our aspect of things privately, but her father apparently found her participation necessary to make sure that all communications were clear. They’re not yet officially engaged at this point; he has to pick a nice moment, especially to make up for the earlier embarrassment. Probably — hopefully — while we’re still here.)

Finally we reached our intended destination: Window of the World, a local theme park that replicates famous landmarks from around the world. We did a lot of walking, and Susan took a lot of pictures.

After several hours of that, we moved on to the next necessary point. Tomorrow is the eve of Spring Festival (the Chinese new year), and we’ll be spending it with Mei-li’s family; part of the tradition is that everyone fix an individual dish for all to share, and Kevin wanted us to be able to provide them with something that was outside their normal fare but also acceptable, so we went by taxi to Shekou, an area of Shenzhen where there are a lot of international stores where we could acquire non-Chinese grocery ingredients. By then it was late enough that we stopped for dinner first, at a restaurant owned and run by — of all things — a Frenchman, but with a varied menu. Kevin got quesadillas (he’s been missing Tex-Mex), Susan ordered spaghetti and meatballs, and I had roast duck salad. We have plenty of opportunity to eat Chinese while we’re here, and plan to do as much as possible, but this was a short break in that.

Shopping at a grocery story, picked up some things while unable to find others. Then another taxi ride back to Kevin’s apartment. It was barely 8:30 by this point, but we’d done a lot of walking, and I went straight to bed and fell directly into unconsciousness.

Next Day

Date: 2013-02-19 06:37 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] velvetwhip.livejournal.com
I bet you have some terrific photos thanks to Susan.


Gabrielle