My day off this summer is Monday, and when the fall comes I will have Mondays and Tuesdays off for the rest of the year. Since I only have one day off, I typically spend it resting, cleaning my apartment, and shopping for things I need for the rest of the week, like house supplies and food! I try to sleep in as long as I can because most of my week consists of early mornings, but I find sleeping in very difficult in China because the sun comes up so early and shines in my eyes, even though my blinds are closed! Even when it’s not sunny the brightness of the day is enough to have me up by 9:30-10 usually (boooo!). So far, there are 2 places that I go for food: Spar, a store similar to Walmart where you can buy all your daily needs, and Jenny’s Import Store, which has food and supplies from America and Canada that you cannot get in a normal Chinese store. Jenny’s is a bit more expensive, but I get things like cereal and spaghetti sauce that already make me miss home, even though I’ve been here just over a month. Fruit and vegetables are sold on the street right outside my apartment, but I don’t feel confident enough in my considerably small knowledge of Chinese to shop there! It may require bartering, and I’m 100% sure that the price would go up for me because I’m foreign!
Side note: If you ever come to China, always remember the price of items that you buy or order, because chances are they will jack up the price, even if it’s only 1 or 2 kwai. I’ve seen this happen, and you just have to argue and ask to see the menu, or refuse to pay. They always fess up in the end! Cheeky Chinese people.
When it comes to cleaning my apartment, the number one thing I focus on is dusting. Hohhot is extremely dusty. We don’t even keep the windows open, and still for some reason the dust piles up after 2 days! I have a suspicion that this is why Chinese people are always covering up their furniture with bags, cloths, sheets and always invest in rugs for every room. I’ll ask someone about that, but it would make a lot of sense since dust can be such a problem here! The rest of my day off consists of relaxation, eating the newly purchased food I bought, and watching movies on our new dvd player! On my day off last week, Tam and I bought a dvd player at Spar and took a taxi to the dvd store! I’m watching a movie right now, but my next post will be on the dvd store and how awesome it is!
xoxo
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