Life so far in Hang Zhou
We are settled into our temporary life here in Hang Zhou. We go daily to the RT Mart – which is kinda like a mall and super Walmart all in one. Anything we need, they have. It is about 2 blocks from the hospital. Everything is in Chinese, but we have been able to buy shampoo, soap, peanut butter & jam, bread and bottled water very easily. We look for logos of brands we know.
Many things are very different than life in NJ. Driving in China is unlike anything you could ever imagine. Lines on roads are merely suggestions and at times there seems to be no order to who has the right of way: cars, bike riders, scooters, or people on foot. It is crazy but we haven’t seen one accident…. yet.
We have also found that buildings, restaurants, and many common areas are not heated. So, imagine in the heat of summer – probably no air conditioning either. We are glad we came in February!
When we say that people stare at Justin, that is an understatement. Today we went to the West Lake (Sunday is our free day) and we could barely walk for 2 minutes without a crowd of people surrounding us and staring. Many people took pictures and some made their children stand next to the stroller and get their picture taken with Justin. I starting taking pictures of the people taking pictures of him – which is one of the pics above. The other pics above are two of the many pagoda’s at the West Lake.
The food/eating situation is getting harder. Today, since we were “off” and went sightseeing, we did eat at McDonalds and got an iced coffee at Starbucks. For dinner, we ordered our standard Chinese dinner: fried rice with egg, spring rolls, and sweet & sour chicken. We are already writing a list of foods and meals we want when we get home! Jason wants a brocolli pizza from The Country Store in Pedricktown and Lora is looking forward to Mom’s lasagna.
Tomorrow (Mon, Feb 18) is Justin’s first stem cell treatment via IV. While our family & friends sleep Sunday night, Justin will be one step closer to gaining sight.
3 comments February 17th, 2008
