Getting out

Friday night I finally got out of the hotel for the first time this trip.  I know, it seems crazy to come to a tropical country and then spend the entire time in the hotel.  But... when I am completely wiped after class, go immediately to sleep, and wake up between 2am-4am....  *shrug*  My choices are limited.  At 4am it is still dark outside, so going out is probably not a good idea.

Last night my hostess (Angie) took me out to dinner.  She met me in the hotel lobby at 6:30pm and asked if I mind walking.  I said "not at all" but was thinking about my recent trip to Virginia in which my close friend said, "Oh it is just a short walk.  Maybe 15 minutes." and we ended up walking for thirty-four stupid minutes each way!

But Angie was actually telling the truth.  It may have even been only 10 minutes.

Outside was not as hot as I was afraid.  In fact, outside was almost the exact same temperature as inside the hotel.  *roll eyes*  Air conditioning, people!

And outside was quite beautiful.  Ok, we are on an island, so perhaps this is not too surprising.  There was a light breeze, the sun was setting, I could see the water off in the distance... Wow.  

Dinner was at a restaurant that Angie freely told me was a Chinese perspective on Japanese food.  We had miso soup, sushi, and something she called "pizza" that I am pretty sure was a version of okonomiyaki.  This all sounds very Japanese, but....  It was just a bit "off."  For example, one piece of eel sushi had pear in it.  Pear.  Really.  It was delicious, but an adventure.

After dinner, Angie took me the long way back to the hotel.  (Which STILL does not compete with that blister-generating walk in Virginia.  Yes, C, I'm thinking of you.)  There was a reasonably large street closed to auto traffic.  The pedestrians were frequent and often on rollerblades.  I saw no other Caucasians.  Not one.  

I did notice that shorts and t-shirts on women were not common.  I think I saw two people wearing them, out of hundreds.  Most women wore dresses or skirts.  Everyone looked just a bit nicer than I imagine a similar crowd in the US would have dressed.

Not all adventures are good adventures

Rejected titles for this entry:
* Ice packs from the edge, part two
* OW!!!!
* Don't worry, I called him first
* Not again!
* Back in ice again

It is Saturday, my day for adventuring in Xiamen, China.  Things have not turned out quite as I had hoped.

Every Chinese person I mentioned my Sunday flight plans to is shocked that I have such a stupid flight plan.  Think of it like... flying from Boston to New York.... and changing planes in Chicago.  They all go practically incoherant with the stupidity of it all.  I didn't understand until I looked at a map.  Seriously.  Most stupid route ever.  It should be a 45 minute flight. Instead, it is a 5 hour trip with TWO flights and a tight changeover of planes.

Anyway.  Today.  Because of Sepat (the enormous typhoon?  Read some international news!), all public parks are closed.  SO my morning hike up a mountain was cancelled.  

I went on a walk about town this morning, anyway, which was quite lovely.

Mid-morning, Kan (pronounced "Ken", a student from this past week) called me and told me that he is stuck here until Monday.  His flight home has been canceled, and likely mine will be, too.  Great.  Anyway, he wanted to go out and do things.  So, we went shopping.  I got a nice start on my Christmas shopping.  I was pretty pleased with myself when we stopped for lunch.

And let me mention that Kan has been pretty upset that the weather has been so nice.  A little cloudy, a little rain.  No big deal.  All of the flights are canceled, and yet Sepat has not hit yet.  He could be home by now!

Lunch was delicious, very Chinese.  We chatted for a long time.  After lunch, I started down the concrete stairs to exit the restaurant (this is the point in the story where you hear the doom music).  Evidently they were washing the stairs.  With soap.  And lots of water.  There was a sign.  In Chinese.  I made it about three steps down, then my feet went flying out from under me, I slammed into the stairs and slid the rest of the way to the bottom.  If they had been carpet, I would have been a bit bruised, but otherwise fine.

I'm not bleeding. I cannot tell if I have anything broken or not.  If my hope counts, then not.  My medical insurance probably does not cover any medical events in China.  I do have a massive bruise forming on my left hip.  I can feel distinctly where I hit a step along my butt (Damn it!  Again?!?!) on the way down, though that is not the primary point of impact (thank goodness!).  I can walk, though slowly.  Sitting down is...  not impossible.  Just very painful.

T knows.  I called him and woke him up.   

Not the most comforting sight

A maintenance guy (from his outfit) just asked to come in my room and...  I had no idea what he intended, but it involved a roll of wire and some pliers.

Examining his work after he left...

The windows of my room is a set of bay windows.   They are three separate windows, the two out ones looking like doors (but do not seem to open, I tried).   The handles for the glass doors are next to the middle window. 

The Maintenance Guy took thick wire, wound it around the two handles, wrapped it so it formed a big circle, then twisted the circle.  In essence, he tied the two windows shut (they opened?!).  Perhaps this is to keep them from blowing out?!

So far, Typhoon Sepat is a few raindrops on my window.