Wuhan just got a lot more interesting

Because this was my last day with my trusty tour guide/roommate/new friend, Megan and I decided to hit up the river and snack street after work today. You would have thought we had seen enough "river" yesterday but that was just not the case. After work we headed out to the Yangtze and I was able to see a bit more of Wuhan. We walked all the way there... which was maybe a mile or two. I saw a woman walk by with my favorite Beijing snack, waffle nuts, but I didn't think to ask her where she bought them. Hopefully I will find the vendor soon. As I have already mentioned in previous posts, walking/traveling of any sorts in Wuhan is not an easy task. I even at one point had to slap the back of a car with my hand before she backed right into me. We walked passed several shops, restaurants, and street vendors. I saw some of the lower class housing and started to get some more perspective on how truly blessed I am in America. I found myself not so bummed about having a squat toilet today. At least we have running water and the toilet flushes. Many do not have that "luxury" here. I am making many mental notes about just how different the American way of life and expectancies are different from this culture. I will be blogging about that soon. Tonight's post has another purpose.

Here are some of the sights we viewed along our walk to the river:

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Once we made it, we headed into the night market to check out some of the things being sold. I saw some very cute jewelry and definitely want to return to make some purchases. Unfortunately some total Chinese creeper was following us and being a total freak. Although I will not be sharing all of the details on my blog, just know it was not a comfortable situation and it was definitely first time I did not feel 100% safe in China. Thankfully our mad dash through the crowds off people led us out of the market and through snack street and onto a regular shopping district. I bought a few presents to send home and I even purchased a wallet from an adorable woman for myself. After walking around the shops for a while we walked down to the river and viewed the Wuhan skyline. It really is beautiful, especially when it is all lit up at night.

Once we thought it was safe to travel back through snack street we were on our way. I did not see any scorpions but I did see many beetles, bugs, and creepy crawlies. There were crabs (like whole crabs on a stick) and shrimps and weird sea creatures with tons of legs. I am not sure how much eating I will do on snack street. But we did scarf down some very delicious fried bananas with chocolate sauce. I also had a mango juice which tasted divine. Megan and I sat on a bench and ate our bananas and unfortunately creeper found his way back to us so we had to bolt out of the street again. We ended up catching a taxi and headed on home.

I'm sad the picture turned out blurry... I will capture another one soon

Fried bananas = Fēicháng hǎo

I am happy that I was able to experience Wuhan for a few days with Megan. It has been great getting to know a new friend and having someone to chat with at work and at home. This has made me 10 times more excited for going back home to Beijing and having a roommate! I haven't had a roomie in a long time. It is a nice feeling.

Mandarin lesson:
hé (and) Gèng duō de 更多的 (more) Zǒu kāi! 走开！ (Go away!) Xiāngjiāo 香蕉 (banana)