Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Who needs a car?!?  Not me!  In the past week I've ridden in airplanes, school buses, city buses, taxis, and bikes.  I also see a high-speed train in my future.  :)

I would have loved to use public transportation back in the States, but 1)it's not practical, and 2)frankly the thought of riding a bus in Dayton terrifies me.  I feel like me getting on a bus by myself in Dayton would be like wearing a big flashing neon sign that says, "LOOK AT ME! I'M AN EASY TARGET!" Then again, maybe there are just some stereotypes I've bought into. Regardless, I feel much safer using a bus in China than I ever would in Dayton. We sort of look down on people who use city buses back home, but here it's just as normal to take a bus as it is to drive a car...and I love it! I got a bus pass yesterday and I can't wait to learn the bus system!  I know it's going to take a while before I know which bus will take me where, and I'm sure I'll get lost plenty, but I have lots of time to learn!  :)  It's a pretty slow way to travel, but it's kind of fun to ride the bus and people watch, it's cheaper than a taxi, and it sure beats walking!  (Side note:  I find it incredibly odd that the only bus cards there were to choose from were Hello Kitty, a really creepy woodland creature cartoon, or a dragon.  Where are the normal, generic "City of Tianjin" bus cards? I would even take something written in Chinese over the available options, but oh well.)

As much as I like the bus, sometimes it's nice to have a set of wheels of your very own.  That's why I bought a bike.  :) I think it's going to be really vital for me to have some independence while I'm here, so I feel like it was a great investment.

I really like my bike (yet to be named...ideas???).  Here's the problem:  it's almost guaranteed that it will get stolen. Everyone I've talked to has had at least one bike (or various necessary bike parts) stolen over the past year.  I know it would be less likely to get stolen if it wasn't so shiny, so I've thought about roughing it up a little to make it less appealing, but it's just so cute! I don't think I can bring myself to spray paint it just yet...although the moment it disappears I'm sure I'll wish I had.  We tried bargaining for our bikes, but with next to no Chinese it wasn't pretty. There was lots of pointing, head-shaking, counting on fingers, bike man talking to us in Chinese, us looking confused, and, per usual, plenty of occurrences of "ting bu dong" (I don't understand).  So we finally agreed on a price (which was probably too much, but oh well, I have a bike) and handed over the money, which was pretty to do easy since the kuai still means very little to me...I sort of feel like I'm shopping with Monopoly money.

Leaving the White Market on our new wheels

I thought the ride home would be terrifying (if I lived through it at all), but it was actually a blast!  The Chinese drive their cars like they would bikes anyway, so we fit right in!  You just have to be aware of what's going on, and once you commit to crossing the street you have to go and not hesitate.  I was really surprised that so many drivers gave us warning honks to let us know they were coming up behind us.  We had two more experienced riders with us, so that helped a ton!  It may be a while before I venture very far by myself...

I wasn't really afraid of oncoming traffic, although I didn't love being boxed in by buses.  Between Grace's picture taking/bike riding and the stray dog that ran out in front of me, I about had a heart attack...but our ride mostly just amazing.  :)