The Cool, The Weird, and the Scary

So I have been in Jiaxing for three days now. Trying to sum up the experience in one page is difficult so I thought I would go over highlights and post a few pictures. I have school work to do tonight too, so this will be brief!

The Cool

My co-worker, Angel, asked if I would come with her and her friend to see Jiaxing and of course I said yes. We went to the nature resort where you can grill, walk on the boardwalk, and see all the unique plants. They have these trees that look insane. They have lily pads the size of a two year old and you can eat the lotus flowers??? I thought was a thing only in The Odyssey. 

After that we went to the Moon River Market. It used to be a popular place for tea shops so on the gates going in you will see a couple sitting with tea and instruments. They are to represent that the shops used to do a lot of entertaining and was a source of pride (that's what I was told anyways). Angel joked that they do that now but with alcohol and bands. Same concept! They have these beautiful buildings, canals, and street vendors alongside contemporary bars and restaurants. 

My school is huge and very open. When westerners hear "open floor plan" they probably imagine big windows and wide indoor spaces. There are hallways in my school that are OUTSIDE. I literally will walk from my classroom, down the hall, walk on a staircase that is exposed to open air, and walk down to another classroom. It is one of the nicest private schools in Jiaxing and praised for being a green building. We haven't gotten a full tour of the school yet but we are excited for that day to come.  

I literally walk down from the room to see this. All open air.

The Weird

Mopeds are big in Jiaxing. Many people drive those things around but what they wear is...odd. There have been multiple times where I have seen people drive with oven mitts on or snuggies. That is right SNUGGIES and it will be 40 C or 104 F. The reason is they don't want their hands or arms to get tan and are willing to suffer through sweaty hands to keep a pale complexion. Sun proof umbrellas are big here too. 

You know those tassels people hang in their car windows? They look cheesey but are supposed to represent good safety or fortune? Yeah, those are real. I thought that was something that Americans took for their own without understanding the real life implications, but everyone in China has those tassels in their car and it is for those reasons (that I know of). They even have Buddha statues glued to the dashboard. 

The Scary

I heard driving was scary here and at first, it wasn't that bad. Sure, people honk a lot, and get really close, and park on the sidewalk, but nothing insane. 

Until today. 

Today we got picked up by a taxi to go to school. There was road construction that turned a two way lane into a one way lane. Our taxi driver could have gone around but decided, no, he was going to go anyway. Ya'll, we went down a one way road THE WRONG WAY for THREE blocks. Cars got out of our way but I felt like Richard in Tommy Boy. It got to the point where I was so scared that I just accepted death with open arms. This isn't even considered "bad" compared to Shanghai...which we plan on going to this weekend. 

Get me pink roses for my funeral and I won't forget you.