Another Afternoon in Wuxi...

...spent walking around and eating food. I also was able to speak more Chinese and this time I understood more than before. Maybe it's because I studied the topics we talked about (buying things and travel) so it was easier. I've also learned a lot of new words while here since everything is in Chinese and my parents are relying on me as translator. Very few people here speak English but the one thing I haven't been able to do well is order room service. Its probably because my "Phone Chinese" isn't good yet and I don't know if the workers in the hotel are Chinese or Japanese.

My view of today.

 Today's weather is slightly warmer than yesterday because there aren't as many clouds and the wind is weaker today. Still a chill in the air but because of the slightly warmer weather more people were out and about today. It was more polluted today than yesterday which is surprising. Maybe the pollution made it warmer today?

A price tag for clay figures. What I can read says, "New Product, purchase in advance. Shipping included. 58 Yuan" (新品预售，something 沪包邮。58元）

 My mom and I did go Christmas shopping a little bit. More so we talked about how are we going to do Christmas in China. They've already planned a 1 day trip to Beijing where we will see many of the famous sights then return to Shanghai, all in one day. So that day will be busy for all of us.

A street view of Wuxi.

I didn't do much today besides take a few pictures and grabbed some drinks from a local convenience store. I found these nice little sculptures on a bridge that were each of the zodiac symbols carved in a very "cartoony" style. I liked it, I think I am the rabbit but I'm not sure. After passing these guys for two days I decided to show you all as clay sculptures and carving seem to be an important part of Wuxi history. I will look more into this later.

Really, on today's walk, I tried to notice differences between Shanghai and Wuxi while also seeing what cool things Wuxi has that Shanghai doesn't. I noticed small differences like there are less sky scrapers, less people and a more "suburban" feel just like I wrote about yesterday but I also noticed the old town areas are bigger than in Shanghai. The many rivers that run through Wuxi provide a lot of nice bridges and walking paths throughout some parts of the town. This of course is outside the down town area which I haven't experienced much. I like both places a lot but Wuxi isn't "made" for foreigners which could be a good or bad thing. I've only seen one other foreigner and that was a business man leaving Wuxi. Besides that there haven't been any other Waiguoren （外国人). Its a little strange but interesting at the same time as everyone is surprised I speak a little (and I mean a little) bit of Chinese. So every day is a puzzle here. A puzzle I will miss when I leave.

How has your guys' day been?

-Jonah

"Some days we just need to rest, some days we need to work, but we always need to figure out which one is more important."

No music today.