We decided that I (Donna) would take a scouting trip to the shopping mall in preparation for taking the boys the next day. I decided I would walk there and take a taxi back. I walked for 50 minutes and reached the first store we wanted to go to. I decided I would go to the second store and then backtrack before checking out the store. 35 minutes later after asking several people if they spoke English (none did) I stopped at a hotel and the girl was able to point out where I was on the map I had with me. I had bypassed the store I intended to go to. So I walked back to the first store again and never saw the store I wanted to find. The walk was very hot and very interesting. I think I saw more people on my 2 hour walk in China that I have seen in my entire life. There was a lot of construction on the sidewalks and buildings going on so I had to walk in the bike and scooter lane part of the way. Along the way I saw a good number of workers taking a break by laying on the sidewalk. It appears that they work long hours here. To cross the busy street I had to go through an underpass where there was sort of like a flea market. One fellow wanted me to sit on a stool beside him. I couldn’t figure out why and kept walking (faster). Later I discovered he was probably a fortune teller. On my way back to the shopping center I stopped along the street to look at what the street vendors had to offer. The watermelon on sticks looked interesting but I passed on any food. I did purchase a few things. They say you can negotiate a price but it was all I could do to try to figure out a first price. While there some guy offered me money. I had no clue why and decided to just leave and walk faster (again). The shopping center was 7 stories high and rather expensive. They had a lot of beautiful things though. I bought a Chinese dress and after much gesturing figured out what to pay for it. The girl said (in English) 100 dollars so I pulled out the 100 yuan and gestered “this”. They took the 100 yuan and gave me the dress in a bag with no receipt. I had never seen any store so crowded in my life. I then went back outside on a side street where there was like another flea market. It was all very interesting. I caught a taxi back to the hospital. They all honk their horns here and weave in and out of traffic. Many of the vehicles are taxis. I decided that taking Dillon in the wheelchair and Jay on our back was totally out of the question. We decided that Tiffany would go tomorrow with another patient’s family member and the translator and I would stay and watch the boys. Enough excitement for one day. All in all, I did enjoy seeing Shijiazhuang, China, by foot and was very thankful to get back to our room.
Workers Sleeping in construction zone
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Street sign
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Going into the underpass
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water fountain in front of shopping mall
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Notice the watermelon on a stick
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A bike parking lot
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A typical crowded street
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