I realized that most of my posts are about the differences between the Chinese and us, or about things that happen at school. Here is some things we do outside school.
During the non-busy times (Spring and Fall) we have two days off a week. This usually means that one day is spent in bed, nursing the effects of the local bar. The other day, though, we try to get out of the house and do things. If we want to go shopping, we have two main options. Wanda is a new shopping mall, complete with some western stores (albeit lesser known in America), an arcade, and a nice cinema that supplies us with our western movie fix when needed. The mall is also home to a great supermarket, so when we leave we are always laden with bags, even if we didn’t buy any clothes. The clothes are more expensive there, but better quality and more in the western fashion. Our other option is to go to Manda (the rhyming is completely coincidental) which is a huge market of all things clothes, accessories, and whatever your heart desires. Bargaining is expected, so I only go there when I have lots of energy. The problem with the clothes, though, is that they are in Chinese fashion, and some of them are reallllly strange. Women my age and older can regularly be seen walking around with shirts with bunnies or kitties on them, short shorts and 3 layers of leggings, and thigh high boots. I’ve chatted with some Chinese friends about this, but I don’t think I will ever truly understand. They like frilly and girly things because it makes them feel younger. Chinese women do not show their chests like we do. Shirts usually have high necks, and more commonly loose. However, they love to show their legs. They usually aren’t entirely bare, wearing leggings or tights, but they wear some booty shorts that would make a nun cry. I’ve seen women that are at least in their 50’s wear super short skirts, tights, and 4 inch heels-when it was snowing out! But I digress from my topic. Manda caters to these styles, so I rarely go there if I am looking for clothes, though I have found some amazing shoes and jewelry for dirt-cheap.
Another popular day-off trip spot is the DVD store. I’m sure I have written about it before, but this place is just heaven in Hohhot. Whenever a new teacher comes, one of the first places we take them is the DVD store, and we just watch ‘em go crazy. It is not rare for one of us to walk out with 10 DVDs or more. Additionally, they have an employee that speaks English, so if there is a movie we want that they don’t have, they can try to order it for us.
The Culture Market is another hot spot. I don’t know why it is called that, but it’s a great place to buy odds and ends. That’s where the boys stock up on their video games, and I have purchased random things from Christmas wrapping paper to flower seeds.
Recently, I spent a day off climbing a mountain. Hohhot is surrounded partly by a mountain range, which is accessible by a 45-minute bike ride out of the city. This journey takes you through some of the older areas of the city, which is quite the adventure in itself. To get up the mountain, we first must hide our bikes in a cemetery at the foot of one of the smaller mountains. This sounds morbid, yes, but cemeteries are quite different than here (I will do a separate post about them). We then begin the trek up to the top of the range. Now, two weeks ago was the first time I actually attempted to climb a mountain, so to me it was quite a feat. The trail we followed weaved over and around huge boulders, and right on the edge of steep drop-offs. The view from the top, though, was entirely worth all the aches and pains from the hike up. There’s nothing like sitting on top of a mountain and eating a mini cheesecake!
Other places we visit include some local parks, and of course a few restaurants that know what we are going to order the minute we walk in because we go there so much. Soon I will be venturing out to visit the museum and temples of the city, and will post information on those when I do. I am a little ashamed because I haven’t visited the main tourist attractions yet, and I have been here for 9 months, but hey, better late than never!
During the non-busy times (Spring and Fall) we have two days off a week. This usually means that one day is spent in bed, nursing the effects of the local bar. The other day, though, we try to get out of the house and do things. If we want to go shopping, we have two main options. Wanda is a new shopping mall, complete with some western stores (albeit lesser known in America), an arcade, and a nice cinema that supplies us with our western movie fix when needed. The mall is also home to a great supermarket, so when we leave we are always laden with bags, even if we didn’t buy any clothes. The clothes are more expensive there, but better quality and more in the western fashion. Our other option is to go to Manda (the rhyming is completely coincidental) which is a huge market of all things clothes, accessories, and whatever your heart desires. Bargaining is expected, so I only go there when I have lots of energy. The problem with the clothes, though, is that they are in Chinese fashion, and some of them are reallllly strange. Women my age and older can regularly be seen walking around with shirts with bunnies or kitties on them, short shorts and 3 layers of leggings, and thigh high boots. I’ve chatted with some Chinese friends about this, but I don’t think I will ever truly understand. They like frilly and girly things because it makes them feel younger. Chinese women do not show their chests like we do. Shirts usually have high necks, and more commonly loose. However, they love to show their legs. They usually aren’t entirely bare, wearing leggings or tights, but they wear some booty shorts that would make a nun cry. I’ve seen women that are at least in their 50’s wear super short skirts, tights, and 4 inch heels-when it was snowing out! But I digress from my topic. Manda caters to these styles, so I rarely go there if I am looking for clothes, though I have found some amazing shoes and jewelry for dirt-cheap.
Another popular day-off trip spot is the DVD store. I’m sure I have written about it before, but this place is just heaven in Hohhot. Whenever a new teacher comes, one of the first places we take them is the DVD store, and we just watch ‘em go crazy. It is not rare for one of us to walk out with 10 DVDs or more. Additionally, they have an employee that speaks English, so if there is a movie we want that they don’t have, they can try to order it for us.
The Culture Market is another hot spot. I don’t know why it is called that, but it’s a great place to buy odds and ends. That’s where the boys stock up on their video games, and I have purchased random things from Christmas wrapping paper to flower seeds.
Recently, I spent a day off climbing a mountain. Hohhot is surrounded partly by a mountain range, which is accessible by a 45-minute bike ride out of the city. This journey takes you through some of the older areas of the city, which is quite the adventure in itself. To get up the mountain, we first must hide our bikes in a cemetery at the foot of one of the smaller mountains. This sounds morbid, yes, but cemeteries are quite different than here (I will do a separate post about them). We then begin the trek up to the top of the range. Now, two weeks ago was the first time I actually attempted to climb a mountain, so to me it was quite a feat. The trail we followed weaved over and around huge boulders, and right on the edge of steep drop-offs. The view from the top, though, was entirely worth all the aches and pains from the hike up. There’s nothing like sitting on top of a mountain and eating a mini cheesecake!
Other places we visit include some local parks, and of course a few restaurants that know what we are going to order the minute we walk in because we go there so much. Soon I will be venturing out to visit the museum and temples of the city, and will post information on those when I do. I am a little ashamed because I haven’t visited the main tourist attractions yet, and I have been here for 9 months, but hey, better late than never!
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