Wednesday, December 27, 2006

The Adventures of Lee, part 1

I haven't given up my exploration, just in case you wondered. I have become more comfortable as the week has progressed, and as I figure out where more things are. Some examples, and the results, are described below.

Yesterday was the best. There was a group going to a wholesale clothing market, but Hannah was still napping when we were supposed to leave. We had the phrase "Please take us to Wau Shao Gong Market" written in Chinese, so I said, "You guys go on, we'll meet you there." About 30 minutes later we are ready to go, so I tell the bellboy where we are going, and he communicates this to the taxi driver and off we go. About five or ten hair-raising minutes later the taxi driver stops and makes a motion as if to say "Okay, get out." I paid him and we hop out. I knew that this was supposed to be on the fourth floor, but there were just a bunch of shops all along this street. I show the phrase to a person who points around a corner and says something unintelligible. I showed it to another woman on that street, and she made a motion which I could only interpret to mean that "This is it." We just started walking, and finally found a sign and some stairs. We found the market, but no one from our group was still there. We walked around for a while and found a couple of things.

Across from this market was a McDonalds. Yippee! Jaycie certainly deserved a Happy Meal. She has had a really hard time finding food that she likes. We probably should have brought another jar of peanut butter and more cereal bars. So McDonalds was a welcome sight. After lunch we shopped a little more and then walked back to the hotel. They had a huge pedestrian street full of all kinds of shops. We weren't looking for anything in particular, so we just walked.

When we got back to the hotel, I decided to go out again. I was in search of a cup of coffee, and there was a coffee shop down the street, so off I went. You would think that in a country that has invented coffee gum I wouldn't have trouble keeping the caffeine flowing. I walk into the coffee shop, and fortunately they have a menu with English. I didn't see any designation just for a cup of coffee, and it was a little pricey, so I settled on a Caramel Macchiato. It took a while to make, so in the meantime I asked the waitress to teach me to say Caramel Macchiato in Chinese. Let's just say that I'm not going to be ordering anything without pointing anytime soon.

I think that Caramel Macchiato is Chinese for "Drink of Two Surprises." The first surprise was the size. It was in a little cup a tad bigger than the Dixie cups in your bathroom. I think it was about 5 ounces. And I paid $3.00 for this? Oh well. So I take a sip. That was surprise number two. It was cold! Who makes a cold Caramel Macchiato? Now I know the answer. Blech! From now on I'll make the coffee bags in my hotel room.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It has been great getting to keep up with you each day. I have been reading everyday, but I haven't left any comments because Bridgeport, AL and fast reliable internet don't go in the same sentence.

Can't wait for you guys to get back.

Anonymous said...

Just to let you know Lee, what you tasted was a real macchiato. The kind we know and love are the Americanized versions. I guess that'll be the first thing you buy in the airport. LOL I'm really enjoying reading about your guys trip!

Amanda Spencer