My morning started with a 6am bus ride to the train station. My mission for today: get to Shanghai, find the school I am taking the HSK at, pay the fee, then make it back to Hangzhou in time for work at 4:30...
The train station was normal - people, interesting smells, migrants lounging on plastic bags with zippers the size of a small child...
I have a confession...I love train station food. This right here is the breakfast of champions. An egg pancake thing wrapping 3 Youtiao's (bread-like long, flaky things). It's savory, plain, and so so so so yum. I swear to you when I finally leave this place I will go through street food withdrawals. This breakfast was enjoyed on the high-speed train. It was my first time on the "G" train - a 45 minute ride to Shanghai which is a 3.5 hour drive. The train got up to 351KMH...it was fast!
Me...existing in Chi.na.
After a subway ride and asking 3 people, I finally found the university where I'm taking the test, found the room in the university I needed to be at (needle in a haystack), made copies of some papers they wanted, waited in more lines, then paid for the test and went on my merry way. This pic is my celebratory, "yay I can read signs and get crap done in Chin.ese," picture.
With 2 hours left to kill before my train ride back to HZ, I make a quick decision to go the opposite way of the train station on the subway and hit up one of Shanghai's tourist destinations: the Yu Yuan Gardens.
I wandered around taking pictures for about 30 minutes of things I already have pictures of (the header for my blog was taken there in October, 2008) And just had fun watching all the tourists and looking at overpriced things I used to contemplate buying but am much too wise for now (tourist traps are soooo expensive).
Me...existing in Chi.na. 
After taking the train back to HZ and an hour on the public bus back home, a 15 minute nap, clothing change and make-up re-do, I was back on the bus to work. Shwooooo.
One of my favorite students, Zhuang (English name: Sherry, the head-nurse of the outpatient department) brought me tea eggs. I usually buy one at a convenience store on the way to work, and she home-made me some and brought them to me! Sooo thoughtful. I love her. She is one of the reasons I am depressed to be leaving my job.
After work, I stopped for a quick chat with my hair-guys by the bus stop (the store is literally behind the bus stop) but I'm so tired my Chine.se was all mumbled and my grammar structures were all off. They just laughed and filled in for me when my words were off. ha. Then it was back on the bus for the 4th time today. Home.
When I got home I found out that my bike had been moved by the dorm watchers to inside the boiler room. My bike lock broke yesterday and I've had no chance to get another one so I hid my bike in a shed behind my dorm. Well, these professional stalkers saw it was unlocked and knew it was my bike - in order to protect it, it is locked in the boiler room til I ask them for it. I think that is both thoughtful and entirely creepy.
And with that the day ends. And I have a test tomorrow at 8am. Geez, life doesn't slow down, does it? Gotta keep up.
walk slow. xoxo.
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