Prison Break

We had another prison break today. Sometimes, the four cement walls of my “cell”, I mean...room, become rather small. The university is outside the city centre and therefore walking to something, other than the grounds itself, becomes a necessity for my sanity’s sake. So, once again armed with the BRT stops, I replicated a hand drawn map and set out where we wanted to go.
We get the sense that the people are not that adventurous, or at least not independently so. Nancy had found on the internet a coffee street in Xiamen, which were restaurants where western food was served and a greater possibility of English speaking staff. We had asked around about directions to the street and if it were possible to get there with the BRT. We were met with responses that “no, it was impossible, you would need to take a taxi.” “It’s too far.” “It really can’t be done.” Then there was the whole dilemma of Chinese niceties whereby someone would suggest that they would take us; but we sense that is more of a polite thing to say rather than an actual gesture that they are willing to fulfill. We were sure—by our map—it could be done without a taxi and on our own.
With umbrella in hand, a map in our pocket and a spring in our step we headed out to the bus stop. This is about a 15 minute walk from the university. We rode the bus for another 45 minutes, seeing all the tall buildings both new and old; businesses both corporate and singularly owned; and a sea of people come and go off the bus. We reached the bus terminal and started to walk in the direction that we mapped out. For the most part we were walking along the Yundanghu which is a lake (not sure whether or not it is a man-made or God-designed lake). Many people were fishing or taking a nap along the path. It was quite a beautiful spot. Once we walked around a portion of the lake, we saw the street we wanted.
A 15 minute walk to the bus; a 45 minute bus ride; and a 35 minute walk by a lake and finally we were at a quaint little cafe. All this by ourselves! We sat under the umbrella at this outdoor cafe and watched the world go by. With a breeze, it was actually pleasant to sit and watch the variety of people that frequented this while sipping a chocolate latte with whip cream. I did not find the walk very difficult and yet, I get the feeling that the people here do not walk very far to places. It seems like a half hour walk is unheard of, but in any case, I’m glad that we did it.
We walked a little farther to an Italian restaurant. I ordered a chicken burger with fries (Don’t laugh, Paris. I’m always encouraging him to try new things when we are at a restaurant and he often defaults to the familiar comfort food of a good burger). It was nice to have real bread that seems fully baked. I also got an ice cold can of Sprite along with a glass filled with ice cubes! It truly was cold!! For a place that is so hot, the people really don’t seem to relish cold drinks. In fact, it is a sad fact to relate that I am getting used to room temperature water. Again, to sit on comfortable chairs (all I have in my room is a wooden desk chair), enjoy the breeze and food that I can recognize and name were just what the doctor ordered.
Soon, it was time to take our 1 ½ hour trek back home again. Another pat on the back for an adventure well done.