Accomplishment Number One: Thanks to a colleague named April, I learned about local Chinese market, a much cheaper alternative to Carrefour for many staples. Great place if you like local color. If you're OCD, however, you should probably steer clear. I saw lots of things there, but, of particular visual interest were:
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| Pig's Feet |
Yes, you really can buy pig's feet and cook them. Also of interest:
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| Chicken & Eggs |
Something I'd never even heard of buying: whole chickens with the immature eggs included. I also saw regular brown eggs piled like oranges (Just pick some out, put them in a bag, pay by weight -- 8 large eggs cost about 5 RMB-- and carry them home very carefully. I put mine in a plastic egg carton from Carrefour.) There are plenty of vegetables, both familiar and strange; fruits likewise; and fish both alive and dead. Chickens are scrawny. Fruit seems to be rather expensive, but veggies are pretty cheap. Haven't bought any meat yet, except at the stir-fry fixings vendor. Maybe more pics later.
Accomplishment Number Two: I successfully did the laundry. This is more challenging than it sounds when the control panel for your machine looks like this:
I got past this language barrier by taking the above picture, displaying it full-screen on my computer, and asking my Chinese teaching assistant to help me with a translation. That was effective enough. They apparently don't use warm water (only one hose to the machine), and there was no mention of a "gentle" cycle, although there was something labeled "jeans". The translation, however, does help me figure things out.
Accomplishment Number Three: I found a source for buttons and yarn. Some of my colleagues go to the fabric market (Chinese "Hou Xi Xi") in downtown Wuxi (Chinese "Wuxao"), to buy fabric and have clothes custom-made. I asked if they'd seen any buttons anywhere, and they said that such things could be found there. So, I asked to tag along, and they were gracious enough to allow me to do so. This trip showed me how to get to the "Wuxao" area, and at the fabric market I found people selling buttons, which I will need for the sweater I'm making. Also, one of the saleswomen, on learning that I knit, showed me a yarn shop there! (When I took out my project and started knitting, I became quite the sensation. A white man, knitting!) Also, while I was in the area, I found the most important place of all. And now, for the big announcement: (Drum roll please....)
I found a church! My colleague pointed it out on Saturday (not like I could miss it), and said that there was a translated service. At that point, I felt duty bound to attempt to go there on Sunday. Getting there on my own was a bit of an adventure (took the right bus number going the wrong direction, etc.), but when I got there, I found that the first service (very crowded) was just finishing. Words cannot describe the joy I felt at finding that fellowship, and hearing the Doxology being sung in Chinese. I wept with relief at finding a Christian fellowship here in China. After the first service, I was directed to the main chapel, where I found a seat up front, and was in due course greeted by an English-speaking German brother named Jedediah, who assured me that it was an international fellowship and there would be translation.
I didn't realize how much I had missed the fellowship of believers until I found it there in downtown Wuxi. I'm afraid I have no pictures of the church, but they do have a website. I would love to go to the mid-week fellowship, but I'm afraid I might miss the last bus to take me home. I'll have to do some research. (P.S.: Checking the local bus stop reveals that the 35 bus apparently runs past midnight on weekdays. I'll try to confirm with my contacts.)
Knitting
Here's the latest picture of my brown cardigan:
This shows that I've joined the sleeves and started on the yoke. Since then I've finished the yoke (left the collar stitches on the needle cable), grafted the sleeves (redid one of them because I tried grafting on the WS and didn't like how it looked), picked up and knit stitches from the right side, knit the top stitches, and started picking up stitches from the left side. The light in my apartment is not great, and I don't want to buy a lamp until after payday, so in the evenings I use my headlamp to help me see the detail. (P.S. I am on my last ball of yarn, and it looks like I will have enough to finish the shawl collar. Yarn quantity was right on.)
As mentioned above, I did find a source for buttons, and for yarn to make something new when my current projects are done. Unfortunately, they don't speak much English, and the shop doesn't seem to sell tools or needles, only yarn. Well, it's a start, and I'll keep looking. There's got to be some place in Wuxi that sells crochet hooks. But that's a minor issue.
Since it's almost time to go, and I don't know how long this connection will last, I'd better wrap things up.
Prayer Requests
First and most importantly, praise God for helping me find a fellowship in Wuxi!
Also, please pray for my Internet connection. Ability to access English-language sites (including Gmail and Blogger) seems to be more off than on. It'll be a minor miracle if I'm able to post this.
Blessings to all. Thanks for praying.
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