Daily life

A lady barber cuts hair on the side of the road in north central China. It's common to see sidewalk barbers in China.

The energy-sapping humidity of summer has finally relented and gone away. I couldn't be happier. Now I can get out on my e-bike and explore this beautiful city!

Most of my trips are across town. My physical therapist's office is roughly 12 miles away, and it takes 45-60 minutes to get there by e-bike, depending on whether traffic is bad or ridiculously bad. I have PT once or twice a week. It would be a beautiful drive if I wasn't always having to watch out for the other guy.

The part of town where the Brazilian PT works also is home to most expats in town, so there are American-style grocery stores and American-style restaurants there. (There are also German restaurants, Italian ones, etc.) After PT, I generally go to a grocery store and stock up on enough groceries to fill two reusable tote bags and I carry home groceries on my e-bike. All summer long I couldn't carry home butter, because it would melt, but now I can buy butter too. I don't buy a whole lot of American-style goods though. A can of Campbell's vegetable soup costs over $6. I sometimes buy tortilla chips, pickles, Kraft macaroni and cheese, and canned beans. The stores are not large.

I'm also attending an expat ladies' Bible study in that part of town on Tuesday mornings. It's held in an upstairs coffee shop of a ritzy hotel; the coffee shop is seldom used by others. The expat church is also on that side of town, but even further away. My e-bike can't make it as far as the church, so when I go there I have to go by taxi.

The Tex-Mex restaurant and my hair dresser are over there, as is my regular doctor. I suppose it would make sense to live over there since I go there so much, but I live in an interesting part of town too. My apartment, if in the expat part of town, would cost twice as much, and I would have to downsize and have poor quality living conditions. I get to know the entire city better than most by having to traverse it as I do. I live in the historic district, and it is beautiful.

I'm afraid that when the north winds start to blow, I may not be making as many trips to that part of town. But for now, I'll enjoy it as much as I can. If not for PT, I'd like to explore other directions in town.

Footnote: Pray that I'll be able to get more range of motion in my neck and right arm/shoulder. That's what I go to physical therapy for. My pain level will go down too if I can get these damaged neck and arm muscles stretched out. They were damaged during surgery a year and a half ago, and radiation "cooked" them so they are not normal anymore. Nothing is impossible with God, so I have great expectations for good. My PT is a believer!