Modes of Transportation

Path by the river in Jinhua

Since my last blog a few things have happened. I am a firm believer that the Universe provides you with what you need at the exact moment you need it. And as it always does, it came through. After a bit of moaning on my end, the Universe was sure to remind me that there is a good side to living here and reminded me to be sure to notice those things every day.
The next morning after my bit of a complaining blog, I woke up and the sun was shining, it was warm and beautiful outside. To be honest my first thought was, "I can do laundry!!" (for those of you who don't know we do not have dryers here...). I opened all of my windows and enjoyed some "fresh" air. Next, I went to the cafeteria for lunch, and one of the third year students comes up to me out of the blue and says "Ms. Killens, you look so young, and skinny today". Well bless your heart Percy. I thought, things are looking up!

I immediately felt bad about all of my groaning in the previous blog. Next, I know, hard to believe, but this day just gets better. I am on my walk and I run into a young Chinese woman who speaks English, she stops me and wants to chat, but I am getting my walk on before exam time, so I give her my number and she says she will call me for coffee, and I am sure she will. MEET NEW PEOPLE! Check.

Next, this very elderly man on a scooter keeps following me on the road, and normally this would totally creep me out, however something about the bright pink ball cap and cheeky smile he was wearing made it all okay. He kept offering me a ride on his scooter. Don't worry, I didn't take it, but how thoughtful of him right!

I believe the Universe put things in my way today to remind me of the kindness of people in China and that there are people out there to be met, new friends to be made, I just need to be open to the new opportunities. So, here I am, open to all of the new opportunities. BRING IT ON! Which brings me to the most exciting part of the blog!

Part of the path on my walk through some farmers fields.

Modes of Transportation - I started thinking about all of the different ways people travel in China - specifically in Jinhua because this is where I spend most of my time. I decided to walk into town, instead of taking the bus, and instead of reminiscing about how much I am frustrated with this city, I took my camera out today and started snapping photo's of all of the unique ways to get from point A to point B.  While I did not capture all of them, I got some sweet bicycle shots. What a difference it makes when you walk into town (takes just over an hour) instead of taking a taxi or the bus. I got to see so many things I had not taken in before. Walking is good for the soul.

Thank-you Danny. Great afternoon!

After all of my photo taking I decided to head to Danny's Cafe to first, say hi to Danny, and second to have some tea to warm up and mark my exams. I walk in, and Danny says "I read your blog, you think the air is bad here? I'll take you up the mountain, it's better there, let's go."
SEE! Dear Universe. You always pull through. So we headed out, not on a scooter, but a motorbike. Mode of Transportation was my theme today, and I got to take my first ride on a motorbike in China. And go up a mountain. (don't worry Danny, I'd never tell them we were running out of gas so we had to turn around half way up). shhhhhhhhh.

Please enjoy the photos. I also want to thank each and every one of you for your continued support and dedication to reading my thoughts. It means a lot to me to hear what you have to say, and know that I have some of the best friends and family a girl could ask for. xoxo

MY SWEET RIDE TODAY!!!

Impressive that these things travel such far distances and still work properly.

Even the kids have transportation!

This would the equivalent of our Garbage Truck.

Amazing Right!

These bikes are just Awesome.

You know who you are if you can ride around on one of these. Weird, but Aunt Cindy I thought you would like this one best...)

And your bike can double as your work station! I'm not sure if you can see, but the guy on the right had a smile the size of Canada. He was so happy I was taking their photo. I wish I could have chatted with them more.

A little newer upgrade.

The regular old bike

Pimp Townie.

Everyone rides bikes.

All of these guys were super pumped to get their photo taken. They are actually all smiling,  and after I took the photo they wanted to take it again with peace signs. I Failed to capture the moment.

There is just no limit to what you can carry on the back of these bikes. I really wish I could have found one today that really shows you how amazing their balance is.

And the scooter. There are more scooters than cars here. And there are no rules as to how many people you can fit on one of these. Car seat WHAT? Babies travel in their Mom's hands sometimes while driving. 

The one I use the most. 

Green is my favourite colour, so I had to take one of this sweet sweet ride.

Awesome.

P.S For those of you who do not know, if you click directly on the photo, you can scroll through ALL of them, and they will be made bigger so you can see them in more detail. xoxo