Quick notes

Just a quick post while I am at work. I am looking out the window and I see 18 construction cranes. New stuff is going up everywhere. Entire buildings seem to get put up in a few months. The quality of construction does not quite compare to back home. On a walk near our house the other day, we walked next to a building that is just being finished. As we were walking by, the fencing that keeps people out of the site blew down. Inside were women in their 60s or so, hauling off the large construction waste. They hauled it off in wheelbarrows, which were then dumped into a cart which was pulled by a bicycle to the dump. This doesn't seem like the most efficient way to do it, but I guess there are enough people to do it, who will work around the clock for low pay, and so it is the preferred method. I may be wrong, but I think that the small waste, such as paper, nails, wood shavings, etc., just gets left behind and planted or paved over.

Also, on the construction site were clotheslines with the womens' clothes drying. Though there are plenty of washing machines, there are very few dryers; everyone hangs their clothes to dry. It takes quite a while now that the weather is getting colder. It is quite common to walk down the sidewalk or go into a restaurant, and right out front hanging will be the shop owner's underwear.

The weather is beginning to change, and it is starting to get a bit colder. Yesterday, our day off, was a great day though for jeans and a sweatshirt. It seems like the weather pretty much is the exact same, with the same seasons and all, as in St. Louis. I did not bring my winter coat, thinking I could make it through the semester. It appears that I will have to buy one here though to tide me over.

Jane and I went out the other night with a couple from Italy and a guy from Germany. We went to a Thai restaurant, where we had a private room. The food was good, but at one point, I ate something which I thought was a carrot shaving. It turns out that it was a pepper that was ridiculously hot; my mouth was numb for about 5 minutes. After I cooled off, we went to a dance club, where the most popular song was a very techno-dancy version of "Take Me Home, Country Roads", sung in English by a Chinese singer. It was pretty cool.

These are just a few random thoughts, I know.