Finding your way...

It's easy to let fear get the better of you. Here I am in the middle of a city with no clue where anything is. Though there's a lot of enlish or Pinyin (Mandarin written using Roman letters), there aren't a lot people that speak or understand it. What do you do??? Remain sedentary and only move between work and your house? I say nay! That first thing to do, indeed the sooner the better, is to get "lost". Obviously not actually lost. But a sort of "controlled lost"...

The other day, I made it a goal to explore a certain part of the city and I had to use the bus (written entirely in Mandarin!) and then find my way back to my place using only public transportation. It was the perfect time of day too; it was just before dusk and by the time I got home it was dark. I got to experience the city in daylight, dusk, and night. This place really comes alive at dark -- but that's a different entry.

Anyway, it was incredibly useful for me to learn the area by getting out and exploring. I even took a picture -- here's a scooter gang! (not really a gang. actually scooters probably outnumber cars here) This is typical at every stop light.