Random observations

It is so hard to get pictures of all the strange and interesting things we see here, so I'll try to describe a few without pictures. This country has as much income disparity as at home and it can be startling at times. Today as I walked to the bus stop I noticed a fancy-looking car parked on our street. I noticed a "B" logo but wasn't quite sure what that meant so I looked closer. Turns out it was a Bently! I thought those only came in drive-the-Queen-around-London, tall, sedan type car but this one was low and sleek and reminded me a bit of the newer Jaguars. Mind you this car was parked less than a ten minute walk from where we observed people literally living underneath a bridge in concrete bunkers not fit for a stray dog. I realize this happens all over the world, but it doesn't mean I have to like it! Some other interesting things we've observed include a young mother holding her toddler child over a garbage can in the middle of the supermarket so the child could "eliminate;" foldable drying racks set out on public sidewalks, loaded down with bras and underwear; little doggies who have been so well-trained (or are so afraid of being eaten...) that they just follow their people down busy city sidewalks without the benefit of collar or leash; children covered with burn scars begging on the street; women of all ages lugging heavy fruit-filled baskets on poles, beast-of-burden style; all kinds of fruit being sold out of the back of mini pick-up trucks; pizza with egg as a topping; an obviously wealthy lady whose child goes to school with our girls who gave birth in Hong Kong in order to get a foreign passport for her child who drives a convertable Mercedes and only wears each article of clothing three times before passing it along. It's actually pretty amazing that we have become immune to many of the strange sites so quickly. We have a week and a half off work and school starting October 1 (this is National Day, the 60th anniversary of the Communist Party). Because of the lunar calendar, National Day is followed quickly by Mid-Autumn Festival which is one of the Golden Weeks. Seems odd to be preparing to celebrate mid-autumn when it's still 90-some degrees out, but we're looking forward to it anyway. We did not make any travel plans so we hope to be able to explore our city and maybe some outlying areas during this break. We'll have to fight the crowds, I'm afraid, but we will try to get lots of pictures of the night parade, Bo Bing parties and whatever else turns up.