Foreigner Day At Walmart

We went to Walmart all by ourselves today. It took about an hour by bus and we even have to transfer. We made it there no problem and celebrated with a KFC lunch. After filling our tanks, we were all set to shop. Shortly after we got into the store, we noticed that there were other foreigners there. Our best guess is that they were new English teachers from another school here and they were buying their provisions. Funny enough, many of them had identical pink irons in their carts. At the checkout, we also noticed a big difference from our basics. One of their carts had a good supply of liquor. No wonder the tonic section was empty.

We also bought an iron. Since we have more clothing that required ironing this time around, we felt that it was a necessity, ok I felt. I wanted a steamer so we didn't needed to cart an ironing board back on the bus. I was able to discuss my options with the clerk today in Cantonese for the first time on the mainland. It was handy! Now we'll be presentable when we get to class. Btw, we got our teaching schedules today too. Now we can start preparing for class. Don starts Monday with 3 classes (his heaviest day) and I start on Tuesday.

Earlier today, our mission with Lily was to get bank accounts set up at a nearby bank so we could get our salaries direct deposited. After an hour of paperwork and other procedures, we walked away with our bank books and bank cards. The next challenge will be to navigate the ATM. Lily promises there is English. We'll have to see if it's Chinglish:)

Besides accomplishing that, we drove through the Free Trade Zone near here (Shantou was one of the first Special Economic Zones set up in China but it looked abandoned) to get to the local police station where we began the process to register our residence here. All foreigners have to register at their local police station. There are many more procedures we have to follow in order to work here. Thank goodness there is always help!

J

p.s. Still cooking our meals. Thanks to precooked meats from Walmart, we had an easy supper tonight of yummy roasted drumsticks with Chinese greens and leftover rice. Thanks also to my mom who taught me to precook a delicious oyster sauce for my greens. It's a quick way to flavour simple blanched greens.