Walking to Work

Bundle up to brave the wind. Take the elevator down to the first floor (the Chinese don't like having a "floor zero.") Walk out the door of our building into the crisp, cold air and swirling winds, and think again about how I need to invest in a puffy, down-padded jacket like everyone else. Walk through our security gate and down through our local village market place. Many others my age and older are hustling on foot, bicycle, and scooter to get to work. Many of the grandparents are already out and about with their adorable grandchildren for a walk.
I weave through the street sweepers with their aged, wrinkled faces and their swishy-scrapity traditional straw brooms. Once clear of the street sweepers, I smell a mix of delicious and fishy scents coming from the outdoor "fast food" breakfast sellers...their tables full of tasty-smelling breads and other interesting-looking items. A few people stop by the tables to pay for their breakfast and leave with a full plastic bag of food to be eaten later.
It is at the corner of our little village street, just past the local junk food kiosk and the salesmen with their table brimming with nuts of all kinds for sale, I again reflect that I am so thankful to have a job, and to be teaching. I then turn the corner and walk down alongside the bustling Tianshan Lu. People driving fancy, black cars honk irritatedly at slower-moving 3-wheeled, motorized carts. Cars weave around each other, looking for a quicker route to their destination...although on the days when the traffic cops are out, most people behave themselves. To get to work, Changjiang Lu--another major road--must be traversed with care. Even when pedestrians have the green light, you have to watch out for those turning left onto Changjiang, and those turning right onto Tianshan, who also have a green light. Might makes right on these roads...so unless you are walking in the cross walk with a thick enough mass of people, you must let the turning cars zoom on by first, or risk having a really bad start to the day. As one of my friends said, it's kind of like playing Frogger! Once safely across Changjiang Lu, it's only half a block to the large, white gates of Yew Wah.
Just another walk to work.