The Streets of Kaifaqu

Friday, February 19, 2010

Today's shopping is not going so well. New Mart is closed, so I can't roam the stalls there.

I fear passing up those pretty lacquered trays in Beijing I wanted to get for the girls was a mistake. I'm not finding any of those in Kaifaqu today.

China, vases, and pretty tea sets are abundant, but I'm afraid they'll get broken.

On top of that, I think my grocery list fell out of my pocket in the taxi and I can't reconstruct it in my head.

But even a non-productive shopping trip is an experience in Kaifaqu today. In front of the bakery a young man has placed a cremation urn on a blanket on the sidewalk and kneels praying, apparently keeping track of the number of petitions with chalk marks.

Loudspeakers blare from storefronts (McDonald's is especially deafening but others are worthy contenders). We walk down a sidestreet where vendors have set up shop on the sidewalk offering a variety of cheap goods.

Across the street food vendors preside. One sells sugar cane and as we come alongside he's stripping the barklike outer layer off a piece for a man and woman. He cuts it in half and wraps the bottom in plastic wrap and they suck on it like a lollipop. Bernie says he and his cousins used to do this when he stayed on the farm as a kid.

Next door the spiral-cut pineapples get our vote for the best-looking item on offer here.

A group of men stand in a circle intensely looking at a board on the ground. This is a gambling game. Bernie watches for awhile; I don't think the best place for me is in a crowd of Chinese men on the street.

Another crowd has gathered farther down the street, though, and Bernie calls me over to look this time. It's a painter, using an unusual brush to hand decorate a calendar.

At the grocery we get as many things as we can remember, then take a taxi home.

We watch four episodes of Lost. When we pause for a break I check my e-mail.

Shannon and Damon are coming home tomorrow night rather than Sunday. At least that's the plan if the weather holds.

Tomorrow's plan is changed. No shopping - just cleaning and straightening.