A simple trip to the post office...

So everything here is a big deal to accomplish... take my trip to the post office today. After waiting in the drizzle for a taxi, I got to the post office, but had to call a friend (who speaks mandarin) to ask my driver to stay so that I could catch a ride back to my apartment and not have to walk to the subway station to catch a bus/taxi.

Once inside the post office, I tried to pick up a package, but they told me, through sign langague that i had to go outside and upstairs to find my package... OK... so I tried to buy stamps. After figuring out how much would take for one letter to America, I used my sign language and my counting skills to tell him that I wanted to mail yi, er, san, si, wu, liu letter... only to find out that i would have to use the rest of my cash to buy the stamps(of course they didn't take cards...) and I wouldn't have enough money to pay for my cab... One problem solved though as I got stamps and escaped the crowd that was around me waiting as I used my limited sign language to try to get stamps...

Now to find my package... I had to go around back to where they unload the trucks, and after finding my slip again and dropping my wallet in a puddle, I finally showed my package slip to someone that took me through halls and upstairs past all of these offices to a backroom where a at least 15 postmen were smoking - one of them said "Hi" in a not very comfortable way, and i was just praying that i wasn't left there while my package was searched for! the postman with my package got it from his office, and then I got back in the taxi to go home, thankful that the cab driver hadn't left me during this 15+minute excursion. once back to the LQ I had to ge tmoney from the ATM to pay the driver... all the time hoping that he wasn't totally fed up with this crazy American that can't speak chinese or get her life put together!!! So that was my adventure to simply get a package and buy stamps... keeps me on my toes, and always relying on the one who placed me here. You just have to keep up a positive attitude - there isn't any other way to survive.

I'll post pictures and tell you all about my trip to Harbin over Christmas hopefully in a day or two! It was a wonderful adventure in an ice wonderland - they certainly know how to make the most of their frigid weather!!! Off to sleep and get up to run ... gotta get back in the routine as the Great Wall Marathon is only 5 months away... :)