'I Robot' - My landmark to find where I am living (12th floor in background)
It always takes a few days to find one’s feet after a long jet
flight. I was fortunate to be warmly
welcomed by Alice and her family and had a couple of good nights’ sleep, so now
my imperative is to become familiar with my new neighbourhood. I’m so accustomed to travelling in China that
its hard to remember that right now I’m no longer ‘travelling’ but
‘arriving. It’s a very different
feeling.
Met some Ethiopian students just now and realized that there will be new
friends about whom I know nothing – just as happened in Taiwan. Not to devalue friendships with local people,
but in a place like Xian anyone you meet who is not Chinese represents a
potential new friend.
Normally while traveling I carry as little as possible, but now I need to
acquire some essentials. Pillows are
important for example. I can also afford
to spend a day or so simply exploring my neighbourhood. There’s a huge university nearby and numerous
possible useful locations to discover.
It’s a totally different mindset requiring openness to previously
unsuspected pathways and an absence of familiar landmarks.
Pillow acquisition proved easy, so I went for a walk. It took me 1.5 hours to get to a familiar location. Drank some delicious fresh fruit juice. There's an advantage to my appearance in that I easily meet people. Its so different from Taiwan where people never approach you of their own accord. At Starbucks I met a local lady who spoke excellent English with a strong English accent. Such a huge city and it turned out she knows my new employer! Later I found a 1 yuan note on the ground so it must be a lucky day. Took a taxi home which , in spite of horrendous traffic, was a lot easier than walking.
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