Day one. Here we go.

I was going to start my missives from China with a string of observations and funny moments, but after my first solo trip in the country, I thought this a much better place to start.

I have been in China roughly 12 hours. After an fun afternoon of Cassie and her husband taking me electronics shopping for a adapter (5 story mall solely devoted to electronics) and then an awesome/very different authentic lunch at their favorite restaurant (replete with chicken feet (did I eat one? what am I a savage? of course I did)) and fish in a broth that can roughly be described as what I picture Satan's bathwater to look like, I was on my own an in need of a few necessities (read: TP, towel, and food). Cassie had described (in her own way) the way to my local grocery store. I recalled the walking directions as best I could and took off. Mind you, I have had about 6 hours sleep in 48, so this is not Seamus in top form.

The walk started off strong, then got a bit dodgy. I was instructed to go into an underground walking tunnel and the out the other end, but it turns out there are more than one tunnels in the area, many more. This is where I somehow became an amalgamation of Marco Polo (wandering the uncharted East) and Mr. Bean (not saying a damn word, dumb look on face).

After somehow picking the right rabbit hole (though at the time unbeknownst to me) I pop out the other end into the heart of one of the cities main shopping districts. So I jump from, "man, there are a lot of people" to "nope, now there are a lot of people", very quickly. I wander (roughly following Cassie's rough direction) the way I thought I should be going (perhaps my glasses are a divining rod?), but to no avail. I'm about to give up and head home, because I'm doing my best not to look like the little lost tourist standing in one place, haplessly spinning and looking up (perhaps a personal fault, but one I must bear), when I look up and see the big Carrefour sign. I've won the battle, but the war is far from over.

I'll do my best to keep the rest brief. I wandered the store long enough to collect all the items on my short list. Highlights: 15 minutes in the hygiene section staring at shampoo/conditioner bottles while everyone else stared at me (I've found this to be a common occurrence, I just stare back and they stop). Some near misses there that would have lead to some odd hair. Other highlight: in the clothing section I pick up a shirt, bring it to an employee and point specifically at the hanger (body language of this fashion is near universally understood, it's not like I was licking or jumping on the stupid hanger) in an attempt to find where they might be (they had to have some in the store, this place was Super Target China style). The lovely lady assisting me said some clearly smartass response, elliciting a chuckle from her co-worker (I may not have mastered Chinese yet, but I am fluent in the art of sass) and then she shrugged. I left it there and moved on to someone without a clear disdain for the foreign/feeble of mind. If anyone out there is concerned, I walked out of the store with hangers; it's all good.

Went to check out, realized they don't have bags (paper/plastic) at the cashier. I grabbed the nearest bag I could find. Hint: there is a picture of it somewhere on this page.

I'll leave it at that. I'm tired, a bit loony, and in need of winding down.

Will I find my way back to the store? Perhaps not. Will I try again? I must.

Day one in the bag. I'll mark this one a victory.

PS. Please forgive spelling, punctuation, formatting mistakes. First day here, no sleep, just wanted to get the story up. Future stories will be better groomed.