I feel bad that I haven't posted anything for over a week but we just don't have as much time at home as we used to.
One of the things I've notice about Tianjin is how fast things change. And since I don't speak the language on a literate basis, I don't have a chance to find out about changes before they happen and so they always seem so abrupt. A couple of weeks ago I went to the market to buy some fruits and vegetables and the gate was locked. I couldn't understand what was going on but I felt devastated because this was the place I shopped and where I knew people who seem to like me, that was close to home and was convenient and I knew where things were.
So then later on that day I found out it was only a temporary closing and it would reopen in two weeks after some remodeling. I was very relieved. Now it is reopened and very nice.
Then, a few days later, a small group of stores that sold odds and ends for electrical and pumbing needs and a couple of other little shops was torn down. I rode by one morning and the shops were gone and there was a pile of rubble across the street. It just seemed very sad to me that those people's places of business were just torn down. Now, I actually have no way of knowing if it was sudden for the people who owned the shops or not. They could have had months of warning, I just don't know. This morning when I rode by on my bike they were planting shrubs at this location.
Last week on my way to somewhere, I was riding down Tongan Rd, just outside the south gate of the college, and I noticed that the high school very close to here is empty and being gutted. I immediately assumed that it was being torn down but a week into the process I'm not so sure, it may just be a complete remodel. We'll see. I should take some pictures if they start tearing it down.
Those are the thoughts I wish I had written last week. I'll try to catch up some this week. We went to Beijing again on Saturday and I got to go to the Temple of Heaven and take some pictures. I think some of them turned out pretty well.
So hope that I find time to post more this week.