Then I walked 5 miles.

I've gotten lost about 4 times so far today. I try to keep a positive attitude about everything, including being lost, because, really, what else would I be doing? Getting to work on time? Not sweating out a liter and a half?

In the end, I've walked about 5 miles and it's only 3:30pm, still plenty of time to get lost on the way home! For the first two hours, it's ok, kind of cool-- exploring the city without meaning to, seeing beautiful dresses. By the third hour, though, you're extremely sweaty and then I was getting sick of everyone looking at me, then looking about a foot lower than my head... I'm sorry, I had to wear a tank top, it is so hot. I can't help it! And getting bonked in the head by the ladies' umbrellas as two directions try to squeeze by the motorbikes/bicycles parked on the sidewalk. Speaking of sidewalk, all the sidewalks here are made the same way: flat bricks on both sides of a lane of bumpy bricks. The bumpy bricks are really painful to walk on, I don't understand their purpose. Drainage? They're not raised higher than the smooth ones, though. I think only Tamsen and Frank and Ciara know my true level of hatred of walking--seeing so many bikes on the streets here only compounds my frustration about it while I'm busy walking 8 blocks in the wrong direction. Actually, I wouldn't mind being lost at all if I were biking. It would be so much faster and breezier and not-walkie. One of the many thoughts that hit me while walking today was that if they had a critical mass here, it would be freaking CRITICAL-- I see at least 3000 bikes a day.

Also, I get heat rash on my legs! Vaguely itchy, vaguely burny. And now sunburnt shoulders/arms.

On the plus side, I had an hour long conversation with a French pastry chef who thought I ws someone important and gave me every kind of bread imaginable to bring back to the office for sharing. Yea, for perks and not having to buy any food today. That was the whole reason I was out-- doing the piece on the Thumb Plaza commercial center.

I feel more settled now, generally. Last night my roommate went out with some other Americans to celebrate the 4th. They sent to a bar called "I <3 America" and it was all westerners, apparently. I almost went but now I'm glad I didn't! She said, "Oh yeah, I drank all this Grey Goose!" Also, yesterday she said, "Yeah, I'm teaching the kids left and right really well because, like, when the driver we had drove us here from Beijing he would go right every time we said left!"

If you comment, I won't be able to see it until September.. so I'm not intentionally being rude if anyone is. I can't read the blog, it doesn't get through the government firewall, but the page to post from does.