Another weekend in Wuxi ..........

Laowais are just not capable of dinking people like the Chinese are... (Note the locals laughing in the background!)

Despite me thinking that it was a boring weekend, there is still plenty to see and do in Wuxi, everywhere you go there is something new and strange to look at. The weekend began with 2 hours of massage with the girls followed by some experimentation at a local Chinese restaurant. I had been to the restaurant earlier in the week with a friend who could read and speak Chinese, so I was feeling fairly confident that we could get by despite the menu being in Chinese and having no pictures to help. We managed to convey the message that we did not want to eat any internal organs or the feet of any animal and proceeded to point at things randomly on the menu. The message appeared to be clear and we enjoyed a beautiful Chinese meal. As we left, Tracy decided that now would be a good time for me to practise my 'dinking' skills on the bike - hmmm, after 2 hours of massage and several beers, maybe not! We caused quite a scene as we attempted to ride down the street.

Saturday night was a highlight for me - I finally watched the 'Sex and the City' movie and it was fantastic! I cooked up a lovely pasta meal and enjoyed a bottle of bubbles - ahh, heaven! I also had reason to celebrate with the bubbles.....My brother has convinced me that I am capable of running the Shanghai half marathon at the end of November (I was planning to do it next year), so I began training and in my first real run, managed to run for a whole hour!

The only 'pretty' sight I found on my bike ride

I woke up on Sunday feeling a little sore - my legs from the run and my head from the bubbles. I decided to head out for a bike ride to explore Wuxi. Riding is a great way to see how people really live, I didn't see a single Westerner in the whole 2 hours I was out! Unfortunately most of the sights I saw were construction sites, not a lot of 'pretty' sights! One thing I am really missing is a good steak and I was looking forward to some steak and red wine to finish the weekend off but it was not to be. We took one bite of the steak to realise that it was quite possibly the worst meat ever - we did enjoy the red wine and potatoes though! Back school today for another busy week ahead. Take care, Anna.