Anna's Next Adventure: The morning journey to school .....

Everyday, I bike to school and it's quite an interesting journey sometimes. Each day, I see something new and often quite bizarre. So, to share it with everyone back at home, here is a commentary and some pictures on the daily ride to school.

7.10 - Leave my apartment, get the lift downstairs, put my face mask on and off I go.

7.12 - Wave good morning to the security guard at home.

7.13 - Wait at the pedestrian lights ...... not for the lights to change but for a break in the constant flow of bikes, scooters, cars and buses. Cars mostly stop at the lights but bikes and scooters, never.

7.14 - Breathe a sigh of relief as I cross the road and begin to cycle down the small, tree-lined street opposite my apartment. The street is fairly quiet and there often aren't any cars going down it, just bikes and pedestrians. Half way down, there is an intersection where buses often drop off workers for the nearby factories. The trees are lovely and you would expect to hear birds chirping down here, but all you hear is the steady hum of the factories on either side of the road.

7.17 - Turn right onto a bigger street and dodge the street cleaners who are always here. It constantly surprises me to see so many street sweepers and people picking up rubbish - you would think that it would be better to educate the community not to drop the rubbish in the first place. It still horrifies me seeing people throwing rubbish out of the car windows.

7.18 - Turn left into the newly constructed TaiShan Lu. I always bike up the wrong side here - it's funny how quickly you begin to disobey many road rules here in China! The locals don't follow them, so it's easier and probably safer to do as they do.

7.19 - Arrive at the dreaded intersection where the lights haven't been working for months. I sit and wait for a break in the traffic. Here, I often follow the Chinese - I choose a person to follow along behind and when they go, so do I. It seems to have worked so far!

7.22 - Over the intersection and continue along TaiShan Lu. One side of the road is still being redeveloped, so I have to bike down the wrong side most of the way. Along the way, I pass many young people walking to catch their bus, munching on steamed buns or savoury pancake breakfasts, washed down with soy milk concoctions. There is a lot of construction going on along here and I often have to dodge trucks and diggers whilst trying to overtake them.

7.23 - Turn right into XiShi Lu and bike for a little bit then turn left into Regent International Garden. The buildings have finally been finished in the complex, we are now just waiting for them to fill up with lots of international families that will send their children to our school!