The food here is marvelous - from the silk worms in the market (haven't tried that yet), to the grocery store chocolate bars with security tags (chocolate is relatively new and pricey), to KFC (yes, the Colonel is here with a fleet of bikes to deliver to your door).
Our favorite corn lady always has a distinctive call, making it easy to track her down. Like many folks here, her cell phone is always at the ready.
This butcher had an enthusastic audience (including a dog who is just outside the picture). Inner Mongolia is the land of meat and wheat, rather like our Canadian roots.
Bread pockets are universal - be they pita, quesadillas, dumplings, or baozi - and are good any time of day.
A fall treat is candied apples and grapes.
Just outside the College gates are steam tables set up with grilled meats and vegetables. Make your selection, put it in the bowl provided, and eat up. Students line up for this one.
The mid-Autumn Moon festival here is a three day holiday, so instead of teaching we enjoyed some of Baotou's parks.
Musical groups gather to play among the trees. These aren't buskers and onlookers just seem to come and go. We also heard traditional opera, and saw tai chi and sword dancing as well as some serious card and checker games.
In the plaza some older men were doing calligraphy, writing ephemeral poems on the flagstones with water and big pointed brushes.
We buy fruit and vegies from these friendly sellers on our street -- fresh, inexpensive, and convenient.
The lake at nearby Workers' Park is a great place for a Sunday stroll; there's a small zoo, children's rides, and a hilltop pagoda.
So far we've said what we're doing but not much about where we live, which is now feeling like home, sweet home.
Our home in Baotou is above a row of shops on a busy street -- that's the way we like it, since we're city people. Our front windows are on the 2nd residential floor.
Looking out our front window, across the street is one of the entrance gates of the College where we teach.
Our favorite corn lady always has a distinctive call, making it easy to track her down. Like many folks here, her cell phone is always at the ready.
This butcher had an enthusastic audience (including a dog who is just outside the picture). Inner Mongolia is the land of meat and wheat, rather like our Canadian roots.
Bread pockets are universal - be they pita, quesadillas, dumplings, or baozi - and are good any time of day.
A fall treat is candied apples and grapes.
Just outside the College gates are steam tables set up with grilled meats and vegetables. Make your selection, put it in the bowl provided, and eat up. Students line up for this one.
