\u00a0Next I went to a large electronics\/home appliance store remaining amid the rubble of neighbourhood destruction. It consisted of four or five floors of bright and shiny necessities for the modern home. It had a few computers but no accessories.<\/p>\n
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The large \u00a0electrical shop is close to this.\u00a0 A new six lane road is being constructed, hence the destruction.<\/p>\n
I noticed a department store nearby that I\u2019d never been in before so I took a quick look around downstairs and rode the escalators up. It too was missing what I wanted. Winter clothing was in stock with what seemed like thousands of wool coats. Clothing in combinations of mainly drab tertiary colours abounded. It\u2019s unusual for me to see a woman wearing a top consisting of a single primary colour, especially if she\u2019s middle aged or older. I\u2019m about the only one walking around in unadorned white or bright coloured tops. I could write a whole post on clothing, but not today.<\/p>\n
Streetscape<\/p>\n
While I was out I noticed that electrical boxes in the streets had been painted and even saw some of the painters in action; a new development to improve the streetscape. The boxes were still noticeable, probably more so, but the focus was different. Designs included some sort of moral message and simple pictures. The same thing happened in Canberra a couple of years ago. There the design emphasis appeared to be more on an artistic statement, places of interest or intrinsic Canberra entities.<\/p>\n
Two of the boxes taken from a bus.<\/p>\n Another from street level.<\/p>\n \u00a0Chinese Tea<\/p>\n I remember being fascinated by our driver in Beijing drinking his tea from a screw top jar during my first trip to China. This still happens but now days most people have a purpose made jar or container. I bought some tea bags in Beijing when I first arrived and they lasted a long time. Eventually I had to shop for tea, couldn\u2019t find bags and had to buy leaves. The leaves are tightly bound in some way and expand in water. There are numerous types of tea available ranging from cheap to very expensive. It can be bought in sealed packets or by weight from jars or boxes. Tea in Yunnan comes in all shapes and sizes as described in an earlier post. There are various tea rituals if one wants to spend the time and effort. The tea I bought was cheap and I actually preferred the taste of the teabags.<\/p>\n My cheap tea leaves before adding water.<\/p>\n The same tea leaves after the addition of water.<\/p>\n College Life<\/p>\n \u00a0The first year students have had two weeks of life at college. During that time they wore khaki clothing and spent their time learning marching, chanting\/singing songs and how to adapt to college life. The college resounded to the sounds of marching and chanting. They start classes tomorrow.<\/p>\n This was taken from my office window and shows some of the new students and their second year student trainers\u00a0in action.\u00a0 I have four classes each week\u00a0 on the fifth level\u00a0in the pink building.\u00a0 There is no lift.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n