Today the school organized a trip to an old part of Shenzhen and I finally brought my big girl camera.  For clarification purposes, I live and work in Shekou, which is a suburb of Shenzhen.  Anyways, we went to visit one of the many fabric stores, which is bursting with all types of materials. The great part is, you can purchase the fabric and have ANYTHING made for cheap.  Some other teachers purchased some soft cotton for sheets for about $12 US and it will probably cost about $5 to $10US to make. A couple of us are already planning a trip back!

So after that, we went to the kitchen store to buy stuff for… wait for it… our kitchens and the store is packed with pretty much anything someone might need.  When we went inside, I noticed through the window that behind the store; was a type of slum. Some people seemed to be living on the roofs, cooking, doing laundry.  For the record, pretty much everyone hang dries their laundry, even yours truly.  But this area was in stark contrast to what I have been living in and around.  It was a bit of an eye opener and I didn’t complain about the heat (or anything) for the rest of the day. However, I have some other photos that were also just taken around Shenzhen. The photo of the guy sitting with no shirt, he asked me to take his picture.   I showed him the image and I swear; I bet he is still smiling about that tonight.

The other thing that I have noticed is that a smile here will get you far.  I usually smile first, but the one I get back is true and genuine.

As a side note, everyone kept telling me to go to this salon and get a hair wash and a blow dry.  Well, my friend Tammy and I went today and it was fantastic.  You lay down and they wash your hair for like 30 minutes (including a scalp massage) and then it’s a mini-massage on the back and arms.  Then, there is a blow dry.  And get this; it only cost $5 US.  I am planning on going back next Sunday!

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