I'm warning you now.....LOTS OF PICTURES

well, yesterday i decided it was time for exploring. I decided to walk farther into the market area, into where the shops are. Shopping is definitly different....and a bit stressful. Because i'm obviously a foreigner, as soon as i enter most stores I am followed. And when i say followed, i mean the HOVER. the stand only inches from me and watch every move i make. It makes you very self conscious and even though they know i don't speak chinese they talk to me any ways, obviously trying to sell me something. I did actually buy something though. and even checking out in a store is much different and at first confusing. instead of taking your items up to the counter, as soon as sales girl sees you're holding something to purchase she comes and takes it from you, and then writes out a little receipt. when you're ready to leave, you take your receipt to the cashier and pay she stamps your receipt and you take it back to the girl on the floor who is now holding your items nicely bagged.
HAHAHAHA although i know it's not lady like to post pictures of my underwear on the internet, i juts had to share what i bought! because i know there are alot of you out there who would get a kick out of them
I'm beginning to get quite used to all the staring i get when i go out. I have found that women stare alot more then the men do. i'm still finding very small differences between our cultures that for some reason fascinate me....for example, it was really really hot out yesterday and very bright out. naturally my first instinct was to put on my sunglasses. As i began walking i noticed no one wears sunglasses....at least not in this part of yantai. they all carry umbrellas to shield their eyes. it was funny that something as small as wearing sunglasses made me feel out of place.

I'm really in love with the market. yesterday as i walked around there were so many of you I thought of, and wished you were here. I took pictures of the market and couldn't wait to post them here, but at the same time i knew pictures could never really give you the full expierence. i wish i could record what it sounded like. it's so loud and and choatic. cars and motor bikes are constantly beeping their horns, stores set up loud speakers outside their doors and blast techno music, and of course all the commotion of street venders and teenagers running around.

This is a view of the market as you approach itThis is the first round of restaurantsThis is Further in where all the fun shops areAnother picture of shops

Even now as i look at these pictures they really do not do the market justice at all....it's such a cool place. yes, it realy is as dirty as it looks, but it's so much fun to walk around. well, as long as you don't get hit by a car or bike. There are no real rules for driving here. You can drive where ever you want in any direction you want. you just have to make sure you honk your horn so people know you're coming. sometimes is almost rather comical looking. For some reason these pictures don't make it look nearly as busy as it is. There are people all over the place. There is just so much going on at the market that it is hard to take it all in at once.

I did a little bit more grocery shopping and have discovered something I DO NOT like at all. The milk here is just really gross to me. you buy it in small bags, which i didn't mind. i thought it was kind of fun. But i really dislike the actual taste of the milk. YUUUUCK. so my first western product i miss.....Milk.

Because it was so hot i really could only stand walking around and shoping for about 3 hours. but i did manage to take lots of pictures around campus. hopefully this will give you a sense of what the campus looks like. It's very large. much much larger than kutztown.

This is the building I live inThis building is right beside me. I think of you elizabeth everytime i pass it!!!this is the view from my kitchen This is a dormThe living condtions for students aren't the greatest. As i was walking around campus with sarah on my first day here i found her almost apologizing for the students dorms and explaining that the problem was there are just too many people to house. I have not been inside one yet, but from how Penny and Vicki described their room they are very small and have about 4 people living in them. there are no dryers, so if you click this picture to enlarge it you can see some hanging laundry...other dorms' windows are filled with clothing.Just like Kutztown, Yantai U has aClocktowerThere is a beautiful Lake on campus. I forget it's name.This is the International Affairs Office Building. When you send me mail (hint hint) this is where is goes to. lol