New Camera and Phone

Today Matthew and I ate breakfast at the Camellia. They have a really good selection of food which makes Matthew and I happy. I can eat fruit, rice, veggies, bread and rice noodle soup which is nice. After breakfast Matthew and I checked out of the room and caught a number 5 bus into the city. What we didn't realize was where the bus stopped we took it one to far and had to walk back to meet LongTian. Lucky for us even though we were late she had waited for us. She helped us look at cameras and took us to the stores. We got a phone card at China Mobile but didn't see a phone we liked there as much. We had gone into a store for electronics that had one we liked. We wanted to get it in blue but they didn't have blue so we went to the same store in the Mall where we had started to see if they had blue. For some reason the camera was cheaper at the store on the Mall than the store out by the library.

She also helped us get bus cards that way we don't have to be paying 1 yuan every time we get on a bus. This way we get free transfers within an hour. Matthew and I really need bus cards as we are always taking the wrong bus or something as we still don't really know where things are and which buses go where. We took LongTian to lunch at a Latin American Restaurant. I was beginning to miss beans so it was nice to have them again. It was a nice little place and we had smoothies too. Well Matthew and LongTian had smoothies and I had a little ice cream. It is funny here I see people in their winter jackets and they are eating ice cream. It seems rather contradictory to me but I guess they like ice cream and maybe they get hot in the jackets so they need to cool down with ice cream. That is my theory anyway.

After lunch we went back to the Mall. I thought that because it was a big store I would be able to use my debit card but they said only credit cards from China were aloud so we had to go and get money from an ATM to buy the Camera. LongTian helped us buy the phone we had enough to get it without going to an ATM. They have an interesting procedure for buy something. First you go to the counter where the thing you want is and look at a model. Then you say you want this one and they go and see if they have it if they don't the come back and tell you we don't have this one but we have it in this color instead. No one had a blue phone for me so we got black and red. Then they give you a card which electronically says how much it is. Then you go and pay for it. After you pay you go back to the display area and give them the receipt. Then the go and get the phone and they show you how it works and let you try it so that you know that it works. It is so different from the way it works in the states. Matthew and I got the cheapest phone it is a little LG phone. I'm hoping that maybe Singapore has a similar system and we get use the phone there as well by just getting a chip and putting it in the phone.

LongTian had to leave by 4 so after we got the phone she got on a bus to go home and Matthew and I went and got money to get the camera. We got a Casio. I think it might actually be nicer than the camera I had. However, that wouldn't be hard as my camera was 6 years old. So far I like it but I've only had in 16 hours so I haven't used it much yet. Here is a picture of me by a lion in the Mall. Matthew and I decided to go out exploring a little and walked back to our hotel. On the way back there are these cartoon like tigers, as 2010 is the year of the tiger. They are pretty cute. However, I think they look a lot like mice.

When we got back to the hotel we got out our computers and waited until we could head out to our new apartment. We are renting the room we looked at on Thursday. We ate some dinner at the Camellia and then headed over to Jinpeng's. We have a nice room with a really hard matrices. Not sure how that will work out. I think it may make up bones hurt but may be I'll get used to it after a while. At least now I'm not going to be wondering where I'm staying each day. That will feel nice.