Touring around Tianjin
The first few days in Tianjin were rainy and gloomy. Much preferred over it being sunny and humid, so that hasn’t stopped us from seeing a few sights and exploring the area around where we would be living. Fellow teachers Lynn and Crystal took us around Tianjin our second day here. Our first stop was the Tianjin Eye, which driving from the train station to our apartment the day before, was the first sight I saw in the distance. They have just opened up a ferris wheel in Orlando, but I didn’t get to ride it before I left, so I was super excited to see this one! Unfortunately, it wasn’t in operation due to the weather, but it’s something to definitely look forward to.
Crystal and Lynn took us to Tianjin Ancient Culture Street, or Guwenhua Jie, an area not too far from my apartment where handmade local items are sold, such as clay masks of the Chinese opera and wooden hair combs. There are also plenty of traditional Tianjin street foods available. The items in the stores are expensive, as this area caters to tourists (maybe not so if you are better at bargaining in Mandarin than I am!) but the prices to sample local snacks were very reasonable. I had street food and survived!
I couldn’t tell you the names of things I ate, but can describe them. First were these delicious mini rice cakes with jam on top that had the texture of a cornbread muffin, an egg and flour crepe with bread folded into it, and tea soup. The tea soup wasn’t for me, but I loved the rice cakes and crepe!
We walked around a few different malls for the rest of the afternoon. I don’t think I will ever get used to how huge the malls in China are. The last one we ended up at had four floors, but there were basically two of these malls next to each other. Way too many to tackle in one day, so we stuck to a couple of floors. Clothes are more expensive than I thought they were going to be here. I mean, I guess it’s expensive for me, your friendly neighborhood professional thrifter. It’s a little disappointing considering I packed really light in hopes of picking up some things here, but it looks like that will have to wait. I did hear of a popular website for clothes though, called taobao.com. The entire website is in Mandarin, though, of course.
Our late lunch was a meal in one of the many restaurants of this mall, called TJ Tex Mex. I know it’s a little strange to want to eat Mexican while in China, but for some reason, I always crave Chipotle when I’m traveling. It just reminds me of home, and I also know that Mexican is always a safe bet with my allergies. I ordered a Guacamole Bowl, and while it wasn’t Chipotle, it hit the spot and I was very satisfied.
Tianjin and I have gotten along quite well so far. As a bonus, I’m pretty sure I spotted a Mexican restaurant in the mall that was close to our apartment. And, I’m pleased to inform y’all that to this date, I’ve taught three classes! I will share more details about my teaching center, my first few lessons, and the students soon… but to say the least, it’s been great so far.
Here’s to a four day weekend to prep for my lessons to come. Hope you all have a terrific week!
Love from Tianjin ♥
JACKIEXPLORES 