Being a Tourist

Yesterday night the city was full of buses, cars, bikes and motorcycles, but
more than ever, it was full of people, and this time, some were not Chinese.
We took a leap that night to be a little more adventurous. Me and the
volunteers decided to try something a little more in the area
of Chinese culture, so we grabbed two taxis to the Drum tower. The tower
was next to the bell tower and that where me and Kelsey were dropped off and
so we had to dodge the moving buses, cars, bikes, motorcycles and even the
people to get to our friends who were dropped off where they were supposed to
be. Kelsey and I found them taking pictures of each other in front of this
tower and were also being asked by others to take a pictures for them. The
odd thing was, is they wanted us in their pictures.
The market was a very large tourist attraction. We joined the crowd and
followed them in the direction they went most. Everything we saw was either
hand made, home cooked, or an antique. Some people even went there to sell one
object just for some extra money. Megan sat down to rest. A man offered to
buy her water bottle. She refused him and we continued to venture into the
unknown. Smiling as I went, I was tortured by my feet. I had no knowledge of
what the environment would be like and had worn high heels. It was hot
outside and so I decided to where a skirt, but I had no better shoes to
put on with that skirt other than my high heels I brought to wear on Sundays.
A beggar woman sat on the side walk with a tiny white handful of one
Yuans, she was old and not well dressed in any way. Her teeth were rotting and
I wondered how she was ever able to walk. It reminded me of the
orphans who's parents did not want some of them because they thought they
wouldn't take care of them when they had gotten older. I felt pity for this
old woman, but then their was also a feeling of shame, as if she was the
problem for her problems. I didn't think of it anymore after I passed. My
eyes looked towards a small shop with beautiful combs that looked as if they
were made from petrified wood, but looking at the price, they couldn't have
been. I bought one and bargained until I got it down to 20 Yuan, which was
about 4 dollars in US money. I found another attraction that led me to buy a
beautiful Chinese compass made out of wood with carvings. It was shaped into
a small turtle and I thought of my young women's group. For this year of
girls camp we enjoyed the turtle for part of our theme. I put it
into my bag. I offered her 30 yuan for it, she laughed as if i was joking
and told me it was worth 80. I finaly bargained at last 60 and she agreed.
The last thing I bought from the market was a black pottery turning pot. It
plays music. I tried to play some tunes, but I think I need more practice.
The man offered it to me for only 15 Yuan. I was surprised at his offer and of course
took it. He carved my name into the side of the pot. I said xie xie (thank you ) and we
went back out of the crowd to find two more taxis back to the orphanage.