A Map

For the visual learners among us, here's a link to the Google Map with the little pointer right on our apartment. It doesn't get any more exact than this, folks. Go ahead, take a little Google Maps tour of our area... You might notice there's a few other apartment buildings around ours (note the sarcasm here)- welcome to the land of 1.33 billion people!
I enjoyed finding our apartment on there. If you go up (NNE) the street adjacent to our apartment (on the east side), you'll get to the major/bigger road, Zhong Shan Lu. Hang a left on that, go to the next intersection, and on your right is the building containing one of the branches of the California Sunshine Language School which is where we teach. Almost due east of us on the big road (Zhong Shan) is the supermarket where we shop. If you go up Zhong Shan past our school to the next big road and take a right, continue a bit and on your right is the Dragon Tower that I posted picture of earlier.
I think that's about all the good I can tell you about on the map. Speaking of maps, though, I must tell you about how fantastic the driving is here. Many would come and say it's "insane" or "crazy," but I'm here to preach of the positive qualities of the driving experience. Though many traffic rules are thrown to the wind, everyone gets where they need to go. That's the great thing, you just go where you're going to go, with little regard for much else. The one rule that governs most things is that the first person to a spot is the one who gets right of way. Things like "cutting people off," "turning right in front of people," and "narrowly avoiding collision at all times" are in no way negative here. But the great thing is that everyone keeps moving. It's like one big highly synchronized fusion of transportation. I may seem satirical in this, but I actually really think it's effective.
The other side of this is the game of Frogger you get to play whenever crossing a street. Jaclyn and I have become highly skilled in our short time here. We mustn't be worried that cars will hit us. They're just going to keep moving and expect us to do likewise, often with little margin for error. Everyone trusts that the other will keep moving, and it works out pretty well. We've timed our big intersection that we cross every day and have a great knowledge of which direction all threats will be approaching. The expression "He who hesitates is lost" is our guiding force, though words like "flat" or "severed" might go better in place of "lost." But it is pretty fun.

It has gotten cold again, with highs in the teens or lower for the next while. No big whoop.
I haven't taken any new pictures, so you get more old ones. That's Jaclyn in a McDonalds warming up after a cold tour of the city, and myself in front of my animal, an ox.

Til later....