1. The streets and sidewalks are crowded
2. The cobblestone sidewalks are uneven and missing pieces left and right
3. There are street vendors blocking sidewalks all over the place
4. I get enough stares as it is.
I was right to be concerned; all of these reservations were affirmed. I was stared down like I haven’t been stared down yet (who is to say if it was my skin colour, my running tights or my atrocious form). The sidewalks were jam-packed (serves me right for going during rush hour) and yes, I even had to jump out of the way to avoid a car on the sidewalk. You heard me, on the sidewalk.
Luckily, I had scoped out a track on the bus ride to school and I successfully navigated the maze of streets to find it! The track itself is a beautiful synthetic 400 meter track and is wider than 8 lanes. The turf in the middle is real grass and they had just mowed it so the smell was something I haven’t experienced yet it China. Needless to say, it was quite enjoyable (sadly, we haven NOT enjoyed many of the smells in China to date especially by our building door. We think KFC throws their grease and garbage out right beside it). The other visitors to the track were something to behold. Of the few dozen people using the track, I might have been the only one wearing running shoes. We have been telling our Pudong friends about the fashionable women in Qingpu and yesterday solidified this belief. Most of the women on the track were in heeled boots!! And as the Chinese do not sweat as easily as we do, most were in their everyday clothes.
I’ve mentioned before that the Chinese are really into fitness. Sometimes my office mate will go out in the middle of the day and skip. The track is free for people to use as are all of the attached gym facilities! It’s incredible and something the Canadian government should invest in. Outside by the track is various fitness equipment and people of all ages impress me with their agility and gymnastics abilities. One workout I don’t understand, however, and is really common, is walking backwards around the track. There were a few people doing it while I was running!
As a closing note, I just wanted to mention the weather; while the mornings are still cold, it has warmed up significantly during the day. Two weeks ago, when we landed, they had more snow than they have had in 20 years (an inch). Today I came to school in my winter coat and had it off with my cardigan sleeves rolled up at lunch time! I can only image what summer is going to be like!