Chinese people go to school, early in the morning.

(k)Nee how(?), mofos. A view from my window!

Today was my very first day at the plant in Suzhou. The Sheraton hotel I am posted at was designed to blend in with the surrounding area, namely a 1500 year old pagoda, "The Pagoda of Auspicious Light". You can also see it from my window. During the trip to the plant, I noticed a man on the street fully surrounded by bicycles and mopeds litterally "horsedrawing" a cart. The social system and working class here are so different than ours... it's interesting.

At lunch time, we induldged in the following epic food:

(Scallops and Shrimp in champagne sauce)

(Steamed Frog and Rice in bamboo shoot)

(below, close up of the frog leg!)

(Eggplant and veggies in a liver sauce)

The food was awesome! None of it was typical regional food. Since our dining party included a guest which wanted some staple food options (he didn't want to test his intestinal fortitude), the place we went to had "set" options of different cultures. Japanese, Western, European... the food reflecting the region. I personally went for the Shrimp and Scallops in Champagne sauce which was delicious. Creamy and very citrus. The eggplant and veggies in liver sauce was delightful also. The frog tasted just like i'd thought, just like chicken but was much more difficult to eat because of the small bones. Like small chicken wings.

After lunch and some more time at the plant, our hotel group went to the "walking street" shopping district. I saw a lot of neat things for sale but nothing piqued my interest to the point of purchase. I did however catch a shot of a grrrrreeeeaaat store in the area. I know a lot of low budget "actresses" that shop at the spot if you get my drift!

Tonight, I plan on catching a train down to Ningbo to see Steve. More to come!