Running in Circles....

So yesterday Samuel didn't have work, they gave him the day off so he could help me get situated and do a lot of running around... and that is exactly what we did... ran in circles. Ma Ying, one of Samuel's friends here in china, was nice enough to help us get cell phones yesterday (i wanted a cell phone so that i could always call samuel or one of the chinese friends he has here in case i was lost or needed help... i just feel safer having it!). so we go to this electronics store and the 1/2 of the first floor is just cell phones, every kind you could dream of, and then more! We decided to go with some LG phones (being loyal to the company who brought us here of course) and we try to buy them, but they wouldn't take Samuel's credit card without his passport, and a copy of the passport wasn't good enough. so we ran back to the apartment (circle #1) to get our passports.
We finally got our phones, and then went to look at fans (b/c of my crazy habit of sleeping with a fan every night) but the fan was so big we were going to have to come back to get it later, we still had to go get SIM cards for our phones. So we run up the street and get SIM cards and activate our phones. (of course they are prepaid minutes so that hopefully we dont pay too much). then we run back to get the fan and go home to drop everything off. (Circle 2)
Now we started all of this at 9:30, and by now it was almost 12... can you believe all of that took 2 1/2 hours! and everything was in walking distance. So we got home and sat down for a few minutes then went back out(everything so far is all up the street, but all the stores are right next to each other... so we just kept going back and forth). Our first stop was some lunch, and Samuel wanted KFC. so we go inside and it all looks normal, i order a chicken sandwich and he orders a chicken sandwich and a thigh. They came with fries and drinks so we were good to go. We find a seat and i take a big bite out of my good old American food. WRONG!!! they put peas, carrots, and corn INSIDE my chicken patty! of course Samuel's sandwich was fine... so why did i get stuck with the strange stuff. Never order a #2 at a KFC in China! its like they are trying to trick me into eating my vegetables. So when we got out of there we walk into the grocery store and i just stopped... completely overwhelmed. it was like walking into a Chinese Costco... only because it looked like a warehouse, not b/c everything was in bulk. So we walk all around and find some yogurt and bread, and much to my disgust there was a whole lamb or cow or something that was hanging in the middle of the store with pieces of it all cut up on tables all around it (i really dont think China is sanitary!). at this point i am so overwhelmed and frustrated b/c i can't find laundry detergent, a hair dryer, hangers... or any food that looks familiar to me besides yogurt (in a wierd container) and bread. So we bought our little bit of food and went back to the hotel (Circle 3).
Now i was getting frustrated... i wanted to take a shower... and so i needed a hair dryer b/c without one my hair would be far beyond manageable (that may make me sound snotty... but my hair is crazy) and i was still frustrated about my gross chicken sandwich (luckily we still had granola bars from America we bought for the plane). So we went out yet again... and this time in the opposite direction... hoping to find some good stores. after walking for a bit we found an ATM (so as to avoid the Credit card passport fiasco again) and then we found a hair salon, which we went into and i made Samuel ask them where we could buy a hair dryer! and 10 minutes later i had one picked out. who would have thought a hair dryer could bring so much relief. Then it was off to find hangers... so Samuel asks the lady at the store we bought the hair dryer at where to buy hangers. She tells us the name of a store and to go up the street... so we walk, and walk... and can't find anything. so we ask someone again, they tell us the same thing... so we keep walking. then we ask and old chinese lady... and she gave us better directions. but when we got to where it looked like we were supposed to go... it was the GROCERY STORE.. the one in which i got so overwhelmed earlier. So we go in and Samuel asks the guy at the door where we can find hangers, and he says "try the 2nd floor"... now how come no one told us the store had 2 floors 2 hours ago when we were here??? so we find our way up there... and they have hangers, hair dryers, clothes, pots, pans, fans, cell phones... it was like a mini walmart upstairs! at this point we both just laughed, we got our hangers and went back to the apartment (Circle 4) and we took a nap (since it was now 4pm)
at 6:30 the phone woke us up... it was time for dinner with some interns at LG. 6 of us (3 interns, 2 wives, 1 baby) went out to an amazing restaurant, it was a 20 min walk, but totally worth it. everything was just so good... and i was finally with people who spoke English, which was my favorite part. Plus one of the other interns paid for our meal (which was 206RMB... for 5 people... which equals about $25 total... SO CHEAP!) then we went back to our apartment, took a shower and fell fast asleep. (Circle 5)

Luckily now i know where to buy almost everything... which is good b/c the entire day i only met 1 person who spoke English... and that was at the restaurant we went to for dinner. Today of course is another day... with more adventures... but i think i will let the day play out before i reveal that! but just know... inspite of a day's frustrations i went to bed with a smile on my face!