HS Pasaway: Reunited

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Shopping along East Street

Winter is almost around Xi'an. The jackets and coats I bought from Mango and Zara in the Philippines cannot protect me anymore from the morning and evening's cold wind. Temperature is nearing freezing point and everyone is starting to sneeze.

And so last weekend, the Misys girls -Khristine, Arlene and I, decided to shop for winter clothes today. Bao Jinlu and Zahid joined us. BJL recommended the East Street (near the Bell Tower) to be the best place to go. Contrary to what we presumed, the East Street is not the Divisoria of Xi'an. It's just a very busy street where a variety of clothing shops are located.

I shopped for three thick coats. Prices are actually a lot more expensive than the European brands available in the Philippines like my favorite Zara and Debenhams. Aside from the coats, I also bought a couple of scarfs. Could not find gloves to fit my small hands so I decided to look for them in the future. Zahid and Bowen purchased a couple of thick jackets too, which I picked for them. Khristine and Arlene got some kikay long sleeve shirts. I am not sure if they were able to get winter coats, I did not notice.

After four hours of traversing half of East Street, we felt tired and hungry. We were all carrying a bunch of paper bags and we looked like the typical foreigners new in China shopping for lots of things. Hahahaha. We were so scared we might be tempting someone to rob us.

We went to a popular Peking Duck restaurant near the Bell Tower after Zahid had his pants fixed in one of the shops where we bought most of our stuff. The restaurant was not the classy type, but it served good food. I did not like duck very much but I felt so full when we left the restaurant.

After checking out the remaining shops along the same street, we decided everything is enough for the day. Zahid went first while Bao asked us to visit a shoe store before we take a cab home. I advised him to buy Adidas, my favorite brand of sport stuff (aside from Speedo), and he said he would check it out tomorrow at the international mall nearby my apartment. So off we went…

All in all today, I spent around 3,300RMB for three winter coats, two scarfs and a knitted long sleeve sweater. It's around PHP24,000 when you convert it to peso. It is never true that things are cheaper in China...

Addicted to badminton...

Having some time off to play in the courts actually gives me a sense of solitude. Ironic as it may seem, playing somehow forces me to think of myself alone and learn things the lighter way...

Since i had a complete abortion in 2004, I stopped involving myself in sports. From elementary days until after I gave birth to Shami, I had been playing volleyball to release stress from work and meet new people. I could not say I was a very good athlete, though, but it always felt like I could easily move inside the court like a pro. I feel I am light and sexy, even if I weigh almost 115 pounds now. When I was with Misys Manila, a colleague of mine invited me to play with her friends and even if I had no experience holding a racket, I found it interesting to try playing badminton. That was before I realized I was pregnant with my supposedly third baby.

Fortunately, now that Khristine is here with me in China, who is one of the best female badminton players I ever knew, I get to play again. I had to buy a not so expensive racket and some sportswear to complete my get-up. We usually play on Saturdays, and try to reserve courts two weekdays more every week. Most DCFS boys join us, plus Zahid and our boss, Geoff. The project manager of Equation in DCFS is also one great sports girl herself. I haven't seen such strong arms as hers in any other women ever. I avoid playing against her in courts. Hahaha. The longest time we were able to play was five hours, with around eight people shifting plays after every game of four. The most frustrating was when we reserved one court for only two hours while twelve players must have the chance to play more than once. Each game usually lasts 15 to 30 minutes.

The cost of courts here in the Hi-tech Development Zone in Xi'an is far more expensive than the courts we could rent in Makati in the Philippines. They look the same, though. Maybe, the heating expense is a big factor...

After badminton, we either go straight for dinner or play more at the recreation center of Digital China. The gym where we play badminton is just two blocks away from the DCFS Building. In the recreation area, you can either dance or play "sipa" (yes, Chinese people play "sipa" too), play billiards or table tennis. We can also go there at lunchtime during weekdays if we less prefer to take a short nap. Amazing!!!

I have to sleep early tonight to prepare for another busy weekend, included in my itinerary is my badminton session with the usual people from work.