Post Office
I am feeling better and am back in class. I had to mail some documents back to the states today and went to the post office with Michael:
In general, I have to say that the office was a bit hectic. There were 3 people working and 25 customers. No lines. No order. Just everyone pushing and crowding around the windows and talking at the guy in unison. I was glad Michael was there because I would have been too courteous and never gotten anything done. We got a form that was written in English and mailed the documents. It cost 150 Yuan (just under $20) to send the documents back. The workers of course had no idea about how long it would take or how we could trace it….but I didn’t expect that they would.
Having eaten Chinese food 3 times a day for the last 2 weeks, I needed a break and decided to try and find some western food. I headed down to XinBai plaza where I saw a pizza hut. I know….pizza hut isn’t the apex of fine cuisine, but I grew up on their pizza and have grown to like the stuff.
The first thing I noticed was that the restaurant was REALLY fancy. There were three hostesses at the door who greeted me in English. On the inside, everything was well decorated with nice marble and fancy chandeliers, there was a second story, and the staff was well dressed and presentable. Shocking. I took a seat by the window and opened up the menu. It was in English and Chinese so I had no problem ordering. The descriptions were a bit funky–cheese pizza was described as cheese with spicy sauce even though it was just plain tomato sauce. The waitress understood my English. There were a few odd items on the menu….like eel pizza….so I just stuck with my favorite–cheese pizza.
The pizza tasted exactly the same as it does in the US. The food came quickly and was exactly what I wanted–a break from Chinese food. The meal was expensive for China (60 Yuan–$7.50 US), but well worth it.
November 16th, 2005 at 9:24 am
Half way around the world for a pizza. Can’t beat it! You sure know how to have fun.
Glad you are feeling better.
November 16th, 2005 at 10:55 am
For sure was not the neapolitan pizza I’m getting ready to taste (just few more weeks and I’ll be back to Napoli). Over there we don’t have any “fancy” pizza HUT….if one day you’d like to visit (if you survive to 9 months of Chinese food) I’ll show you around.
Instead, a post office in Napoli will look the same (maybe a little worst in terms of crowdedness and craziness) to you.
Have fun,
November 16th, 2005 at 8:55 pm
Jerome……LOL….I love the Chinese food here….I just needed a break
Davide…..sei fortunato….voglio pizza come mangerai. Mi piacerebbe venire a Napoli a trovarti……spero che io lo faccia presto. Credo che la posta a Napoli sia peggiore….pero non volevo dire questo quando ho scritto il racconto
November 16th, 2005 at 10:03 pm
Es increible que puedas encontrar pizza en un lugar tan lejano, pero me alegro de que hayas podido hacerlo y te haya gustado. Me imagino que cuando vuelvas aca, no vas a comer comida chima por mucho timepo – y no te culpo.. Me parecio muy cara la pizza en relacion o comparada a los precios de la comida que describiste hace unos dias.
El proximo viaje va a ser para Colombia, asi que te puedes ir alistando. Recibe saludes de la casa medina. Y avisame si encuentras una chinita bonita que te cuide mientras estes alla..
November 16th, 2005 at 10:34 pm
Viejo….si….es tan lejano pero hay mucho de los estados unidos (voy a decirlos mas entre algunos dias). Gracias por el commentario e saludo de mi casa.