The very first day in Changsha, I was still trying hard to become accustomed to the time change. In the morning, I walked around the outdoor markets for the very first time. The interesting thing about China is that as soon as you walk outside, you are hit with four or five different scents all at once. At times, I must admit, it was a sensory overload. That particular morning, I purchased a golden, twisted, fried dough stick which tasted delicious. I also realized just how cheap the food actually was. In fact four or five different fried dough sticks cost barely one dollar in USD. In addition to my fried dough (agreed not very healthy), I purchased this bean tea. I was informed, many times, that this bean tea was almost the equivalent to a protein shake. It was beans that were grind up with a bit of sweetness. 

Side note: It was today that I learned that many of the individuals selling food on the streets are not actually business or restaurant owners. In fact, many of them sell simple treats just to supplement their income. In addition, I learned that, in Changsha, you are responsible for collecting your own change from a box next to the individual who is selling the goods. I feel like there must be a lot of trust between people in China if no one ever worries about someone taking too much change or too little change from the box. 

The hospital: After the dough and tea, we went to visit Xiao's grandmother at the hospital. The hospital was certainly another eye-opening experience. The inside of the hospital was so packed that it was almost impossible to move. Apparently, there are thousands of people that visit the hospital daily. You do not need an appointment with a doctor. Instead, you take a ticket and you wait your turn. The doctors in China must be physically and mentally exhausted by the end of the day because they see hundreds of patients per day and thousands per week!

Visiting Friends: We went to, what seemed to be, a very fancy restaurant close to Changsha. I began to notice that all dining places in this city are set up so that everyone eats around a large Lazy Suzan. Dishes and plates of different food are placed on the Lazy Suzan. If you want something, you simple turn the Lazy Suzan until your desired dish is in front of you. I certainly was not the best at the Lazy Suzan etiquette. Sometimes, it seemed that the Lazy Susan was spinning around so fast that I did not have enough time to grab the food with my chopsticks and stick it into my mouth! The place was incredibly elegant. In fact, we even had our own personal bathroom with a REAL toilet (not a hole in the ground.) 

After eating our lunch, we headed to the supermarket where we shopped for quite some time. The supermarket was ridiculous at first sight. It was a supermarket but also a mall at the same time. The food selection at the supermarket was unreal. There were meats of all sizes hanging in the produce section, there were ten different types of tofu and quite an extensive snack area. The snacks in China are all prepacked in colorful plastic and then air-sealed to prevent bacteria from getting inside. THerefore, it is okay to sell stinky tofu pieces and bird's feet. Both items are preserved forever. After discovering the mall and perusing through the market, all of us were completely exhausted. It was around 4 o'clock in the afternoon which really was like 4 in the morning (American time.) All of us went back to our headquarters and fell asleep for a long time only to awake around 3 or 4 in the morning Changsha time. Time change is a real, confusing thing.