Sodome

I got an electric bike! I'm glad that I finally worked up the courage to do it. I'm so afraid of making big purchases. I mean, this was only $350, but to me, that feels like a lot a lot a lot. The only thing I've ever really bought that was more expensive was plane tickets, and those are easy to justify to myself.

When I went to the store, I looked up and down at the rows of bikes for about twenty minutes, then thought to myself, "If they sell locks and helmets, I'll just buy it now." I spotted the locks, but not any helmets. I asked a lady if they had them with the help of a Chinese dictionary on my phone, and she just laughed and said, "Haha, no." In Chinese, of course, but the emotion was clear.

She actually got me the keys of the bike and let me drive it around the store, which was called Carrefour. I found that pretty weird, but I guess it's a normal thing there.

Actually, before I got to that point, I walked out of the store. I saw an ATM machine, which would be the only way for me to get the 2,200RMB needed to pay for it. I stood there, leaning against it, for about ten minutes, possibly more, mulling over the decision. Should I buy it? Shouldn't I? Will they have locks? If I get the money in my hand, will I feel forced? Is it worth it? Will I die? Will I use it enough? Is $350 really cheap enough? Do I want an electric? Should I just say f*** the license and plates and get a gas one? They're faster, you know!

While I was mulling, a white guy and an Asian guy (native English speaker) walked over to me and said, "Hey, random question." Seriously: "Do you or any other non-Chinese people you know have a really good knowledge of Tai Qi? We're making a documentary about it and need foreigners that are good at it. Not that good, just pretty good." Unfortunately, I didn't, but I told them that I worked with a bunch of foreigners and I could ask around on Monday.

(Today was Monday. I forgot to do it, and would have continued forgetting if I hadn't written this post.)

After they left, I decided to just screw it and do it. I told myself I was going to stop living like such a poor person when I came to China and not be afraid to buy a little bit of convenience from time to time, and now seemed like the time to do it. I should mention that earlier in the day, I had spent 2 hours walking to a western store to get a towel, pillow, and pillow case. It would have taken me minutes on a bike. I realized that I could have made about $60 at my job online if I had biked instead of walked, at which point I realized my cheapness was getting ridiculous.

It's a pretty nice bike as far as electrics go, actually. It has two huge batteries, so it has a good range - apparently you can safely take three or four round-trips to fairly distant locations in the city before you have to worry about it, especially if you're light, alone, or not pushing it all the way. It looks pretty nice, has a nice seat, a storage space in the back and underneath the seat, etc.

I actually drove it out of the store and back to the school. I went down a little street with not too many lights on and not too many people. I realized that I would have been straight up petrified had I been in the US, but in China, I felt very secure that no one would try to hurt me. It's really amazing how freeing that kind of feeling is.

Anyway, I'm getting away from the detail of the moment, so I'll stop here so I don't ramble. I'll finish just by saying that I'm glad I made myself do it. It makes the world much more convenient, and I think it'll be worth it, definitely so if nothing gets stolen/broken and I can resell it at the end.

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Phone is still screwed. I think it's the digitizer. I'm going to try a Motorola repair shop tomorrow. I sure hope they have this model of phone! (DOUBT IT, YOU GUYS!)

Peace out.