T Minus One
On the day before teaching officially began, and one week after leaving Melbourne, I felt it quite necessary to go on a nice walk from my apartment all the way to the main gate of the university, and from there directly to my office and then to the teaching buildings, in order to gauge distances and timings. Walking out my aprtment, and turning right on Daxue Lu, I walked at a brisk pace for about 15 minutes, passing a big apartment complex with Disney-ish turrets, before I got to the south road of the university. I crossed over and followed along the eastern edge, along a tree-lined path on the side of the bicycle lane. On the other side of the fence was a woodland area, and I'm sure I saw a squirrel dart across at one point and up into a tree. It was all very picturesque and serene as I made my way to the East gate or main entrance. Out the front were a bunch of cars, presumably DiDi drivers and taxis waiting for a ride, and a security building with lanes for cars and a few lanes for bikes and pedestrians. Everyone entering has to pass through a security check, done by facial recognition, that when completed allows passing through the barriers.
It had taken a good 30 minutes just to arrive here, and then another 13 minutes to reach the administrative building where my office was located. From there I walked south along one of the university roads, that has a wide pedestrian landscaped pathway in the centre, that leads up to a commemorative gate showing the year of the university's founding. Beyond that was the lake. I walked around that on narrow paths, stopping to look at a large crested bird up in some branches. I then reached vast grassy areas and some more tree-lined roads, with the teaching buildings in the distance. Another 10 minutes and I reached them, and worked out where I had to go the following day for my first class. So far, so good, I had my key bearings, distances and times downpat.
The Familiar and Not So Familiar
From there I went back to the lake and looked at the swans in their enclosure near the imposing central library compound, then found the cafetaria that had a McDonalds at one end, complete with its own entrance. I walked inside, using the said entrance, (golden arches on the side of a building aren't exactly hard to miss)and discoverd I was actually in the larger cafetaria that had a small seating section with high booths for the McDonald's customers. The rest of the cafetaria was spread out, very shiny, and looked much like any shopping centre food court, just all with Chinese eateries. Most were closed, and I went back to order my first western meal in a week. However, I was in for a rude shock. Unlike in the past, where one could just grab a physical menu and point to the desired item and ask for that in Chinese and then simply pay physcial cash or scan a code, I was made to scan a code at the counter, which then launched the McDonald's mini program ordering app. There were a bunch of preliminary pop-up screens and then lots of speaking in CHinese of which I didn't understand, but I gathered that the serving of fried chicken that accompanies the regular meal sets of a burger fries and drink wasn't available, and neither was my choice of burger. Settling for a spciy chicken burger meal, abd without the extra morsel wing thing, I was finally able to proceed to the payment section. This entire charade had taken almost 10 minutes. My goodness, just to order a burger meal. I waited a few minutes and then carried my tray to one of the high booths. My annoyance soon waned as I shove handfuls of fries into my mouth, relishing the familiar unhealthy goodness.
Cafetaria #3
After my lunch, I made my way further along to the next cafetaria. This one has many steps leading up to it on one side and with a KFC on one outer area. Inside, the cafetaria has a bakery, many different restaurants, and another large food court style eating area, with all kinds of Chinese specialities. Apparently this building is open 24 hours, ideal for hungry students needing something to eat in between late night gaming. I walked up to the 3rd floor to try and find the lesser known Teacher's buffet, but it seemed closed. I stood for a while, admiring the east facing view of some mountains, before I made my way past dormitories to the universitiy's south gate. This gate appears to have been built in a much more traditional design than the main gate. It's also much smaller. I passed through and immediately on the other side of the small street, down a few steps was a ngiht food market and various shops. I did notice quite a nice looking dumpling store and a Lawson convenience store. From there I headed down the university south road, back on to Daxue Lu, and then at the adjacent mall, hopped on a blue motor scooter, the Hello Bike ones run by AliPay (so aptly named as when they unlock, a helium-esque voice says out loud "hello", as if a chipmunk was answering a phone.
I triumphantly rode home, feeling like some long-lost member of the Sons of Anarchy bikie gang, but in reality I was King of the Potholes, tryingr not to crash. Thankfully I didn't, and grabbed my iPad from home then checked out the bakery cafe across the street. A small affair with a few sad pastries, I ordered a cappucino and the solitary chocolate donut and sat in the only booth amidst a nice backdrop. I started reading, while wondering if my coffee had been made with rat droppings instead of coffee beans,and then noticed my foot being nudged. I looked down and there was a fluffy puppy on a very long leash. Holding the other end of the leash was a very proud little girl who I'd seen earlier outside the shop. After lots of pats, I went back to reading and eating the passable donut. Reading in a cafe on Sunday was part of my weekend routine in Melbourne, and so Imm happy I can still do this here. Fluppy puppy an added bonus!
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