The neighborhood

This has been our home for a little more than a month and a half.  The change has been remarkable.  The street in front of the school has been repaved and this time lines and everything were painted or hammered down with a mallet.  Early this week we saw an old truck with it's lights on to provide light for two Chinese gentlemen to hammer the bicycle symbol in the bike lane out side of the schools main entrance.  I didn't even know there was a bike lane.

Speaking of bikes we were told before that the school had purchases bikes for us to use.  Primarily the purpose of us having bikes was to get to the branch schools we go to each Thursday.  After we were told bikes had been bought for us, we were told that it was decided that riding said bikes to the schools was determined not to be safe and we would be driven each week.  I am not sure what happened to the bikes.

In addition to the road upgrades our 'town square' (as we western's would call it) has gotten an upgrade and now we can walk to the market without getting our shoes all muddy.  The donkey pin hasn't been upgrade but a new brick building was built in front of it. Also a turning lane, cross walks, and a small plastic median between the lanes that run in front of the school have been added this past week.  As I sit here at 9:26 PM the sound of earth moving equipment clearing the lot behind the school.  To the north of the school a high apartment (or housing development of some sort) is quickly rising.  When we arrived it was about a third the size of what it will be in another month and half.  Now remember that this high development at it's nearest point is about a football field away from a donkey pin.

The most amazing point of this high-end development is that there is this big metal ball hovering above it.  It must be what the Epcot ball looked like during construction.  A much smaller version, of course.  I have little doubt that I'll get to see what it's final form will be as they have three cranes working seven day's a week over the development.  If I don't that will be quite disappointing.

The pace of development is quite amazing.  I wonder if this is what many parts of the US were like 70 or a hundred years ago.  I think you have to go at least that far back to find donkey's being relevant.

Have a great Wednesday everybody,
Ryan