Friday 26 April 2013

Our campus is full of bicycles. Cars are also numerous and you can see that the campus has not
been planned for automobiles. Around our apartment building, cars are parked wherever there is a space or even no space.
They are taken good care of by the owners. You never see a dirty car and you never see a pick-up truck.

The students have bicycles. Just off campus there is a place where you can rent a bike.
The bicycles are not new and modern, but they work. Very often the bike will be carrying two
people. Even among the older residents on campus, a bicycle can often be the main mode of local transportation,
unless a bus or the subway (metro) is needed. It is charming to see girls and older women all dressed up and perched behind
the driver, sitting side-saddle perfectly balanced and not even holding onto anything or anyone. It is equally sweet to
see little children riding, even on busy streets, with their fathers or grandfathers, having what could only be the best time of their lives.
We try to not worry about the lack of helmets. You will even see infants in arms being carried on bikes.

This morning, many of the bikes were equipped with umbrellas, since is was raining. At the same time, these umbrellas
come out on sunny days.

When we first arrived we were worried about crossing the road to get to the teaching building. Every morning a stream
of hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of swift bikers are barrelling down the incline and racing to their classes. At first I wanted to wait for the right
time to cross the street, but soon realized that the bikers would avoid me. I think that I could almost close my eyes and cross and
be safe, unless a vehicle was coming, and it wouldn't stop at all.

Bikers beep when they want to pass you on the street or in an alley. If you have an image of China as a country with a billion bikes,
you would be right.

Some of these bike pictures were taken on campus during noon rush. They really don't show the numbers. It is one of those things that
you have to see to appreciate. Many of these students flock to local eating places for lunch. There are also vendors with outside woks and
burners ready to accommodate the students' hunger.


Congratulations to Thomas Takahashi and Jane Thomsen on their engagement. Grandpa and I are more than happy for you.