Date Night

I wanted to post a little culture for you. On Wednesday nights, Aaron and I have a babysitter and are able to go for a date - with him leading the project, it's hard to get much time together. So a week and a half ago we went down to the city center. It's one of our favorite places to just walk around and explore. We found this year that instead of taking the bus, you can take a car which you just pay a little per person. The car takes 4 people and will drop you off where you want along the main drag. So we took the car downtown which just amazes me in the first place. People are so alert to body language here. To catch one of these cars (or a taxi) all you do is stand on the side of the street and barely lift your hand and pointer finger, and they see it and stop. Then to watch them drive in the traffic is like a dance (see previous post on the miracle we haven't died here yet...). They drive so tightly together - lane lines are a suggestion - and just know when to weave in and out.

We got downtown and went to a little "home-cooking" restaurant - basically, this place was located in an alley and was the size of a living room with 4 tables inside and a couple outside the door. Then back through swinging doors was a tiny kitchen with this awesome little guy with a white apron and white hair who I think was the cook. We had a nice little meal and headed out to walk around.

There's an awesome old building - all stone and in a square shape - that's all small stores of scarves and silk products. It's awesome. All the girls here love it :). We walked in there a little and headed further back from the main drag into what would best be described as a permenant covered bazaar. There's all kinds of produce, nuts, meats and different sections selling jewelry, household goods, textiles, clothes (I got a shirt for $3), meat, and other random stuff. It's just so fun to wander around in.

Then we walked to a little Burger King ice-cream hut and shared a little icecream, went to mall and grocery store and headed home. I told Aaron, you can't do any date nights like this in the states! ...except I guess if you live in a big city, which we don't. So that's a taste of our time here.