The Nevin-Graham Family: Boosting China's Economy

We returned from Beijing and it had been refreshing to see how much the kids were happy to be "home" - how quickly this apartment has become just that. The only low point had been the discovery of Brett's bike having been stolen from outside his work. This meant that we needed to go bike shopping - and more importantly, shopping for an Alex bike.

The way shops appear to be allocated in China is interesting, there will be a row of similar shops followed by a row of a different type of store. For example, there will often be 5-10 hardware shops next to each other followed by 5-10 sports stores and then 5-10 convenience "everything you might need" kind of stores. Not everywhere, but in enough places to make me wonder if there was ever a weird kind of city development plan. But enough of that. Brett returned to the same bike shop where he'd bought his original bike.

Being a laowai has it's difficulties as his height requires a larger-than-usual frame to the bike...not that he's all that tall (though taller than me) and he'd finally managed to find a store that stocked a few such bikes during his last bike search.

We are still unused to the colder weather - actually to the breeze which picks up in the afternoon and cuts through to the bone even though the day is beautiful.

Here are the few bikes that are large-framed enough for Brett. In the front you can see the typical Chinese-style stand that is used.

Alex was more interested in the Chinese soap-opera unfolding on the television.

The bikeshop owner even got her a small chair.

Televisions are ubiquitous in most stores for the staff, and sometimes customers, to watch during the day and night. Stores seem to be open from early (some before 8am) until late (many after 9pm).

Eventually Brett had selected his bike and we were waiting for the child seat to be attached to the back so we moved on to finding a bike for Alex - this had been a Christmas present promise for her - previously she has had a trike in America and it was time to move up to a bike with training wheels. She was so excited that once she was on the bike, she wouldn't get off - and was very upset to learn that she wouldn't be able to ride it home all by herself (no photos of the ensuing meltdown, suffice to say that it matched in intensity her reaction to Brett's price negotiation with the bikeshop owner which involved saying we weren't buying the bikes).

But in the end, Daddy and Alex rode home on his new bike whilst Mummy and Sebastien took a taxi (with Alex's bike in the boot/trunk).

We're still getting used to the "look Mum, no strap!" idea with the children's bikeseat in China...fine for someone of Alex's age but I shudder to think of Sebastien sitting on the back unstrapped. Sebastien wanted to have a ride before Daddy locked up the new purchase so out came Alex's old helmet.