6 Days in China and I Climbed a Mountain

It is hard to believe that we've only been in China for 6 days because it feels like so much more.

Here's what we've been up to...

Day 1:
We arrived very early on Saturday morning and proceeded to sleep most of the day after making our way from Hong Kong to Shenzhen via a ferry. Four suitcases, two taxis, and one employee from the company to see us to the hotel. We were quite the spectacle at the ferry terminal.

Day 2:
After sleeping in on Sunday, we explored Shekou, the Shenzhen district that we will be living in, and randomly met an expat from NEW HAMPSHIRE (of all places!) on the sidewalk who generously showed us around and shared a ton of tips with us. We ended up at Happy Hour with her and the wife of mrC's coworker.

Day 3 & 4:
We spent two days apartment hunting and finally found one we can move into this weekend. I attended my first women's group called SWIC, Shenzhen Women's International Club. The energy is a lot like my MRTT group, so I'm really excited to get involved. We also attended a very traditional Chinese dinner hosted by mrC's boss.

Day 5:
I completed my residency permit physical at the Shenzhen Hospital and then we opened a bank account. We explored the grocery scene and took notes on which stores have items we like and the prices.

Day 6:
mrC had to work, so I ventured out for the first time solo and climbed a mountain! The Nanshan Mountain is located just down the road from our hotel and is a very popular daily activity for expats. SWIK actually has a hiking group that climbs it every Monday.

The 363 meter climb is mostly steps all the way to the top. Fortunately for me, there were plenty of places to sit and rest, or to stop and take in the views. The breeze today wasn't the best, but there was some and it felt amazing because at 84 degrees with soupy-doupy humidity, it's HOT!

At the top there is a very interesting two-story viewing tower (failed to get pic of tower, bleh!) with amazing views of Shekou.  It was fun to try to figure out what I was looking out from way up high. I'm pretty sure that's Hong Kong across the bay and one of the buildings on the left side of the small bay of water is our new home.

So, I haven't yet had a chance to go for a run and I'm still trying to figure out how that will look. It is seriously warm and humid here! I'm hoping that once we are in the apartment which is on the water, I will find a breeze there for a nice morning run.

What do you do when you can't run?