Life in Xiamen

Getting around here is a bit of a challenge when you don't know the language. Xiamen is an island, but we live at Jimei University, which is on the mainland. Jimei is basically a college town built around the schools of the university. There are many small shops, bars, and restaurants that cater to college students, but not much else to do there. There's a Kentucky Fried Chicken, but not much else to my picky tastes!

Getting to Xiamen requires a taxi ride (my favorite - a 30 minute ride across the bridge, to the opposite side of the island - cost is about $5) or a bus ride (about one hour, very crowded, often no AC - cost is about 30 cents).

There are three major places for food shopping for Westerners in Xiamen - Metro (the German chain), Carrefour (the French chain), and Wal Mart (the absolutely most disgusting place I've been indoors here in Xiamen - BUT they have genuine Orville Reddenbacher butter flavored microwave popcorn!) Ironically, Metro, the German store, has the best food selection, especially French pastries and wines. French wine is about 30% cheaper here in China than it is in the US. Of course, Chinese wine (which tastes like vinegar) costs about $1 a bottle! I also discovered where American Wal Marts send their expired goods - to sell in China. Lots of Doritos, Pringles, and Corona sitting on the Wal Mart shelves...with expiration dates from months ago. No wonder my Chinese students say that they don't like American snacks!

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