Yesterday was such lovely weather, I decided it would be a good idea to set out in search of Metro again. Before leaving the house – in high spirits, I might add, I consulted with the website I use to verify which bus to take to this alleged shopping Mecca and how many stops I should count before expecting to get there.
Got it: Metro is on Xu Dong Road (pronounced Shoe Dong), #48. That would be 18 stops on bus 402, thank you and have a nice day. I shut down the computer, made sure I had everything needed for a day out and grabbed a Chinese hamburger at one of the street vendors for breakfast. Please do not lecture me about the evils of fast food for breakfast until I tell you about Chinese hamburgers, which consists of a home-baked roll stuffed with stewed meat and fresh vegetables, prepared right there in front of you. YUM!
Thus sated I began the interminable journey into town by boarding bus 202 – standing room only, of course. Not that I minded standing, but not when the bus itself is standing still. When the traffic did not move for over 10 minutes I decided to get off the bus and walk around the traffic jam. Surely I would get to the train station much quicker on foot than by staying in stalled traffic.
And I did. After only 15 minutes of walking in which I shamelessly wove through the parking lot this road of nightmares has become, the road was perfectly clear and I soon boarded another bus that would take me to the train station, where I would make my connection to bus 402. Except for my shoes being once again muddy, things were really going well and I took that as a sign that I would finally meet with success in finding the elusive Metro store.
I saw many things of interest while riding bus 402 that, normally, I would get off and investigate but today my goal was specific: Metro. I was not getting off the bus until I got to the 18th stop, and I was not going home until I found that store. So, I made a mental note to investigate all of the interesting things I saw today at a later date.
Eighteen stops later I debark. I am now in a construction zone – again! Construction everywhere! Nevertheless I gauge by the fact that this bus dropped me off in front of building number 92 that Metro must be down the road a little ways. I start walking…
And find the Home Store! Interesting… I decided to check it out, as it was on the way. The Home Store is a lot like Home Depot: they sell furniture, household things, complete kitchens, hardware and DYI supplies. They also sell appliances, so naturally I checked out that department to see if they had ovens. They had quite a nice one for 698 Yuan… but again things did not feel right in my gut. It just did not feel like MY oven. Besides, I didn’t bring enough money with me to plunk down that kind of cash.
However I did find pipe insulation, which was a good thing seeing as my hot water pipes are not only exposed, they are not insulated, and run along an outside wall – the North wall of my apartment, to be specific. Ever the maintenance tech, I’m thinking I should insulate my pipes before winter really gets here; otherwise I’m going to be hard-pressed to stay clean and sanitary with only cold water. A few Yuan spent on pipe insulation and I leave the Home Store and keep walking.
The next thing I run into is a shopping plaza with a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Another interesting development: maybe I’ll find some duct tape for my insulation project, and I need some stuff for my class room. Off I go, into Wal-Mart. It was nice, it was interesting and I did find some of the things I needed. Again a few Yuan well spent and again, off I go.
By this time I decided I was hungry and, as though conjured up from my foreigner’s mind, there stands a Pizza Hut. I decided to partake, being as it has been so long since my last slice of pizza, and since my last meal. The gracious hostess seated me in a nook where I heard gentle murmurs of conversation… in English! There were more foreigners in Wuhan! In America this might have been rude but I’m not in America, so I just walked right up to those foreigners, introduced myself and gave them my contact information. Then I asked if they knew where Metro was.
They told me it was down several blocks and I should consider taking a taxi, as the ‘blocks’ were rather long. Instead I decided to get back on bus 402 and go one more stop. Surely the bus can take me there as well as a taxi, right? I finish my pizza, pay the bill and, once again fueled for adventure, I go back to the bus stop.
One more stop is exactly what it took. Unfortunately I rode bus 402 for 2 more stops and had to double back. No problem: at least I found The Elusive Metro (in my mind, it had been elevated to Capitals status).
Metro! Like a mirage it shimmers before me! Metro! The store everyone talks about but no one seems to know how to get to! Metro! I stand before your portals with a shopping cart, poised to see what you have to offer. But first, a bathroom break, in the bathrooms conveniently provided next to the entrance.
I don’t know if I can convey to you the joy of Metro. Under its corrugated roof I found so many things I have been looking for since I came here: butter, cheese, fresh meats, ‘foreigner foods’ and YES! MY OVEN! My oven is here!
I will return to Metro on Monday afternoon to purchase what has got to be the most precious, the most darling, the most beautiful oven in the world. It is stainless steel with a black face and a glass door. It will roast a whole chicken, bake a dozen cookies and broil a piece of meat… not all at the same time, but it has all of those capabilities. It will look perfect next to my microwave on the shelf. The best part is it will only cost me 399 Yuan!
I literally floated through the store with a dopey grin on my face. My Oven!!! Soon I will have my oven. And then, things will be alright. I barely registered the fact that Metro also sells all manner of butter, cheeses, actual milk, an assortment of crusty breads, and boasts a fine meat selection, to say nothing of Western dry and canned goods. Knowing that I would not be able to shop decently and get things home on the crowded weekend bus, I put off shopping but…
I definitively decided Metro was the store for me when I found GASP! Paper Towels! I had to buy them right then and there, crowded bus or no. Come tomorrow, when I buy my oven, I will have 2 additions that have been seriously lacking in my kitchen.
Yes, Sophia: Metro really does exist. And, everything you heard about it is true!
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