Yesterday Summer took me out of Tianjin to her Aunt's house for a wonderful lunch of what they call dumplings. They are more like what we know as ravioli, in this case stuffed with herbs and pork. They are then steamed until done and served with a special vinegar. Quite delicious. As always, everyone tried to get me to eat more of them, and despite the fact that I skipped breakfast, after we returned home I had no interest in dinner either as I had eaten as many of the dumplings as I could. Still Summer ate more, and she weighs a third of what I do.. I have no idea where she puts it all.

In this community there are small private homes with courtyards, but unlike our homes in the west (to a large extent anyway) these homes are all connected by common walls. They are concrete structures with a couple of outbuildings which house the kitchens (or at least a cooking area) and what else I do not know.

While walking around the community I was invited in to a pool hall, where the tables were far larger than the standard tables I have seen in the states, and about triple the size of the bar sized pool tables. I played with several of the fellows there, though we did not share a common language. Sadly, though I came close I could not pull off a single win. I blame the different size tables.. :)

After spending the day out of Tianjin, we returned and I simply took it easy. Her uncle drove us to the bus stop in a three-wheeled "car" which is more like an enclosed motorcycle than a car. The doors were quite small so I had some doubts about getting in and back out of the thing, but fortunately that turned out to be an unfounded concern. The cars here are of many shapes, styles, and forms. Some of the trucks for hauling are also of a three wheeled design, and you will also see what appears to be a multi-task engine connected to a cart to form a crude vehicle.