Thomas journals

I just returned from a quick shopping trip in the neighborhood, and I'm moved to write how nice it is: our apartment building is mounted on the side of a hill, so we walk about fifty yards down a steep alley to the district center, with five "BBQ" (i.e. grill-your-own meat) restaurants in a cluster, along with a tiny hotdog shop, a fashion clothing shop, an optician, and a specialty pigs-knuckle restaurant (good for your joints!).  Upstairs is a pub (kind of grimy), and then around the corner for the taxi-stand cigarette vendor, an outdoor coffee vending machine right where we wait for our morning bus to school (only 30 cents for a tiny cup of instant coffee!), a decrepit pharmacy, then a jeweler shop.  In the same block is the local public-bathhouse and a discount housewares store.  Across the street are the chain stores: 7-11 and Paris Baguette.   A bit further up the street, after a couple more little restaurants and clothing stores, is Song's Florist along with t