Charna on China...

Hello all,

Well, we all made it to Shanghai, alive and in one piece - and all quite relieved to see each other. In catching up over the last few hours, it has become quite obvious that all three of our experiences have been very unique. In the spirit of the blog, the entry below is from Charna. Bruce will be contributing his entry to the blog later this evening.

DISCLAIMER - All I did was copy and paste. :)


What I learned in my first 24 hours in China:

1) Traffic lights are really only suggestions. If the light is red, you don’t have to stop.

2) Crossing signals are just for show, they came with the traffic light package. Green does not mean you have the right to cross, merely that if you choose to take your life in your own hands, this would be as good a time as any due to item #1.

3) Dormitories are not just for colleges; they’re for plant workers too. Yep, people live with their co-workers and are fed three meals a day so there’s rarely an opportunity (or need) to go offsite.

4) Motorcyclists and bikers are fearless. They don’t care if they pull out in front of trucks or buses and they don’t care if they take out pedestrians.

5) I haven’t figured out why they painted lanes on the roads. It’s quite acceptable to make up your own or pass on the left over the yellow line if the person in front of you is going too slow.

6) Honking the horn is another language and means many different things including: hello, get out of my way, I’m right here beside you, we’re celebrating or it’s too quiet around here.

7) There is no concept of personal space. (See traumatic shopping experience below.)

8) If someone asks you if you want more food and you reply “I’m fine,” that means you’re still hungry and they will order more food.

9) There is no wasting any part of the animal you killed for dinner. They serve the whole darn thing. I’d prefer not to eat something else’s stomach or brain, thank you. Pigeon on a stick was a delicacy in the city I visited - PohBeng asked me if I wanted to try some, and I politely declined. It was quite interesting to see people walking around eating a bird on a stick.

10) If you’ve never heard of the city, chances are they won’t speak English but everyone will continue to speak Chinese to you.

While shopping here can be very cheap, if you have issues with your personal space or hate being pressured, this is definitely not the place for you. Thank God PohBeng was with me. The first ‘mall’ we went to had stalls and stalls of goods. Everyone starts talking to you trying to get you to come into their space to look. “Just come inside and look, just come inside and look.” If you make eye contact, there’s no getting away. And with six people trying to get your attention, it’s okay to ignore them. Finally we make it to the stalls you hear so much about in the US – you know the ones where you can find Louis Vitton, Coach, Channel, etc. rather inexpensively. If PohBeng had not been my guide, I would have left immediately. There are hundreds of people to greet you outside the place. Two or three will ‘latch’ onto you as their customers and you cannot lose them, they won’t allow it. They will also yell at other people who try to take you away. They took me into the first store. It’s a small store, no bigger than a Claire’s Accessories back home, but it didn’t seem like much. Boy was I wrong. There was a hidden door behind a mirror and a little cubby hole where they guide you and shut the door behind you. You have about two minutes to look around before they try to negotiate a price. If you don’t like anything right away, no fear, as they will guide you to other stores behind more hidden doors until you find just what you’re looking for. Then, let the negotiations begin. I’ve learned – always start with 100 RMB. If you’re willing to walk away, they will come down until you can settle on an acceptable price. It was an experience and no matter how many times someone explains it to you, there’s no real way to comprehend until you’re there. I think I got a nice purse, for a nice price. I think I may have to experience it again though as Nicole was not along and will surely want to find a deal of her own. Who knows, if I can get past the shock of it all, I may find another bargain.

Note from Nicole: I am seriously considering how much I really NEED any bargain. The email does not do the live story justice. If I need it this bad, I think I will just wait for Hong Kong this weekend. I am really thinking I don't need anything at all. :)

As usual, we hope everyone is well. ~Nicole, Charna and Bruce