Thoughts from the airport

So I sit at the Shanghai airport waiting for my flight. It’s delayed so I’ll write and see if I can get a post from here. It is about 1hr, 45 minutes from Suzhou to the airport. Interesting tidbits;

• The receipts here have 2 stamps, one from state and one from local govt. They added a scratch off at the bottom of all receipts with a chance to win 5, 10, 20 or more RMB (allegedly). This was done to prevent business’s from not reporting income, everyone now asks for a receipt and therefore the taxes have to be paid. Before, no receipt might mean the transaction was invisible or under the table. Big brother wants their cut.


• The books we read about China all indicated the Chinese will hack, spit, belch, etc. anytime and anywhere. It’s true. I walked by a woman on the street and she belched and no one blinked and eye. In a restaurant you will encounter Mr. Mucus and it takes a lot to keep from finding out where the loogie man (or woman) is sitting. As long as they are far away from my table.


• There are some large gaps between the lower income people and others. Driving to Shanghai, you will see some of the older, small villages with gardens being grown. Typically these areas are surrounded by power lines, and I mean surrounded. We’re used to seeing one large line going around, imagine 6 distinct lines. It’s crazy, you see them all over the outskirts along with major power stations belching forth “steam” into the sky.


• I’ve realized that speaking to people in their native tongue is a bad thing, not for me but for them. When I speak my limited words, they will respond in English or if they hit me first it’s “Good Morning” not Ni Hao. They make it easy for me to get by without Chinese, it’s detrimental to me. I tend to respond in kind to what is spoken (if I understand) and when they speak English, I respond in kind and then want to kick myself for doing it. If you want to assimilate, it will require more work unless you force the issue. I’ve got to get into Chinese mode.


• No tipping in China. Nope, pay the bill and no more, it’s not expected.


• The Chinese are always commenting on the price of something, that’s very expensive and so on. I mean it is very common, sit down to a meal and invariably there is a comment about the prices. I guess they are still getting accustomed to Western thinking; soon they will all have credit cards and be up to their eyeballs in debt for crap they really don’t need, just like the US.


• I’ve been told I need to be aggressive for everything, polite but aggressive. Gary is very laid back and a mild guy, the other day on walking street he hailed a cab. 4 kids were waiting on a cab and when it stopped they were moving to get it. Gary moved right in front and took the cab. I wouldn’t say he was rude but the kids were surprised. He figured he hailed the cab and it was his, period. I’ve been told to always be that way. The Chinese don’t see the need to queue in a line, they’ll jump to the front (or slowly push) of the line in many situations. What we consider rude, they don’t see it the same way.


• The older people rarely speak much English, the younger ones do but not in all circumstances. I find myself speaking in broken English when speaking to the Chinese just to avoid using words or complicated phrases that might confuse them. You can tell when they don’t understand, they may not indicate it but if you watch their face you can read it. It’s the same face I have 95% of the time.


• KFC is huge here, don’t ask me why perhaps it’s because they were the first to come into China.


• They work very hard to keep the cities clean (at least the grounds). You’ll see workers everywhere cleaning the streets, getting weeds from the flower beds and stuff.


• Educational opportunities here are very limited so there is a lot of competition. If you get low test scores, your lot in lift will be determined at an early age. I guess late bloomers here are just out of luck.


• Lays Stacker flavors here at the airport, Green Cucumber, Crispy Chicken, Braised Pork, BBQ and regular.


• The Chinese love juice, local restaurants offer a lot of variety, melon, white melon, orange, pineapple, grapefruit, mango, lemon, carrot and even more. It’s like a juice bar but it’s good for you (is it mixed with tap water?)
  

This airport is HUGE. I was able to find my way but the gates are in one long hallway. Okay, I’m going to shut down now and close the post from Shanghai. I’m eyeballing the Burger King stand……12 RMB (less than $2), I’ve got to find out what that is all about. I was online and going to post but I noticed that there were laptops showing on my computer trying to get access to my computer for Internet access so I shut down and held off the post.

I'm back in the US now and very happy to be home. Keep checking in, coming up...my thoughts on TSA and being back home.