Top 10 List

I don’t know if you’ve tried it but it’s tough to blog every day. Sometimes things you see strike you and you have the instant “I’ve got to blog this” moment. Then later in the day, when you are in front of the computer, you get the “what do I write about” moment. It also takes discipline to blog and of course, most of all be sure it is interesting. No one wants to read about toenail clipping and stuff like that….if you do please seek immediate psychological counseling. It usually doesn’t take a lot of time but I’m kind of anal (yeah right, and Chairman Mao was “kind of” Chinese) about the posts so I like to write it, walk away and then review and edit the blog before it gets posted. Sometimes it flows easily and other times, it takes “some” work to get it the way I want it. Anyhow, we’re going to attempt something a little different in an effort to blog more frequently and stuff. I’ll credit Peter King for this idea; he does a Monday Morning Quarterback column for Sports Illustrated. He breaks things down into several categories including one called, The 10 things I think this week. I’ll grab that heading (hopefully I don’t get sued for copyright infringement…..coming from China, that’s actually a pretty funny line isn’t it) and start this week with the Top 10 observations from this week (be sure to say that out loud into a hollow tube, trashcan or something like that to give it the proper effect)….Scott’s Top 10 (Ten…Ten…..Ten).

10. The Chinese really understand more than you think. Even though they may seem to not understand/speak English, they know enough. So be careful what you say because you never know if it might come back to haunt you. I guess it falls back to what your mom would tell you, if you haven’t got anything good to say, don’t say anything. You have to remember that everyone speaks English (it’s taught to kids all over the world). It’s actually a pain in the butt because when you want to talk without people understanding, you can’t. They will break into Chinese in front of you and you’ll never know what they say, it’s definitely an advantage for them. All the more reason to learn to speak the language.

9. NEVER pay what the shop owner wants you to pay. No matter what they say, they will never sell you anything below their cost. They can claim that you are wrong, crazy, etc. but if they want the sale bad enough, they will change their price. Also be sure that you try and talk to the same shop people. We purchased a jacket at a shop the previous weekend for 145 RMB; the shop person we spoke to this weekend at the same exact shop indicated the price was impossible. But she caved in to our price. We knew what we would pay and although she was trying to get us to buy at her price, we would walk away without the item.

8. Always double check the day AND time on invitations. We spent 45 minutes on Saturday morning waiting for Jacob to be picked up for a birthday party. After all of the consternation for the 45 minutes and being unable to obtain directions to the party, we gave up. We received a call Sunday morning indicating the party was on Sunday (D’OH!!!!!). We never read the date, just the time and location of where he would be picked up to go to the party. Lesson learned.

7. Never give a final count/price for anything here. It seems that if you indicate that you are willing to pay up to xxx RMB (or your limit to spend is xxx RMB), that’s where they will start the bidding. Same holds true for other things, we’ll need approximately ___ of those bags. Next thing you know; if you need less you can’t get less (without paying a LOT more money). It’s like your estimate becomes written in stone after the first time it’s mentioned to a supplier. It’s an ESTIMATE (he says in vain)! I understand it but they don’t.

6. If you really don’t want to buy and they won’t leave you alone, be sure to indicate your final price is about 15% of their asking price. They will break off negotiations at that point and you’re free to move on. The shop owner wasn’t happy but he was trying to sell us an old knockoff at a very high price. He gave us a ridiculous price for something that we didn’t want and we returned the favor (after he kept insisting we tell him our price). Once he saw what we had written down he indicated we could leave. That’s what we wanted anyhow so although he probably thought we were jerks, we were really just looking.

5. Never underestimate the power of a 13 year olds appetite. See Tammy’s post from yesterday. How long this will last is anyone’s guess but I’m going to need a second job to pay for him to eat.

4. Fireworks, although fun, can become very annoying after hearing them day after day. Every weekend and probably at least one time during the week, you’ll hear fireworks going off. At first, it was kind of exciting…”I wonder what’s happening?” Now its like, “Fireworks AGAIN!!!! What for this time? Did someone buy a can of Sprite?” It can start from basically sunrise until well after sunset. I don’t know what the rules are for fireworks (where you can set them off, when it’s allowed, where it’s not allowed, etc.) but it seems the rules are similar to the driving rules here….mere suggestions.

3. Apartment hunting is a pain in the butt no matter where you are. We’re in the final stages of getting to another location but it’s a lot of work. You see so many apartments that cover all ranges (price, furniture, cleanliness, etc.). You never find one that has everything you want so you have to find one that covers 90% of what you need and then try and work out the arrangements. Since you can negotiate a lot more here, it might seem better but it’s not. You’d rather that there be everything you need on hand so you can just move and get it over with.

2. If you can park there….it’s a parking spot. It seems to be the rule here. I’ve watched people park just about everywhere here that you would never think to park in the US. They don’t give it a second thought, even if they are in a “No Parking” zone (I use the “ “ because as with many of the rules of the road here…it’s merely a suggestion). The chance of the police catching you seems very small, although I watched a cop ticket several cars outside the local Starbucks today. Needless to say, the drivers of those cars were surprised and upset when they found the tickets on their windshield.

1. Starbucks and Cold Stone Creamery are just as expensive here as they are in the US. It seems ridiculous but if you want to have that no fat, vanilla latte with 3 Splendas, extra whip and a shake of almond dust rather than a cup of coffee, bring your gold bars (no different here than at home). Not everything is cheaper in China.

Aggravation of the week

I will say right up front that the Chinese people are in large part very nice, polite people. BUT (you knew this was coming didn’t you) somehow, they turn into a group of maniacs when they get behind the wheel or when they see a buffet line. This morning when the boys and I went down for breakfast, we walked into the feeding frenzy. It was a mass of hungry humanity in this rather confined area. We picked up our plates to get in line to go through and pick out some things to eat. Big mistake!! Ladies were pushing and shoving to get through and see what’s under the hood of the next warmer. They’d grab anything with their chopsticks (fingers, tongs) and just push on to the next spot regardless of what (or who) was in their way. We happened to see a glimpse of french toast on the horizon but within moments amongst the flurry of tongs, chopsticks and fingers, it was all gone (d’oh!). The chef came out to replenish it but before he could even get them out of the dish to put into the tray, those were also gone (it was like magic but without the wonder as to where it went). They was like creatures descending on to a carcass to pick the bones clean, and they picked ‘em clean (or if you don’t mind me being insensitive for a moment, it was like a Weight Watchers group getting a free pass to the desert bar. “Don’t worry ladies, anything you eat won’t count in next week’s weigh in.”). They were grabbing at everything, snatching bacon, sausages, veggies, it didn’t seem to matter what it was; they were going to get it. To make matters worse, they would grab something and start to eat it before they moved from the tray of food. So, in front of the roasted chicken (yes, it’s a breakfast buffet and I know it sounds weird but it is what it is), they would grab some chicken, start to eat it and grab more if they liked it. They’d even reach around a person to grab the item and do a taste test on the spot. Did I mention that they seem to always eat with their mouths open? Oh yeah baby, nothing like that to get your appetite going. For such small people they make more noise while they eat than a Homer Simpson convention. Slurp, slurp, smack, smack, munch, munch. It overloads your senses when you experience it, it’s like a race against time to scarf down the food (perhaps they can’t taste it if they eat it fast?). Most times you can just ignore it (like the fireworks, it’s background noise) but when they are doing it in the buffet line, while pushing and shoving for the next thing on the plate…it’s too much. It didn’t matter that an 11 year old wanted a pancake; they were going to get them first and too bad for the Western kid. It irked me to experience this, usually they are very gracious to kids but for whatever reason this was different. I’ve not experienced things this bad before and I dread what may be waiting for me tomorrow morning. The one thing I know is that to survive this I’ve got to be more aggressive so that’ll be my tact in the morning (or maybe I go eat a Pop Tart in the apartment and save myself the “best part of waking up” rather than deal with Captain Crunch & Slurp).