Bust a Move

This time last year, we completed our search for a new apartment where we could spread out and be around more families. The grass hasn’t always been greener in the apartment but we didn’t expect that we would never encounter problems when we moved out of the Chateau. We moved into our apartment at Horizon Resorts in October of last year. With a one year lease ending soon, we had been talking with our agent about extending the lease for the remainder of my contract. Up until recently, we expected to have the extension (if you read carefully, you should know what is coming next). We found out last Thursday (yes, that is correct Thursday, October 21) that we are out on our butts at the end of the month. WHAT!?!?!?

It turns out that our landlord is in the midst of a divorce and unfortunately for us, we are collateral damage. Her husband (it’s always the husband’s fault isn’t it?) wants his fair share of the assets (they own 10 different apartments in Suzhou) and the only way that he could get that was to go through the courts for the cash settlement of the assets. At first, it was a question of the courts to decide but we would be granted a 1 month extension to see what would happen. If the apartment were to be sold, we would have to be out at the end of November. However, it seems that this isn’t acceptable and therefore the apartment will go up for auction much sooner. Due to this, there will be a new owner and a lot of uncertainty. The one certain thing is that we cannot be in the apartment when it goes up for auction. Did I mention that we found this out on Thursday (9 days before the end of the month)? Tammy had already been doing some preliminary apartment looks just in case something would happen but she was unable to find anything suitable in our price range (and by suitable I mean clean and in decent condition).

So Thursday we immediately raised the stress level to orange. At 7:00, we met with our realtor/agent and took a look at two of the “better” apartments from the previous lot that Tammy had viewed. One needed a lot of work, the fridge had not been used in some time and they had closed it without airing it out. When you opened it, you were immediately sorry you did (a new fridge was the only option). There were other issues as well so the apartment wasn’t really on the list. The second apartment we looked at we had seen in the past. We knew the pervious tenants and it had been open since the summer. They had painted it and it was in good condition. Both apartments were in Horizon so we didn’t have to move far so that was a good thing. Our agent contacted the second landlord on Friday but it seemed that someone else also looked at the apartment as well and they wanted to increase their asking price. It was nice but I wasn’t going to get into a bidding war over the place (plus we found out the landlords were not as nice as advertised, sign the deal and they instantly turned into deaf, dumb and blind….see no tenants, hear no tenants, think no tenants). So, we were still were without anything and the countdown timer was rolling.

We had to expand beyond Horizon since it seemed that the prices here are higher than other areas (although I am not certain I know why). We first went to Bai Ling to look at 7 apartments there. Some were okay but only 2 made our list. The others had too many things that would need to be changed (one had a nice “theme” for the one bedroom, it was like little Timmy’s wild adventures. The ceiling light was a sun, there were glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling as well. One wall had fishies, one wall had aireoplanes, one wall had birds and the other wall was full of 3M sticky pads from the stuff that had been removed). Then it was on to Four Seasons to look at a duplex. This was a quaint (Tammy’s term) place, it was a two story apartment, not too small but not really big that actually had a small backyard (and by small I mean when I say it’s time to cut the grass you grab your scissors). Then we looked at one place at Landmark Skylight. This apartment was separated into two floors and actually had a lot of space, it was very nice so we had to make a choice. The most interesting thing is the prices for the apartments. There was a 3,000 RMB difference in price between the 250 sq. meter apartment at Landmark versus a 210 sq. meter apartment at Horizon. The smaller apartment at Horizon was more expensive than the larger apartment at Landmark (and yes, I wrote that correctly). Landmark is an older complex which probably plays into the price but still, that’s a lot of coin to pay for a newer place.

I really don’t like to apartment search (especially with such short notice) but we hope we get a shot at the right place. Now, we are in the offer and wait mode to see what comes of the offers we have put on the apartments. When they give you a price, it is the same as the US. It’s the rental cost without any of the extras. Water, gas, electricity, telephone, internet, etc. are all additional costs that have to be negotiated into the contract. Here, we try to negotiate all of the costs to be paid by the landlord since it takes all of that extra stuff away from us and makes it one check (one call does it all) to track every month.

Now the story gets even more interesting. Divorces in China are just as brutal as the ones in the US. Tuesday, the husband of our landlady “stopped by” (and by stopped by I mean he attempted to break into the apartment by picking the lock) to see the apartment. He convinced one of the people from the management office to help him to get into the apartment (with a 100 RMB bribe). Tammy was just out of the shower and didn’t hear the doorbell so she was surprised when she found these two at the front door trying to pick the lock. She didn’t know who the guy was but assumed he was there to look at the apartment (potential buyer) since there was another person that was there earlier. So in he comes and begins the third degree on Tammy, he wants to see the contract/lease, how much do we pay, etc. She calls our agent and he talks to her on the phone. Tammy calls me and lets me know what is happening. This fool is in the apartment and refuses to leave until he gets the contract. We are under no obligation to show it to him since his name isn’t on it and we don’t know who the hell he is so she tells him no. He continues to ask how much we pay, etc. I go to the people at work and ask for help to get him out. They contact Sammi (our agent) and she already knows. So I call Tammy and ask to speak with the guy. I tell him he should leave and he claims not to speak English (this really fired me up because I knew he could understand me), so I start raising my voice and indicate to him that he should leave because he was asked to leave by Tammy. He listens and hands the phone back to Tammy. Did I mention that I am in the front office at work cursing over the phone at this idiot? I mean, here he is in my apartment refusing to leave and giving my wife the third degree…what would you do? I ask to get a taxi to go home and see what is happening. Sammi is on her way to the apartment to assist. Meanwhile, Tammy is held back from meetings at the school because she can’t leave with this man sitting on the couch (like a small child, I’m going to hold my breath until you give in and give me what I want).

When I arrive at the apartment, there are 5 Chinese in the apartment including the fool and of course Tammy. One security guy from the complex, two people from the real estate agent’s office and a others that I don’t know. It was surreal. I ask why they have to deal with this problem in our apartment; it’s between him and his wife. It turns out that he has called the police and we are waiting for them to arrive. When they arrive, he speaks with them and with my limited Chinese I only understood that he wanted the contract for the apartment. He claims that his wife told him the apartment was empty and he wants to see the contract to know that we are okay to be here (I call BS!!!). So we get asked for our passports by the police and then after they take the information, everyone slowly goes into the hallway. The landlady is contacted and is convinced to provide the contract to her soon to be ex-husband (gee, I wonder what went wrong with this loving couple?). We wait for another 20 minutes and someone shows up with the contract. He comes back and apologizes (like I give a rats butt!) and says he will not be back (the anti-Arnold). The man from the realtors office tells us that his wife made a false claim to the courts and the contract will help him in court. I tell them that I hope he gets what he deserves (it’s too bad in cases like this that good old American sarcasm is lost on the Chinese because he didn’t get the meaning). Then, poof, it’s all over. After 2 hours of this garbage, things settle back down I guess but many questions remain. Okay, now that the contract has been looked at, is he coming back on the 1st to be sure we are gone? When can we move into the new place?

It still boggles my mind that he actually came into the apartment and refused to leave. What would’ve happened had he done this to the kids? I don’t think he understood our anger but he and everyone else knew that we were unhappy. I think that if they didn’t know some Laowai swear words, they should know a few by now. Back home, he probably could’ve been prosecuted for trespassing (he really had no legal right to the place that I know of) or someone could’ve busted a cap in his butt. This is some crazy stuff people. The old adage, money is the root of all evil seems to fit the bill. Stay tuned, more to come on this situation as the week progresses.

The Wedding Singer

I have mentioned before about walking along the lake and seeing the wedding parties and all of the photos being taken of the bride and groom. It’s an odd sight and because the photos are taken with what we (Westerners) would call typical wedding attire, they don’t draw too much interest from us except just to people watch. Watch how the bride and groom walk separately from area to area to get the photos taken. She is usually with her family and he is with his friends, you would expect a little more intimacy between the two but you just don’t see it. Anyhow, one of the kids at work was getting married and I asked him questions about the wedding and I found out some very interesting things regarding the weddings in China. What I see in Suzhou is not a traditional wedding. Ocean (that is his English name) happened to have videos of his brother’s wedding that he shared with me and that opened my eyes a little to what the traditional Chinese wedding is like.

First, they don’t wear white! For the Western weddings; white is a symbol of purity (even if it is the 2nd wedding, 3rd wedding, etc.). In China, white is worn for funerals (hmmm, wedding = death…..fill in your own comical observation here) and it is worn for those that want to embrace the Westerner style wedding, which is becoming more common especially in the bigger cities with larger Western populations. The Chinese wedding dress is red. The gown, the veil, the whole thing is a deep red color. At first glance you say “WOW! That is one red dress!” but after you get used to it, it is actually not much different than a white wedding dress. It has a similar style to it (at least to my untrained, non-metrosexual male eye) but just using red rather than white cloth.

Second, you don’t see the groom in a tuxedo. The groom was in a suit that may have been passed down and that he clearly was not comfortable wearing. The knot on the tie was a little off and not so tight and the suit wasn’t buttoned. I don’t want this to sound judgmental, it’s an observation. The suit wasn’t tailored to fit and it was probably purchased off the rack. This would be no different than a suit that someone back home might wear to church (or a funeral…there I go again).

Third, the only two people dressed up were the bride and groom. Everyone else was wearing something clean but they weren’t all decked out for the wedding. You could not see any hint of groomsman or bridesmaids; it was the bride, the groom and everyone else. This is where it started to become clear to me how different we are. This wedding was out in the country and so there was no “big city” influences. These people worn nice clothes or what they had in the closet and no one was there to judge them on the fact that they showed up with jeans and a t-shirt. It wasn’t the clothes that they wore; it was the fact that they were there that made the difference. So much different from the US where the wedding has become less about the union between two people and more about the gowns, the tuxedos, the flowers, the catering, the location, the honeymoon spot, the guest registry, the gifts and on and on (if you didn’t know Tammy and I got married in Gatlinburg, TN, just the two of us. We thought it was the right decision for us but everyone has their own path to follow. We’ve been married for 16 years, so it’s really not all about the peripheral junk; it’s about the commitment you make to each other, for better or for worse. I’m not judging those who follow the “traditional route”, I’m just saying that for us, we made the right decision).

Fourth, the bride was removed from her house sitting in a chair with a hood over her head. I believe this was to signify the stealing of the daughter from her parents to start her new life. Once out of the house, her feet were not to touch the ground until they reached their new home. The people carrying her were family members I assume. All of the women in the family traveled in the same caravan (not a Dodge Caravan, the same group of cars) as the bride. Watching the video it was funny to see all of the people pile out of the small van that was behind the car with the bride. It was almost like a clown car at the circus, people just kept coming out.

Fifth, all of the groom’s belongings were packed up from his home and taken to his new home by the family. You see uncles, cousins, brothers (the one child policy was not for the entire nation, it was for those that lived in the big cities. Most of those in the country have multiple brothers and sisters). They load up the meager (by Western standards) possessions on trucks and haul them out to the new home.

Six, the entire family drives out to the new home of the couple to be married. The groom goes out with his stuff and the bride arrives later. When she arrives, the groom must pick her up out of the car (she doesn’t move to help him, she just sits there so he’s got to have a strong back or she had better be a small woman). He has to carry her while running around the car three times while being chased by a family member. I don’t remember why but this is what the video showed. Once he has made the laps around the car, he then carries her into the yard of their new home and puts her down. Watching the video, she didn’t smile or seem happy the entire time but perhaps it was nerves, he didn’t look too giddy either. Neither looked particularly comfortable but perhaps I don’t know body language that well.

Then I think the ceremony takes place although I can’t really tell. The audio is in Chinese (well duh!!!) so I don’t know what is being done or said through much of the remainder of the video but it is extremely interesting to watch. Other observations;
Each family member of the couple comes down and takes a seat in front of the couple. Again, the furniture here is just some old kitchen chairs but it’s obviously not about the show. As they sit down, they hand an envelope to a person near the chairs who makes a note and tucks the envelope away. This is money for the couple. The couple is standing there facing the chairs. As the family members sit down, the couple must kneel and bow three times. This is a sign of respect not only for the family member but for their ancestors as well. I don’t know how many people they had to bow to but I’m telling you it was a lot! Standing, kneeling, bowing, standing, kneeling, bowing, over and over again (it was like a Catholic mass x 100). Each time, sit, envelope, kneel, then on to the next one. This was a little surprising to me but I was glad that this was explained to me by Ocean. I could see the kneeling but understanding the reason behind it made it more interesting to me.

The next thing comes the celebration, which means the drinking (and I mean drinking). Now this is where perhaps it is more like a Western wedding. Where people sit at the tables is very important here, to be facing a certain direction is considered to be very bad so everything had to be thought out as to who sat at what table and which direction they faced. While they ate, the groom came around and served drinks to everyone. He had a bottle and a small cup (probably about 6-8 ounces could be held in the cup). He would serve the drink to a guest; they would down it (chug, chug, chug). He would refill the glass, they would down it (chug, chug, chug), he would refill it again although they would protest a little, they would down it. Now from this point, he could refill it again with some serious protesting from the guest who would down the drink again. After their long protest, he would serve them no more and move on to the next person. Sometimes it was wine, sometimes it was maltai (Chinese moonshine) but the maltai was served in a double shot glass. It was always at least 3 refills and sometimes it was much more than that. Usually the women had the wine and the men had the maltai, although I saw some men who had both. The Chinese aren’t really known for their ability to handle liquor but they seemed to do okay. What was most interesting here was that in some of the video we could see a grandfather clock in the background. The first drinks started to flow around 11:00am (that’s right, 11 in the morning). The next time we saw the clock with the drinks being served was 2:00, then 4:00, it was one large drinking party (a frat party that started in the early afternoon). The bride would also serve drinks but also she had another role. She would provide cigarettes to the men and then light their smoke. Why? I have no idea at all; it was just what it was. Even if the men didn’t smoke (and in China it seems that almost all men smoke for whatever reason), they would accept the cigarette. Cigarettes and booze at the wedding, it’s a pretty different concept.

Who was at the wedding? Family, friends, and of course big brother. Ocean was pointing out people and of note he pointed out the mayor of the town and the local party official. Of course, they had the distinguished seats. It was one of those things where they may not come but you should invite them (just because). He also pointed out that any local government officials, mayors, governors, etc. need to speak the local dialect and Mandarin. This is so they can communicate with the local people and be able to communicate with the government at the provincial and state level. If they cannot speak Mandarin, then they cannot be a government official. This actually makes some sense.

There was music at the wedding. At first it was a brass band that walked alongside the cars when they arrived near the home. It sounded like a funeral dirge (rim-shot) but I’m sure it was something traditional. They played for maybe 1 hour or so as far as I could tell. Then when the drinking and eating started, the “band” played. This was pretty comical. It was a girl on an electric keyboard set and two singers a man and a woman. It sounded so much like karaoke that it was funny. I thought at first that it what it was but then I saw the girl actually playing the keyboards (and she had the most bored, disinterested look I’ve ever seen from a “musician”, perhaps she was like the bridesmaid that could not find a man and this would constantly remind her of that). The best part was that the male singer wore a “wife beater” t-shirt, you know the one with no sleeves. Seriously, he wore a sleeveless t-shirt and performed at the wedding. Nothing could sum up the difference between the Western wedding and the Chinese wedding more than that. It really drove home the point that it wasn’t about the “sutff”, it was about the wedding. Is it about having the 500 guests and booking the prestigious location for the reception? Does having that mean that you love each other more than someone that goes to the Justice of the Peace? Will your wedding last longer if you get the $500 wedding cake as opposed to the $200 wedding cake? Again, these are my questions and perhaps I use them to justify my own cheap-ass wedding. I’m willing to admit that I’m a tightwad but I also know that for me, dealing with all of the “stuff” for a wedding just wasn’t my thing. I’m not judging those that have big weddings, everyone has their own road to travel. There is a wedding in my family that is now being planned for next summer (hopefully after reading this my invitation will not mysteriously be lost in the mail). I guess my advice would be to remember why you are getting married in the first place. Where you do it, how you do it is up to you but it should be about you and not about all of the other stuff.

Bowling in China

The other weekend, we went bowling. We had heard about a bowling alley near Dushu Lake so we looked up some information on the place. After all, we didn’t want to travel 30 minutes to a place that might have closed or if it was like 40 years old or something. My research online indicated that the place was very technically advanced and had 28 lanes for bowling so it sounded like a good place. It was out in the middle of nowhere but we decided to go anyhow (one of the disadvantages to not having a car, sometimes getting to a place is easy….it’s getting back home that is the problem). We took the 20 minute ride to the place and got to see a few new sights since it wasn’t a normal route for us. JiaFu Bowling is located in a “sports complex” which has a gym and other sporting activity courts all contained in one building. We walked in and found the bowling alley rather quickly since the place wasn’t crowded; we just hoped the bowling alley was open so we didn’t make the trip for nothing (you never can tell if the internet has all the correct information). It was open (a good sign) and we walked in and took a quick look around. It appeared to be like a bowling alley but there was something different that we noticed right away. We didn’t hear the sounds of pins being knocked down, there was no smell of popcorn and pizza (and of course that intriguing aroma that is the mixture of shoe spray and feet), it was rather quiet. It was a little darker than I expected and right away the décor seemed a bit odd but it is a bowling alley so it’s not like they should have a leather couch and high backed Queen Anne chairs and stuff (would you have any Grey Poupon?).

Behind the counter are 4 people working and we go over and indicate that we want to bowl. How many games? Um, one and we’ll see how that goes. How many people? Okay, pay now. Ummm, okay. So I pay the girl for 4 games. Then she gives me a receipt and points me to her immediate left. We go over to get shoes for bowling, which required that I show the receipt (even though he just saw me pay…see my post “It Must be the Shoes”). We had to provide sizes (which is always fun since they want the European sizes) and the kid behind the counter would look for us (after he puts on his protective mask and rubber gloves to handle our shoes. Eewww, foreigner foot odor.). BUT, in order for us to get the shoes, we had to give him our shoes. Really!?!? Okay, I guess (I’ll give you my new pair of Aasics for your lovely old two-tone slick-soled shoes…sucker!). So we tried on the shoes and once we had pairs that fit (of course, it took several pairs for Warren to find the right size), he gave me back the receipt and pointed us towards the bowling lanes. There around the corner of the counter is another employee who will get us to our lane and help us get the bowling balls (it wasn’t like it was located in a different building or something, it was 4 meters right in front of us). He looks at the receipt (of course) and shows us to our lane (today’s special is King Pao Chicken and it’s 2-for-1 beers until 7:00 pm). He asks us what ball weight we use and we tell him. He asks all of us, I guess assuming that we all want a different ball (do you understand the concept of sharing). It took a little more time after he gave us the balls for us to walk around on our own and try a few more since our fat, sausage fingers wouldn’t fit into the finger holes of many of these balls.

With a real good look at the bowling alley, I would have to say that it was a little less than “state-of-the-art” (and that’s being kind). It had 12 lanes (what happened to the other 16?), which seemed a little narrower than I remembered. The scorer’s keyboard was in Chinese so the employee had to help us enter our names (which we just entered our first initial to make life easy for him). There were screens over top of the lanes that indicated your score and would tell you what pins you knocked down and such, which was similar to what I am used to with the exception that here the screens were purple (I think that the brightness was put on the absolute lowest setting). They had small, odd shaped 60’s sofas (and I’m talking the “peace and love man” type sofas) that were located in such a way that you could not really even see your lane without leaning over to see. The entire place felt more like a bomb shelter than a bowling alley but it isn’t like this is a major sport for the Chinese (not like table tennis, don’t even get me started on that). The bowling balls were “Made in the USA”, oddly enough. I guess if a bowling ball was built in China eventually it would explode upon impact with the pins. There wasn’t an option for bumpers so there was no chance for the kids to cheat. There were about 4 other people in the place bowling when we arrived. One guy in a lane to our left seemed to be pretty good at it. I don’t know what he scored but he was at least bowling a good game. He was the closest and he was 2 lanes over, other than that, nobody (did I already say that).

So, we bowl. No warm up, no courtesy throws to check the lanes, no practice, just start bowling. Not much different about the bowling except to say that we are terrible. Despite our obvious lack of talent for the sport, we still got an audience of the bowling alley employees that would watch us bowl. It was like they were there to assist us but I’m not sure with what. They would smile when we got a strike or did well and seemed to look away when the ball went in the gutter. We tried not to notice but it was hard not to. For snacks at the alley (because Jacob’s favorite thing to do is say “I’m hungry” or “I’m thirsty” as soon as we get anywhere that might have food) there were chips, soda and beer. So the kids got their barbeque pork potato chips (you read that correctly) and a lemon drink. We completed one game and then had to walk back to the counter to pay for another round and then show the receipt again to the “ball boy” so he would let us continue to play.

While we were going through our second round, the place got more “crowded”. A young lady came in and got the lane next to us. We thought it would be interesting to see if they have any “lane etiquette” (that means, when you are in position to bowl, no one around you throws, first one up is the first one to bowl so you don’t break the concentration, if you don’t do this then a pox upon you). She was actually quite funny to watch as she didn’t have a ball but made the motions of bowling, (something like playing the air guitar but she was air bowling). We found it strange but thought that perhaps she was a good bowler and used this technique to mentally prepare for her moves (wax on, wax off). Unfortunately for her, once she actually put a bowling ball in her hand she had zero control over where it went. She was bad (not Michael Jackson bad, crappy bad, even worse than we were and that’s saying something). Another guy came in and he took the far lane. Nothing like seeing someone bowl with a cigarette in his mouth. Nothing gives you the impression of an athlete more than that. Neither of them showed any lane etiquette, no surprises there are witnessing the “road rules” around here. They would bowl quickly like it was speed bowling or something. It was interesting to watch. Usually they had two balls just so they didn’t have to wait for the ball to come back. As soon as the pins were reset, the next ball was on the way.

So on the one hand, it was bowling. On the other hand it wasn’t the same but we’re not in the US are we? Getting home was a little of a challenge. We asked the people in the information center to call us a taxi but I don’t think that happened. They indicated we should wait outside for 10 minutes. Well, we did and nothing. It started to sprinkle a little and we were a little concerned that we would be getting a soaking before a taxi came along. We went out to a larger intersection and were able to flag one down in about 15 minutes. It was tough since we didn’t see many cabs but we got lucky that we were able to find one within a relatively short time. All-in-all, it was another experience to check off the list of things to do while in China.

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A quick change of topic just because I can. Today we went out to the lake to people watch. While we sat and watched a group of 2 boys and 2 girls came by (somewhere between 16 and 20 years old) and sat down near us. While they walked up, they were obviously staring us down. They sat across from us and watched us intently (it was obvious). Soon, one of the young men came over and sat down right next to Warren. His group cheered him as he obviously passed his dare. Soon, the group all moved over to our side and tried to speak a little to us. We were a little lost with some of the phrases they asked but we could make out some of it. Soon, a flower came out and was given to Warren. He tried to turn it down but they insisted he take it. They were howling with delight to watch him squirm (Tammy and I also were enjoying it). So we sat there for another 15 minutes and it was time to go. When we got up, we said our goodbyes and Warren gave the flower to one of the girls. As soon as we started to move away, they got up and headed in another direction. We hear one of the girls shout “I love you” as we move away. Very funny! It’s not often that we get to watch the interaction of the younger kids, especially with our kids. Warren was not quite as amused as Tammy and I but it was pretty darned funny.

Name That Flavor

Another photo and another guessing game. I'll take name that flavor for $500 Alex. This is a box of Oreo cookies we picked up at Wal-Mart here in Suzhou. We know it's Oreos, note the Kraft mark in the upper left hand corner. These were called "Ice Cream Flavored" on the side panel. Our thinking a) it's an Oreo cookie....how bad can that be? B) It's called ice cream flavor...again Oreos & Ice Cream, a good combination. C) It's a green color with little green leaves out of the ice cream dish. I know I'm leading the witness here but what flavor would you guess this to be?

Unless you somehow picked green tea, you are completely wrong (and if you picked green tea you need to get checked out because you are on the verge of a breakdown). That's right folks, green tea ice cream flavored oreos! For whatever reason, I'm thinking mint Oreos, mmmm, mmm. However, once a bite was taken my joy rapidly faded as the realization hit me that I had been fooled again by my Western ideas of food. (Shame on me) I'll call it my "Western goggles" (similar to beer goggles but not exactly the same). I see the packaging and read it to be what I would expect based on my experiences. Instead, I should look at the packaging with great skepticism and determine what the Chinese would eat (WWCE, What Would the Chinese Eat...and the answer is just about anything). If I had thought about it in that manner, I might have not taken the chance to purchase these but you live and learn (or perhaps I'll never learn). So they have fooled me with gum and now cookies, what else do these fiendish people have out there waiting for me (my kingdom for a mint Oreo)? Only time will tell. Oh, and just so you know, Warren really didn't like the flavor either but he ate them (big surprise).

It must be the Shoes

With the Shanghai posts made recently, it may have been speculated that we threw our kids under the bus so now we will briefly talk about the kids (after all, we do have to live with them). We don’t like to pimp out our kids and be the “rub your face in it” parents so I’ll keep this short.

Warren is now in High School so he’s got a ton more homework and responsibility to keep him well grounded (or he will be grounded….how ‘bout that play on words. Man, I kill myself.). Last year near year end, he started to play water polo. This year, he has joined the swim team at school. If he can achieve some certain criteria, he’ll be asked to travel with the team to compete in swim meets both inside and outside of China. We’ll have to wait and see how that goes, he is still learning how to make the proper dives, turns, etc. He also continues to play the trombone and has earned a spot on the orchestra. By earning this spot, in November he will travel to Japan to play. I’m sure you are wondering where he got his musical talent, well I don’t mean to brag (or live in the past) but I was in All-County Band during my Middle School years and was in the Marching Band in 9th grade so I think you can see where I’m going with this. That’s right, I take all the credit for his musical skills (as Tammy always says “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”, although usually when she says this she is talking about Jacob and his personality traits (and I don’t mean the good ones).

This year Jacob has moved into the Middle School and so has obtained his laptop computer that he needs for school (it’s a school requirement so don’t think that we said “Hey, if you make it to Middle School you’ll get a computer. That’s not really how we work, High School will get you a new car and College will get you a lifetime supply of loans to repay and no job to make money to repay those loans. Whoops! Off-track.) He decided to try out for the school soccer team and made the team. Now, since he has made the team, we had to purchase him cleats so he could show off his “skills”. [Have I said enough about the kids yet? Well, that’s all you are going to get, this was my lead-in to the point of the post]

So, in China, buying things is slightly different than at home. This was a perfect example of how different things are. We stop at a shoe store that is located at Li Gong Di. Typically these stores are very expensive and we never see anyone shopping there but since we had dinner nearby, we decided to take a look while we were there. So, there are the 4 of us but inside the store (which was about the size of a shoe store in a mall) there were 6 people working. No one else was shopping, just us (and I mean no one, probably hadn’t seen a customer in weeks or at least that is the feeling I get each time we walk by these shops). So the one girl braves the foreigners to come over and help. Jacob looks at the shoes and finds a pair he likes and surprisingly, the price was right (much to my surprise). So, he tries them on with some help from the young lady who was willing to help although we had a little difficulty in communicating. They seemed a little surprised that Tammy and I were checking the shoes to determine where his toes were (you know, push down and find the toe). Perhaps they weren’t accustomed to this type of size check & confirmation or maybe they thought we were doing their job, who really knows. So, once we get the correct size we are ready to pay. We indicate the shoes are okay and she takes us over to the counter. The counter is shaped kind of like an “L”. On the one side, there is our salesperson that begins to ring up the sale. She indicates the price and hands us an invoice then points us to the other woman behind the other side angle of the counter (no shoes, she keeps those). Now, these two workers were within 2 feet of each other but both had different job functions. The second woman looks at the receipt, indicates the price and then takes our money and gives us a stamp on the invoice. We then “walk” the distance to the initial salesperson and hand her the receipt (now that it has two stamps it changes from an invoice to a receipt). Once she has the receipt, she bags the shoes and hands them over to us so we can take them home.

This seems to be a bit tedious and a bit more complex than really necessary. I mean, it’s not like they both didn’t seem the same process (heck, they both watched it all happen). However, this is how many things are sold here in China. In many cases, you take items to a counter where they are held for you. The clerk gives you an invoice (with one stamp), which you carry to the cashier. The cashier takes your money and places a second stamp on the invoice. You take the invoice back to the original clerk and pickup your item. This is how all invoices are done in China, if it only has one stamp, it’s not valid. You have to have two stamps on everything. Unnecessary…yes. Stupid…you decide. This is actually done to prevent the clerk from providing a discount to the customer and pocketing the difference. The clerk could ring you up for a pair of much cheaper shoes but charge you for the more expensive pair and pocket the difference. Also, the clerk could sell you the expensive shoes for a much cheaper price (with a little bonus for themselves from the appreciative customer). I still watch and wonder what exactly is behind this. Are the Chinese basically dishonest people that will steal at every opportunity? Are the employers so paranoid that they hire twice as many people as they need (one to do the work and another to watch them do it and yet another to be sure the second one is doing their job, and so on it goes)? Could it be that with the need to have jobs for people that it’s better to hire more than you need (since you are subsidized by the gov’t anyhow…can you say stimulus? I know you can.) with the theory that working people are satisfied people. I’ll take #3 for $500 Alex (oooh, it’s the Daily Double). Now, you can go many places and purchase items without this process but if you go to some of these more “Western” type shops this is what you should expect. No bargaining, no easy grab it and go, a little more hassle and a lot more bureaucracy.

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And just for fun, a few numbers for you.
· While in Shanghai on the Metro traveling around, there was a screen indicating how many people had gone to the World Expo on that day. How about over 300,000 people? Considering the Expo opens at 9:00am, and it was around 4:00pm when we saw the number, we would say it was probably a little crowded. Really, over 300,000 people. How many people visit Disney on a single day?
· The Shanghai Metro system achieved a new milestone for riders yesterday, 7 million people…in one day (7 million!). And due to the fact that it is Chinese National Day on Oct. 1st, they will be shutting down certain stops to prevent overcrowding. Ha! To prevent overcrowding, 7 million people in one day, that’s the very definition of overcrowding. I don’t know what the subway line in New York does on any given day but 7,000,000 is a lot of people.
· Some of the people at work are headed home for the October holiday (Oct. 1 – Oct. 5). Most travel by train to save money. Let me give you some times for the train. Vicky went to visit her sister, 25 hours. Laverne went to see her mother, 18 hours. Jerry is going to see his family, 21 hours. Not only is he traveling 21 hours, he was only able to get standing room only tickets….21 hours where you can’t be in a seat so you sit in the aisle or near the doors. 21 hours!!!! We complain about the 16 hours to get home (we’re in a seat, get 2 meals and can watch movies or sleep). That’s a cakewalk. If you are interested to know the price, 275 RMB for the 21 hour, standing room only ticket. By plane, over 1,700 RMB. You wonder why they take the train?