Almost there...
OK, so I'm leaving tomorrow for Hong Kong. I technically should be packing now, but typical me, I'm hanging out online instead, checking email and wasting time. Anything to procrastinate I guess!
Anyway, to kill time I wanted to share some of the things about mainland China that I think are a bit strange, and probably wouldn't remember to share when I get home. Here goes!
1. In China, there are a lot of sidewalks. I would say that at any given time about 1/3 of them are under construction. There are always ripped up sidewalks with giant piles of bricks beside them. There are also old fashioned wheelbarrows that look like the carts the gladiators rode in. They have decorative wheels and seem to be made of flimsy sticks. Next to these bricks and carts are a few guys, usually wearing dirty polo shirts and dress pants. They wear belts, and you can see them when they get hot, becuase they like to lift up the front of their shirts to cool off. There is no kind of safety wear at all, and half the guys are usually wearing plastic shower shoes like you see at CVS. They put the bricks down in a straight line, on top of a layer of concrete that they've mixed with large brooms made of bunches of sticks. There is no mortar or anything between the bricks, and the bricks are set by being pounded gently with a rubber mallet. The cool part is, in every sidewalk in China there is a path down the middle for blind people. The bricks are different, with raised patterns depending on if the path is going straigh or turning or stopping. It's amazing to me that these five guys in shower shoes can actually make these cool patterns, which are very pretty, although kind of dangerous if you're in stilettos.
2. Fashion in China. After many moons in this country you think I'd have it figured out, but I do not. There is no rhyme or reason to the parings of pants and skirts to shirts, and all manners of colors, textures, and patterns are apparently an option. Most of the men end up wearing slacks, in navy blue or grey. Jeans are all around, but usually they're pretty funky, with stuff sewn on them or rips all around. For girls, dresses are popular, even if they look like a cleaning lady outfit or an eighties prom dress cast-off. A lot of the women wear knee high stockings in tan that only reach to the top of the ankle. I assume these make your strappy sandles more comfortable, but they also end up giving you tan toes and a tan band around your ankle that is tight and cause your legs to baloon above them. It's like they're trying to reverse the kankle effect. A lot of people are into disney fashions, and even more like to wear english words on their t-shirts. Today I saw a girl whose shirt read BIMBO in giant letters. I am certain she had no idea what it meant.
3. Sales as a buisness and a concept is very different here in Asia. For one thing, there are only two styles of salespeople. The ones who are horiffically pushy, and the ones who ignore you. When you walk into a store, type one grabs you and starts trying to see what you're looking at. When she identifies it, she grabs it and starts extolling its values in whatever English she posesses. For example, "Sirk! Sirk! Goo Quality!" It's impressive, and way better than my Chinese, but it can get a bit old. When you try to leave the store, if you haven't bought anything, she grabs your arm and maybe spits at you after you're out the door. Fun! Type two will ignore you for days. You browse for awhile and you decide what you want, and you still can't catch her eye. She might be eating or reading, and even after you use your pigin Chinese "duibichi" to say excuse me, she won't look up until you've said it a few times. Even then she acts like you are the biggest nuisance ever and she doesn't have time to waste on you. It's amazing that anything ever gets sold here with how difficult it is to buy! Incredibly though, I've met some very nice ladies in the end who sold me all of China, and I'm still trying to figure out how to get it in my suitcase.
4. White people are damn funny looking. When I walk around with my roomie Jessica, who is short with a curvy figure and huge curly hair, we get more stares and whispers and catcalls then I've ever had in my whole life. In New York when I walk around sometimes I play the "stare at people and see who's staring at me game". Here, when I play that game I realize that EVERYONE is looking at me! People send their children up to say Hello to me, becuase they're learning English in schools. Other familes make their toddlers come touch me, becuase they're frightened. Men yell out that they love us, and people stop and stare when we walk by. The other day I was in the elevator with two Chinese girls. When they got on their mouths dropped when they saw me, and as we rode up together one girl turned to the other and grabbed her boobs and started speaking in a loud voice. They alternated staring at my boobs and grabbing theirs, while making a face like WOW. That's all I have to say. Wow.
OK, back to packing now. Ugh. This always makes me wish I could teleport myself. If anyone has any information on that, please let me know. Take care until civilization!
Anyway, to kill time I wanted to share some of the things about mainland China that I think are a bit strange, and probably wouldn't remember to share when I get home. Here goes!
1. In China, there are a lot of sidewalks. I would say that at any given time about 1/3 of them are under construction. There are always ripped up sidewalks with giant piles of bricks beside them. There are also old fashioned wheelbarrows that look like the carts the gladiators rode in. They have decorative wheels and seem to be made of flimsy sticks. Next to these bricks and carts are a few guys, usually wearing dirty polo shirts and dress pants. They wear belts, and you can see them when they get hot, becuase they like to lift up the front of their shirts to cool off. There is no kind of safety wear at all, and half the guys are usually wearing plastic shower shoes like you see at CVS. They put the bricks down in a straight line, on top of a layer of concrete that they've mixed with large brooms made of bunches of sticks. There is no mortar or anything between the bricks, and the bricks are set by being pounded gently with a rubber mallet. The cool part is, in every sidewalk in China there is a path down the middle for blind people. The bricks are different, with raised patterns depending on if the path is going straigh or turning or stopping. It's amazing to me that these five guys in shower shoes can actually make these cool patterns, which are very pretty, although kind of dangerous if you're in stilettos.
2. Fashion in China. After many moons in this country you think I'd have it figured out, but I do not. There is no rhyme or reason to the parings of pants and skirts to shirts, and all manners of colors, textures, and patterns are apparently an option. Most of the men end up wearing slacks, in navy blue or grey. Jeans are all around, but usually they're pretty funky, with stuff sewn on them or rips all around. For girls, dresses are popular, even if they look like a cleaning lady outfit or an eighties prom dress cast-off. A lot of the women wear knee high stockings in tan that only reach to the top of the ankle. I assume these make your strappy sandles more comfortable, but they also end up giving you tan toes and a tan band around your ankle that is tight and cause your legs to baloon above them. It's like they're trying to reverse the kankle effect. A lot of people are into disney fashions, and even more like to wear english words on their t-shirts. Today I saw a girl whose shirt read BIMBO in giant letters. I am certain she had no idea what it meant.
3. Sales as a buisness and a concept is very different here in Asia. For one thing, there are only two styles of salespeople. The ones who are horiffically pushy, and the ones who ignore you. When you walk into a store, type one grabs you and starts trying to see what you're looking at. When she identifies it, she grabs it and starts extolling its values in whatever English she posesses. For example, "Sirk! Sirk! Goo Quality!" It's impressive, and way better than my Chinese, but it can get a bit old. When you try to leave the store, if you haven't bought anything, she grabs your arm and maybe spits at you after you're out the door. Fun! Type two will ignore you for days. You browse for awhile and you decide what you want, and you still can't catch her eye. She might be eating or reading, and even after you use your pigin Chinese "duibichi" to say excuse me, she won't look up until you've said it a few times. Even then she acts like you are the biggest nuisance ever and she doesn't have time to waste on you. It's amazing that anything ever gets sold here with how difficult it is to buy! Incredibly though, I've met some very nice ladies in the end who sold me all of China, and I'm still trying to figure out how to get it in my suitcase.
4. White people are damn funny looking. When I walk around with my roomie Jessica, who is short with a curvy figure and huge curly hair, we get more stares and whispers and catcalls then I've ever had in my whole life. In New York when I walk around sometimes I play the "stare at people and see who's staring at me game". Here, when I play that game I realize that EVERYONE is looking at me! People send their children up to say Hello to me, becuase they're learning English in schools. Other familes make their toddlers come touch me, becuase they're frightened. Men yell out that they love us, and people stop and stare when we walk by. The other day I was in the elevator with two Chinese girls. When they got on their mouths dropped when they saw me, and as we rode up together one girl turned to the other and grabbed her boobs and started speaking in a loud voice. They alternated staring at my boobs and grabbing theirs, while making a face like WOW. That's all I have to say. Wow.
OK, back to packing now. Ugh. This always makes me wish I could teleport myself. If anyone has any information on that, please let me know. Take care until civilization!
posted by Beth at 10:45 PM
3 Comments:
Your boobs have always been an international tourist attraction! That is why you are the star of the show.
Love you - N
i was howling with laughter as I read this. You may not know it but besides a talent for singing, maybe you should be doing standup!!
i was howling with laughter as I read this. You may not know it but besides a talent for singing, maybe you should be doing standup!!
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