There is more to this China experience than walks and fascinating places. I thought I'd share a few differences and things I've learned or believe in more strongly.
Shopping has been an interesting experience, especially with Jane, the master barterer, along. The city is huge, with over 7 million people so choices of places to go are abundant.
Another place that we sometimes go is a bit fancier and more expensive and further away but it has better meat and some of the goods have a greater variety . It is called Jusco. Both RT and Jusco have fixed prices.
There is a huge place that is full of little booths full of belts, pearls, jade,perfume, handbags, fabric and about anything else you might want. It is called Jimo Market. This is a place where you do bargaining. Apparently they expect you to do so and start almost 4 times above what they will drop their price to. Jane can hold on and bargain and bargain. I'm such a "woos" that I'm almost afraid to question what they say. Hopefully I will learn the art. Just Jane and I went and we got a lacquer piece, some little gifts, a back pack and some ribbon for a friend. Her "pearl" lady is out of town so I will be waiting to start that business.
About a mile away is a little open market nestled in the middle of buildings that also house little stores. You pick your eggs and hand them to the man who puts them into a sack and they are weighed to be sold. I bought corn meal out of a bin and whole wheat flour out of a bin. I bought the biggest and best mango I have ever had. They had a wonderful bakery, a fish market, fruit and vegetable stands and even some little booths with clothes. Again, you take your own bags and have to either take a taxi or carry everything home the mile. I think that next time we will buy more and take a taxi. I think it would probably be just over $1. Most of the Chinese grandma's go to the market every morning and buy everything fresh. You know that the fish are fresh, for example, because they are still swimming. I want to go and get the blue crabs and some shrimp one of these days.
Probably the most interesting and fun part of all of our shopping is that the Chinese just keep talking to you and saying more and more as if saying more will help you to understand what they are saying. It is universal, at the big stores and the little markets. They say things, you motion that you don't understand so they say more. What fun!
Another interesting experience for us is the Korean/American branch. As I lead the music in Sacrament meeting everyone sings full voice in the language of their choice. In Primary I sing in English and everyone else sings in Korean. I teach 3 little 10/11 year olds and 2 of them speak English quite well. I teach from the English manual. (Dah, what else could I do?) They are lovely people. Yesterday I wore the fun necklace that Franya Waide gave me years ago. All of the Korean women came to look at it and I even saw the grandma in the back point to it during the song. After the block she went to the kitchen and cut up a cantaloupe type of melon for us to have a snack for the road.
I've also had refreshed in my memory the idea of "#1 Christian" that George Durrant used to talk about. He tells of stepping aside for the Japanese who needed the paths and later they told him he was a #1 Christian. I'd like to find the actual story again (http://speeches.byu.edu/download.php/Durrant_George_1976.mp3). We have a single lady here as a BYU teacher who represents herself other than that role too often. I stepped aside because there was an older Chinese couple that looked like they wanted to get on the bus and she literally screamed at me, shoved me in front of them and told me that you never do that. That they people push and shove their way and you need to, too. They do push and shove but I see no reason to not be kind. The bus would not have left me.
The other day as we walked into the Olympic Venue I stopped to try to take a picture of the flags and was screamed at again. She yelled, "keep going". She was quite a distance from me but I stopped my picture taking, hobbled up to her and asked why. She explained that they had to pay to get in the spring before and we had just walked through the gate and she was afraid that someone might see us and have us pay. Again, I was dumbfounded. I was being yelled at so that I could sneak into a place without paying that she thought we might have to pay for.
There are other things that cause me concern about her but she is the other person in the Teacher's College and sees herself as an academic gift where all of the past BYU teachers have been seen as "marshmallows". I need to be a friend but I'm not used to people screaming at me and particularly so that I can be something other than a #1 Christian. Enough said. Lesson learned: Choose another route.
Love to all, Mom/Merlene
Shopping has been an interesting experience, especially with Jane, the master barterer, along. The city is huge, with over 7 million people so choices of places to go are abundant.
Normally we go to a huge store something like a Super Walmart that has clothes, school supplies, appliances, food and all of the other things of that type. It is a fairly short bus ride from our place. It is called RT. The first floor is individual stores that have more expensive things and then the main store is on the second level. We have to take our own shopping bags and remember that whatever we purchase has to be carried across a busy street to a bus stop, home on the bus, and from the bus to our apartment.
Another place that we sometimes go is a bit fancier and more expensive and further away but it has better meat and some of the goods have a greater variety . It is called Jusco. Both RT and Jusco have fixed prices.
There is a huge place that is full of little booths full of belts, pearls, jade,perfume, handbags, fabric and about anything else you might want. It is called Jimo Market. This is a place where you do bargaining. Apparently they expect you to do so and start almost 4 times above what they will drop their price to. Jane can hold on and bargain and bargain. I'm such a "woos" that I'm almost afraid to question what they say. Hopefully I will learn the art. Just Jane and I went and we got a lacquer piece, some little gifts, a back pack and some ribbon for a friend. Her "pearl" lady is out of town so I will be waiting to start that business.
About a mile away is a little open market nestled in the middle of buildings that also house little stores. You pick your eggs and hand them to the man who puts them into a sack and they are weighed to be sold. I bought corn meal out of a bin and whole wheat flour out of a bin. I bought the biggest and best mango I have ever had. They had a wonderful bakery, a fish market, fruit and vegetable stands and even some little booths with clothes. Again, you take your own bags and have to either take a taxi or carry everything home the mile. I think that next time we will buy more and take a taxi. I think it would probably be just over $1. Most of the Chinese grandma's go to the market every morning and buy everything fresh. You know that the fish are fresh, for example, because they are still swimming. I want to go and get the blue crabs and some shrimp one of these days.
Probably the most interesting and fun part of all of our shopping is that the Chinese just keep talking to you and saying more and more as if saying more will help you to understand what they are saying. It is universal, at the big stores and the little markets. They say things, you motion that you don't understand so they say more. What fun!
Another interesting experience for us is the Korean/American branch. As I lead the music in Sacrament meeting everyone sings full voice in the language of their choice. In Primary I sing in English and everyone else sings in Korean. I teach 3 little 10/11 year olds and 2 of them speak English quite well. I teach from the English manual. (Dah, what else could I do?) They are lovely people. Yesterday I wore the fun necklace that Franya Waide gave me years ago. All of the Korean women came to look at it and I even saw the grandma in the back point to it during the song. After the block she went to the kitchen and cut up a cantaloupe type of melon for us to have a snack for the road.
I've also had refreshed in my memory the idea of "#1 Christian" that George Durrant used to talk about. He tells of stepping aside for the Japanese who needed the paths and later they told him he was a #1 Christian. I'd like to find the actual story again (http://speeches.byu.edu/download.php/Durrant_George_1976.mp3). We have a single lady here as a BYU teacher who represents herself other than that role too often. I stepped aside because there was an older Chinese couple that looked like they wanted to get on the bus and she literally screamed at me, shoved me in front of them and told me that you never do that. That they people push and shove their way and you need to, too. They do push and shove but I see no reason to not be kind. The bus would not have left me.
The other day as we walked into the Olympic Venue I stopped to try to take a picture of the flags and was screamed at again. She yelled, "keep going". She was quite a distance from me but I stopped my picture taking, hobbled up to her and asked why. She explained that they had to pay to get in the spring before and we had just walked through the gate and she was afraid that someone might see us and have us pay. Again, I was dumbfounded. I was being yelled at so that I could sneak into a place without paying that she thought we might have to pay for.
There are other things that cause me concern about her but she is the other person in the Teacher's College and sees herself as an academic gift where all of the past BYU teachers have been seen as "marshmallows". I need to be a friend but I'm not used to people screaming at me and particularly so that I can be something other than a #1 Christian. Enough said. Lesson learned: Choose another route.
Love to all, Mom/Merlene
No comments:
Post a Comment