Discovering 'the old' China

As some of you know, I have been sad because I have felt that Shanghai is much more expensive than I remembered the rest of China being, and felt that China has just been too clean, the people too well-dressed, and just generally classier than Beijing. Now, I admit that the class is nice and all, and I'm getting used to seeing other foreigners, but today I made an exciting discovery.

I discovered my old China again.

Friday I went shopping with a friend at a mall, and she told me it was cheaper than the places by work. Relieved to have a local guide, I joined her and her mother at this other shopping venue, only to discover that yes, this stuff was cheaper than by work (work has Bally, Coach, and other big-name brands), but it was still priced similarly to that in America. I still found a skirt I liked a lot and so shelled out the cash for it, but missed my cheap hole-in-the-wall shopping places where I could get crappy clothing for good prices. This stuff was just too good!

Well I asked this co-worker to recommend a cheap place for me to go, and she gladly provided the name of a place for me. I looked it up on a map and though it was accessible by subway, it was not too close to me. Perfect, I decided, and perfect it almost was.

I set out this morning and got there about 45 minutes later, to find shopping galore! Most places I haggled a fair bit, and though things were still not as dirt cheap as they were in Beijing two years ago, things were fair-priced, and I also admit I wasn't trying too hard. I came back home with a slightly lighter wallet ($60 USD or so), and 2 pairs of shoes, two shirts, two pretty purses (more on those in a minute), a pair of earrings, a new wallet (my old one is falling apart), an umbrella with a pretty pattern on it, a nightgown, and I had lunch. I now feel much better outfitted for work and life in general.

Now this area had much less class, which I appreciated. I was on the train on the way over there and when we stopped at a station, I noted a woman holding her son towards a supporting column in an odd manner. He must of been about three, and she was holding him with his back to her, also holding his legs up, so he was in a little ball, more or less. I curiously continued watching and then he started to urinate into the trash can by the column. All of a sudden I could better understand why she was holding him in an odd position facing a pillar. This is the class I better remember China with.

When I was bag shopping I went into this store and was surrounded by cute bags. I found one that was the right size and a dark purple and really cute, and asked her how much. She gave me an answer of something like 380, I stopped listening after that. I told her not to cheat me, and per custom she asked me how much I thought it should be. I said 100, remembering that by my house something similar had been about 150, and thinking that would be reasonable. She said yes way too quickly, and so I realized my mistake. Panicked, not wanting to overspend, I went to a bag that was the same style but different color and shape (cute green bag). I asked her how much for two, and she said 200. I told her I wouldn't pay the same for two as I would for one, and countered with 150. She said 180, I said 160 and that's that. She relented, I felt better about buying them, and thus got two really cute and colorful, big purses for a good deal.

At lunch I went to a little noodle shop and got a bowl, then someone else sat at my table, and what was he wearing but a shirt with aboriginal Australian art on it. I asked if he had been to Australia, and he said he hadn't, but apparently his daughter had. So we talked for a while, about America and China and studying abroad and all sorts of things, and it was fun, the noodles were good, and he was nice.

Perhaps I'll post about work later this week, but for now I should probably go and do my work. Until the next post,
Jenny