Eric&Yuhui Posted March 9, 2003 Report Share Posted March 9, 2003 10/ Pumping gas at station.. What? they don't do it for you in America ?9/ Walmart trip: A must in Kansas... Shopped to death for house8/ Bankrupt Kmart trip : A must nationwide7/ Identifying a jar of Mayonnaise in the fridge. No joke. Mayo what ?? 6/ First driving lesson today on dirt road.. Yes !! I still have a car !! Intact ! 5/ Cooked first American breakfast FOR ME .... delicious... I'm so proud :-)4/ Chinese food in KS aint' exactly Shanghai's kids LOL3/ Operated washing machine... Still 10 fingers intact..2/ Wanted to argue price at grocery store... I had to step in..1/ The greatest 4 days of my life Link to comment
tonado Posted March 9, 2003 Report Share Posted March 9, 2003 Eric, Good post. I am sure all of them will experience something new. In Guilin, my gal tried to get rid of the foggy mirror in the bathroom by spraying water using the shower head. When she came out the bathroom, there was 1 inch of water on the floor. Link to comment
Eric&Yuhui Posted March 9, 2003 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2003 Eric, Good post. I am sure all of them will experience something new. In Guilin, my gal tried to get rid of the foggy mirror in the bathroom by spraying water using the shower head. When she came out the bathroom, there was 1 inch of water on the floor. I'm a diver, so I could have handled that.. No sweat ... LOLAre you? Link to comment
Robert S. Posted March 9, 2003 Report Share Posted March 9, 2003 Eric, you may have called to attention an actual *need* among people who were raised in a culture where haggling and bargaining over the price of something is an important and enjoyable part of daily life. I lived in the Middle East for a year and had the pleasure of feeling like I got the price down an items I was trying to purchase. There are not many opportunities for exercising this skill in America. A few examples where bargaining is expected include yard sales, purchasing a car or real estate, pets and livestock, or perhaps selling something through an advertisement in the newspaper. When I was with Ping in China I had some old clothes and an old suitcase I wanted to throw away and I wanted to just leave them out on the curb the way we do here in America but she would not let me. She said anything like that had to be put in the garbage. I tried to explain to her about how we would do something like that here. Like maybe you had a whole bunch of stuff you did not want, so maybe you have a yard sale and sell some of it and the rest you don't feel like messing around with any more you would just put out on the curb and the city trash department will come around and carry it off. Maybe somebody comes along and gets something you put out there, whatever, you don't care because you did not want it anyway. She said they don't do this way in China. She said you cannot allow anyone to know that you had something that you did not want. You can get a lot of good stuff at yard sales and you get to haggle with the people as much as you want. It might be hard for China ladies to get used to the idea at first but when they found something they liked and felt like they got a bargain for it perhaps that would satisfy to some degree the need for exercising their skills at bargaining. Link to comment
Eric&Yuhui Posted March 9, 2003 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2003 Robert.... All I can say, is that when K gals get here they get the "sticker" shock..WHAAAAT??? 3 bucks for shampoo?????????? Link to comment
tonado Posted March 9, 2003 Report Share Posted March 9, 2003 Robert.... All I can say, is that when K gals get here they get the "sticker" shock..WHAAAAT??? 3 bucks for shampoo?????????? Certain items are cheaper in USA: 1. Designer Clothes2. car3. Computer, camera, consumer electronics4. Maine lobsters5. gasoline (I think) Link to comment
Eric&Yuhui Posted March 9, 2003 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2003 Robert.... All I can say, is that when K gals get here they get the "sticker" shock..WHAAAAT??? 3 bucks for shampoo?????????? Certain items are cheaper in USA: 1. Designer Clothes2. car3. Computer, camera, consumer electronics4. Maine lobsters5. gasoline (I think)right on 5 counts.. However..... most is not.We stocked on printer cartridges in China.. about 4-5 times cheaper Link to comment
owenkrout Posted March 9, 2003 Report Share Posted March 9, 2003 I hope nobody minds that I am moving this over to the Culture and Language discussion. All though done in a humorous manner, these are the kind of observations of the little daily routine things that can help everyone to be more aware of the cultural differences their loved ones will be confronting. While you are here, click on the button at the bottom left to check out the rest of the Culture and Language discussion. I can especially see numbers 2, 4, 6 & 7 coming. Link to comment
floyd Posted March 9, 2003 Report Share Posted March 9, 2003 Robert.... All I can say, is that when K gals get here they get the "sticker" shock..WHAAAAT??? 3 bucks for shampoo?????????? Take her to the dollar store for shampoo. From what I understand some things at the dollar store are cheaper then in China even though they are from China. Link to comment
Calvin Posted March 9, 2003 Report Share Posted March 9, 2003 One more thing that is cheaper here than in China: Hagen Daaz ice cream!My fiancee said it costs more than 80 yuan for one bar there and it's only available in GZ now. Told her she can eat all she wants when she get here. Link to comment
Eric&Yuhui Posted March 9, 2003 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2003 I hope nobody minds that I am moving this over to the Culture and Language discussion.no prob Link to comment
Charlotte Posted March 9, 2003 Report Share Posted March 9, 2003 One more thing that is cheaper here than in China: Hagen Daaz ice cream!My fiancee said it costs more than 80 yuan for one bar there and it's only available in GZ now. Told her she can eat all she wants when she get here. No kidding! My brother in Canada still complained about his two nieces asking him for Hagen Daaz treat in Shanghai: 2 scoops =160 yuan, close to $20 here = 3 times what they would cost here ??? I am not quite sure!If any of K girls want Chinese food, you have to take them to Chinatown restaurants, where most Chinese are dining. The restaurants in your neighborhood are mostly American Chinese food for Americans' consumption only. I often go there because my husband likes them and I don't have cook. Unless you know the chef, who should be a native Chinese, and you can ask for something special that is not on the menu. In many Chinese restaurants in TX, chefs are mexians, who cook with pre-prepared sauces. They just simply can't whip up something hometown flavor. All the dishes taste similiar!After so many years here in this country, I still miss my Shanghai food. As I read somewhere: one can't change his taste for food, but surely he can develop the taste for different type of foods. It seems true since I love American steaks, spareribs, German bratwurst and saurbratten, but still in the back of my mind, I would like sneak back to Shanghai for some real hometown food. Hush, hush.. don't tell my hubby.... Link to comment
owenkrout Posted March 9, 2003 Report Share Posted March 9, 2003 You reminded me of something that I had forgotten, Charlotte. In one small town that I lived in for awhile there was a restaraunt that had a sign out front that proudly declared, "Authentic Mexican Chinese Food". I never tried the place as it was rather seedy looking but that sign always amused me. Link to comment
chinadave2001 Posted March 9, 2003 Report Share Posted March 9, 2003 6/ First driving lesson today on dirt road.. Yes !! I still have a car !! Intact ! You, back here in the East we actually pave our roads.... Dave Link to comment
Robert S. Posted March 10, 2003 Report Share Posted March 10, 2003 6/ First driving lesson today on dirt road.. Yes !! I still have a car !! Intact ! You, back here in the East we actually pave our roads.... DaveYo, Dave, it's "yo," not "you." Hey did you see the new commercial with Yao Ming? The people keep saying yo to him and he keeps saying Yao. Roads in the Eastern US are paved? I thought they were just a collection of potholes. That salt eats them up. Link to comment
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