what's the difference?

[BuffaloPaul]

The thing about the family helping, its always true, the family helps out a ton in China. My wife always says, why did i have to marry a poor american? kinda as a joke, but the thing is that my family and i are not poor, not even close really its just that americans dont share money in the family the same way that chiense people do. Ya and designer clothes i china for a chinese person are damn expensive.

Yes, my brothers are quite well off. Jenny expects that they will just send money to us because they have more than us. I only wish

[david_dawei]

The thing about the family helping, its always true, the family helps out a ton in China. My wife always says, why did i have to marry a poor american? kinda as a joke, but the thing is that my family and i are not poor, not even close really its just that americans dont share money in the family the same way that chiense people do. Ya and designer clothes i china for a chinese person are damn expensive.

We were a touch poor, after my mom divorced... my brother and I would leave money out around the house.. my gf was shocked at this saying "it wouldn't last a minute" in her house left out. We just let who needed it to take it. I never did like the "what's mine is mine" approach when it came to family...

[ed and ying]

Beware of generalizations based on age or a limited exposure to China. If you have only experienced the boom cities - you do not know China. Most Chinese people do not lead the life you see in Shanghai. Beijing, etc. A "poor" person in Beijing is much better off than most folks.

 

Ying is frugal, she is not old. When she was young, things like a egg to share with her siblings for breakfast was a treat. Her father died when she was young.

 

She dresses very nicely, always looks stunning, but she will have nothing to do with the overpriced designer stuff.

 

In the last few years, Ying has done okay. She and I give money to help her mother, brother, sister without any hesitation. She does not live "high on the hog", she does not have a refrigerator at her Beijing apartment.

 

I think this is the real China

[tonado]

Beware of generalizations based on age or a limited exposure to China. If you have only experienced the boom cities - you do not know China. Most Chinese people do not lead the life you see in Shanghai. Beijing, etc.  A "poor" person in Beijing is much better off than most folks.

 

Ying is frugal, she is not old. When she was young, things like a egg to share with her siblings for breakfast was a treat.  Her father died when she was young.

 

She dresses very nicely, always looks stunning, but she will have nothing to do with the overpriced designer stuff.

 

In the last few years, Ying has done okay.  She and I give money to help her mother, brother, sister without any hesitation.    She does not live "high on the hog", she does not have a refrigerator at her  Beijing apartment.

 

I think this is the real China

Yes, generalization is not good.

[BuffaloPaul]

Yes, I agree there are definitely two China's. Jenny's parents live in an unheated one room house with no plumbing 1 hour from Yantai. It's cold there in the winter. They do not even own bicycles and walk everywhere on dirt roads in their small village.

 

By contrast Jenny lives in a modern apartment in Ningbo a very booming city. Her place is nice even by western standards. But she remembers the poverty and lives frugally (well, except she likes to shop )

[Dan R]

Paul what place do her parents live? I have been in Penglai and Qixia west and south of Yantai. The area is famous for its orchards. The fruit business makes it a better economy than vegetable growing areas.

 

We really must talk to Don about the use of four letter words in CFL. I keep hearing that S word, even from my SO and it is starting to strike terror to the core. Oh I hope it is exaggerated.

[david_dawei]

Beware of generalizations based on age or a limited exposure to China. If you have only experienced the boom cities - you do not know China. Most Chinese people do not lead the life you see in Shanghai. Beijing, etc.  A "poor" person in Beijing is much better off than most folks.

 

Ying is frugal, she is not old. When she was young, things like a egg to share with her siblings for breakfast was a treat.  Her father died when she was young.

 

She dresses very nicely, always looks stunning, but she will have nothing to do with the overpriced designer stuff.

 

In the last few years, Ying has done okay.  She and I give money to help her mother, brother, sister without any hesitation.    She does not live "high on the hog", she does not have a refrigerator at her  Beijing apartment.

 

I think this is the real China

I can appreciate this... Zixuan's apartment had no hot water, no shower, no frig, no means to wash clothes (other than by hand), cold in winter... I gave her and her two cousins (they all live together) some money to 'modernize' a bit.

 

Zixuan will look a very beautiful piece of clothes and I'll ask her if she likes it. She will say, "doesn't matter".. and walk away. I would look at the price tag and know why... yet she'll buy another suit maybe and save just 20 yuan.

 

Shopping for fruit is even an event... whose got the cheaper apples today... frugal to a fault... she is 31 years old.

[ed and ying]

By S word, I think you mean "Shopping" ? Ying, being are former seller is just hardcore. Here is how we do it. She is in charge - I am the dumb laowai that has wandered off, has to be located for some consultation.

She does, the final negatiation for a good price, She is the buyer - not me.

[Dan R]

Ed I know the routine. Ping will walk away rather than feeling taken advantage of. I am pretty good at it too but this laowai doesn't often know true value

[BuffaloPaul]

Yes, the dreaded S word. Jenny can shop with the best American woman. My feet have nearly fallen off every time we have gone to "have a look" somewhere. Then when she finds something theres a 30 minute negotiation I'm usually ready to just give them anything just to leave.

[david_dawei]

yes.. the dreaded "look look" (kan kan) as Zixuan would say.. eventually I learned to say, "bu mai , bu mai" (no buy, no buy)...

[ed and ying]

David

Your experience seems so close to mine. We have hot water if her on-demand water heater ignites. We got lucky on my last visit- after 2 days of attempts, the thing fired up, I got a shower before my flight home,

[david_dawei]

David

Your experience seems so close to mine.  We have hot water if her on-demand water heater ignites.  We got lucky on my last visit- after 2 days of attempts, the thing fired up, I got a shower before my flight home,

And I try not to use any other word than experience... although many might apply...

 

They bought one of those suspected hot water tanks so that you can take a shower in the already itty bitty bathroom... It took about 20+ minutes to heat up and you could get a good 7 minute shower... and then walk out into a fairly cold apartment.

 

Every morning, they wash their face with cold water.... even though they saw me take some hot water from the thermos and mix it with the cold when I did it...

[Ross]

You guys have a problem wit the on demand water heaters? Right now im staying with my wifes parents as we are waiting for her visa and they have one of the water heaters that goes on when you need hot water and its BEAUTIFUL. I want to get one when we go back to the US, a freind was staying here also for a bit and we could take 3 back to back to back 30 min showers with hot hot water. Its great, and it never doesnt fire up, if you have it set right. YA the electric water heaters suck, short showers with only alittle pressure.

Ross

[Dan R]

I didn't get to test them but I saw some beautiful digital control horozontal quick heating water heaters in the department stores.