- The number one MUST HAVE item in China -- a shiny poofy jacket with a fur lined hood. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE has one. Old, young, boys, girls and everything in between. EVERYONE has one. Except me. THIS is a good example of what I am talking about. Are people wearing these at home? I am so behind in the fashion world.
- I am happy to report that ALL BOOTS are now in style. I have seen short ones, tall ones, brown, black, slipper style, high heel, low heel, no heel, furry, pointed, round, square....etc. No matter your boot style, all is good!! Now would be a good time to stock up on all of your favorites. Maybe I need a bigger backpack. Or a Chinese Lady Bag. I guess I am in the right place for that.
- Best thing about China? Meat on sticks. Pork buns on the street. Dumplings on the street. So I guess what I mean to say is...street food. For about a dollar, you can get 2 chicken on a stick, 6 pork bun or 6 dumpling. I have eaten about 100 of each already.
- NOT cheap? Coffee!!!! Darn it. I tried to live without it for a few days and had a huge headache. So, I am living on Nescafe instant coffee for now (and supplementing with a treat of a mocha from time to time)
- A couple of Chinese words (and totally butchered spelling I am sure) I have learned: Thank you = Xiexie (pronounced shay-shay), Hello = ni how
- Price of a beer = .50 cents
- Price of a Starbucks coffee = $4.50
- Price of a clean room, with heat and a hot shower = $12
- Price of a clean room, without heat and who knows if the shower was hot because I wasn't about to try it = $7
- Price of a sleeper bed on a train from Shanghai to Beijing (~650 miles) = $50
That's it for now! I am still emailing posts in and am going to try to hopefully have a couple pictures included here! Please let me know if they don't show up! The round door is in Little Likeng, Wuyuan Province. The tower is the Oriental Pearl in Shanghai.
Wow, so interesting to hear of all the sites that are blocked over there! Yeesh!
ReplyDeleteLove these updates. No, I have not seen anyone wearing coats like that... So I don't think it's 'in' here...
So a funny story about the Chinese word for hello... A couple of years ago, a co-worker was preparing for a trip to China so she took some language classes. I kept hearing her say, 'meow' to people. I was like - why is this woman meowing like a cat? Then someone explained that she was teaching them how to say hi in Chinese and she was actually saying 'ni how'...
Please, please don't buy a jacket like that! You'll be the laughing stock of Quincy, at the very least.
ReplyDeleteI want pork buns, meat on a stick, and a cheap berth on the train! Glad you're doing it so I can live vicariously through you! Love you! Say hi to Kevin!