Day 2 - Stuff that I diddn't put in yesterday and stuff I did today.
So what did I do today? I realized I diddn't have any toilet paper and that I need to buy some.Still no pictures... making a little progress though. So yesterday I got to the airport fine. Immigrations A-OK. Baggage claim was a bit confusing, but paitence solves all. You know those guys who come up to you and ask if you need a taxi? Yup. They exist. 2 of them asked me.
Got a taxi, which was a 2RMB one (12 cents CAD)/ kilometer. Taxi driver was nice. He had a funny steering wheel thingy and a Mao emblem. Chinese driving is seriously horrible. Noone has heard of signaling. The normal way to lanechange is either super slow, driving on the shoulder or cutting someone off. If you drive in China, I salute you for your nerves of steel and shun you for your lack of driving skill.
First impression of RenDa International Student Building: GHETTTTTTTTTTTTTTTOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Getting a room at Renmin wasn't hard, execept the not speaking chinese part. Its surprising what you can do with a lot of hand gestures and a few english words. Went up to my room. Looked in. Second impression: not bad... fixer upper that can be changed at free will. Went exploring and nosing around in other peoples rooms. Some peoples rooms were nicer than what I had back in Toronto. Some were filled with stinky fobs around a little TV playing 4 player FIFA.
Met a black guy named Blancharde (or something like that). He speaks french and was from congo. He asked me for a pair of socks... which I reluctantly gave him. Bad move on my part. VERY BAD MOVE.
Went to eat with him. Met another black guy (this one is much more trustworthy, but speaks much less english), and a Mexican man (Mario) and woman (Aidee).
Slept.
Next morning:
Went with Blancharde to open a bank of China account. That worked out but took probably 3x longer than it should have. Came back and found (black guy #2) and Aidee eating in the student cafe. Had lunch with them and off we go to the cellphone market.
Took a taxi there. About 20 min ride. Cost: 24RMB (6$ CAD).
First impression of (illegal?) cellphone market: Looks as if Pmall tore down all the shop walls, joined each other with tables alongwith the other electronic stores.
I bought a ... cellphone (I duno what model it is... it looks like a step up from the one Eric Ing or Raien Li has). Originally priced at 600RMB(100CAD). Blanchard bartered it down to 300RMB... 50$ for a cellphone... not bad... but I'll be coming back to Canada with a nicer one ^^. Edit: I got this phone http://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_t725-521.php
Aidee bought more than me... DVD player, digital camera, stereo system... all bartered down. I bought a 256MB SD card for my pocket PC for 180RMB.
Then something funny happened to me. Blancharde asked me for some money. He said he diddn't have anymore money. I said no on the spot. But later when we went back to the dorm I gave him 100RMB... another bad move for me... but he also said he'd only be in Beijing for another 2 days and that he really needed to buy a ticket...
... I still think its a bad move.
Bummed around in my dorm for a bit. Tried to register, but I needed more money, so I'll come back the next day. Found out I needed to write/speak a Mandarin proficency test. Girl at the counter told me just to get 0. Called Aidee on my new cellphone and she picked up on hers. Decided to go out to buy stuff. Went to the Carrefour (the long way... around the ringroad instead of through the campus).
Bought: bedsheet and blanket, pillow, cushion (for the pillowcase po made me), a laundry basket, 2 jugs for water and a water bottle. Ate at KFC at the decision of a coin... their chicken wings are better here. Their chicken burgers are smaller.
Lugged the w00t all the way back to the dorm (taking the shorter route which was about 20 mins vs 3 hours). On the way back I remembered I needed toilet paper. Now I have 10 rolls. Aidee helped me rearrange some of the furniture in my room. Stupid me tried to move a bookshelf without removing stuff. Now I have a broken lamp. Blog...
I'm gonna take a shit for the first time in China... this will be interesting.
Edit: Okay I took a shit. My poo was runny... not the solid-banana like rock stuff that I'm used to. You had to throw toilet paper into a small garbage can next to it. Other than that, its nicer than a school washroom.
No tp? What’s your least favourite book, magazine or newspaper? Choose, rip, wipe, wince, job done.
You don’t need to buy everyday items at the Carrefour. Local Chinese people have the same daily needs as you and they buy from local shops in Haidian. While products may not be as high quality as Carrefour you’ll experience more local Chinese life at the local shops and save a lot of money because prices will be cheaper. AFAIK there are 2 large stores in Haidian (10 mins north of RenDa), one private and one government run. No one will speak English but this is a benefit for you. Shopping is part of your Chinese education, so explore and buy locally. If you habitually shop at local stores you’ll be able to meet and make friends with some of the shopkeepers, who, once they get to know you, will help you with your shopping in the future and well as become possible friends. A friendly shopkeeper that knows you can make life so much nicer.
Take it easy on buying the higher ticket items until you know your way around. You don’t know the quality of goods as yet, so advice from trusted locals and other students is invaluable. As well you might be able to buy stuff from other students who are leaving or want to upgrade. In any new environment buy only what you need now and wait until you get your bearings. You are the new kid in town, so be cautious.
You will meet many people from different cultures. Their outlook on life, what they say and what they mean may be completely different from how you interpret messages. They will also interpret your meanings differently from your intention. Then add the language challenge of Mandarin. Welcome to the field of cross-cultural experiences. Africans from communist countries, Koreans (Communist North or capitalist South), Japanese from Japan all are different so be cautious and don’t be afraid to back away if you are unsure.
Take it easy on buying the higher ticket items until you know your way around. You don’t know the quality of goods as yet, so advice from trusted locals and other students is invaluable. As well you might be able to buy stuff from other students who are leaving or want to upgrade. In any new environment buy only what you need now and wait until you get your bearings. You are the new kid in town, so be cautious.
You will meet many people from different cultures. Their outlook on life, what they say and what they mean may be completely different from how you interpret messages. They will also interpret your meanings differently from your intention. Then add the language challenge of Mandarin. Welcome to the field of cross-cultural experiences. Africans from communist countries, Koreans (Communist North or capitalist South), Japanese from Japan all are different so be cautious and don’t be afraid to back away if you are unsure.
Hehehe… sounds like you had an interesting experience. Wish I could be there with you =(
Yo this place sounds sick. I wonder if you could find a PS3. Good job haggling those guys down to atleast half. Your black guy #1 knows what he’s doing. Yo is that Mexican chick hot? Like is she one of those Latina’s? Seen.
AHHHHHHHHH ADAM...i miss u already…how r u doing??...keep up with those tp rolls hahaha…and keep up that nasty shit of urs hahahaha…ur a joker…mannnnn can’t wait till u come back all fobbed up hahahah…anywayssssss talk to me on MSN ok???????...
hilo lay ho…glad u met some black friends, i always remembered u wanted some of those but had difficulty finding some in riverdale…sigh it is a rare chance to meet someone black there. all i have to say…ur phone sucks ass, especially for 50bucks. make sure when u come back ur phone actually works here in north america (world phone i believe its called) well keep up the goood blogging
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