Shopping and Haggling
I went shopping with most of my family (my father was absent) this morning at a nearby flea market. (Note: My definition of ‘near’ has now been changed to ‘within 30 minutes’ walk from a subway station’.) It was fun, especially as we went there early and got some pretty good bargains, although we really should’ve driven the prices much lower. Anyway, I did manage to chop a bag from RMB 400++ to 140, T-shirts from RMB 185 to 35, and others. Quite enjoyable, the haggling, especially when the sellers have enough wit to banter and come up with the most outlandish reasons why the price should be higher (‘My sister’s friend’s husband’s second babysitter just went bankrupt and I’m trying to help them’), upon which one has to come up with one’s own reasons and replies (‘Go tell someone who cares, sister’). Canal did not enjoy it one bit as his gweilo temperament is impatient—even though I was haggling on his account! (I had no money of my own to buy things with.) From his expression, the poor kid was bored to death and beyond…several times.
It was also amusing to see the fakes strolling through the streets, peddling their wares and going straight for Canal like flies to honey, while ignoring my siblings and I who were trailing behind. He got quite tired of it before long (roughly 5 minutes), and began spouting long-winded and polysyllabic words to try to drive them away, presumably by reinforcing the local belief that all whites are crazy. It was the first time that I have heard sunglasses derided as superficial!
One of them did target me, however, and persistently, too; the dolt even grabbed my arm at one point to forcibly pull me off! I’d have loved to pound the guy 6 feet under, but Canal and my sister took pity on him and went to see his wares, eventually buying RMB 139 worth of imitation watches off him. Obviously persistence does pay off. At any rate, I plan to bring some money if I ever go there again (to buy the food, for which one can also haggle).
Today was relatively uneventful apart from the shopping this morning, which took 5 hours. Otherwise, I’ve done no more than watch Rain Man, take a nap, play ping-pong, and watch TV. Tomorrow, I expect to be as relaxing, albeit warmer. Upon my mother’s orders, I sent my long johns to wash and am now devoid of one of my main protections from the cold. Therefore, I am now very, very, very cold indeed. Add to that the fact that I’ve developed a rather dry cough, which, I am most certain, is not good for me. Along with a headache and dramatically diminished appetite (as anyone who has seen me eat will tell you, this is extremely rare). If only I knew why!
It was also amusing to see the fakes strolling through the streets, peddling their wares and going straight for Canal like flies to honey, while ignoring my siblings and I who were trailing behind. He got quite tired of it before long (roughly 5 minutes), and began spouting long-winded and polysyllabic words to try to drive them away, presumably by reinforcing the local belief that all whites are crazy. It was the first time that I have heard sunglasses derided as superficial!
One of them did target me, however, and persistently, too; the dolt even grabbed my arm at one point to forcibly pull me off! I’d have loved to pound the guy 6 feet under, but Canal and my sister took pity on him and went to see his wares, eventually buying RMB 139 worth of imitation watches off him. Obviously persistence does pay off. At any rate, I plan to bring some money if I ever go there again (to buy the food, for which one can also haggle).
Today was relatively uneventful apart from the shopping this morning, which took 5 hours. Otherwise, I’ve done no more than watch Rain Man, take a nap, play ping-pong, and watch TV. Tomorrow, I expect to be as relaxing, albeit warmer. Upon my mother’s orders, I sent my long johns to wash and am now devoid of one of my main protections from the cold. Therefore, I am now very, very, very cold indeed. Add to that the fact that I’ve developed a rather dry cough, which, I am most certain, is not good for me. Along with a headache and dramatically diminished appetite (as anyone who has seen me eat will tell you, this is extremely rare). If only I knew why!
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