Karissa's Guide to Bargaining
Part One: A Sample Purchase
(hypothetically bargaining for a pair of shoes or a bag, that I'm willing to pay 100 RMB for)
-Once you ask the price, the seller immediately pulls out a calculator, in order to ensure no difficulties with a language barrier, and says something like, "My normal price is this (punches 680 into the calculator), but you are a student/speak Chinese/are young/another excuse to reduce the price so you think you're saving, so I'll give you this (punches in 450)
- -Depending on the price, my reaction falls somewhere between looking distressed and shaking my head, or laughing at the ridiculousness of it. "I'm just a poor student!" (Punch in 60)
- Seller responds with a complaint about their need to make money/the quality of the item/the cheap price they're giving you. (punches in 350)
-- I respond with something along the lines of, "Can't do it", or "I don't have a ton of money!", and punch in 70
- Seller rolls her eyes, and says "Okay, I give you really good deal. Don't tell anyone, I can't give all my goods away this cheap!" (punches in 200)
-- I recycle the line of being a poor student, maybe add on the explanation that I've studied Chinese, which is very difficult, they should give me a discount! (punch in 75)
- Seller says, "Final price, 150".
-- I counter with my final offer, 100.
- Seller says no, 130
-- I shake my head no, and leave the stall.
- If the seller absolutely cannot sell at that price, they'll let me go. If they'll make even a couple dollars off of it, though, they'll yell after me, "Okay, okay, 100!" or reduce the price another 10 or so.
--If they come to 100, I'll go back and buy the item, but if they just reduce the price, I'll yell "100!" back, and just keep walking, at which point they'll normally agree.
Part Two: Useful Lines in Bargaining
1.) "I'm just a poor student, you have to give me a discount!"
2.) "I don't have much money!"
3.) "But I've taken the trouble of learning Chinese, and it's so hard to learn!"
4.) "Too expensive!"
5.) "But I have to eat, too!"
Part Three: Alternative Bargaining Methods
By and large, the dialogue above is how most of my exchanges have gone. There are other techniques for bargaining, including:
1.) Playing the stupid foreigner card, and just keep repeating the price until the seller is so anxious to get rid of you, they'll give it to you at that price (I've never tried, preferring to exercise my Chinese skills, but others have had success)
2.) Name the price you're willing to pay flat out, and when they try to get you to come up, just leave. This skips to the last step of the above dialogue, and you'll know if your price is reasonable or not (that's how I got my boots, I was so tired I wasn't in the mood for bargaining).
3.) Saying, I only have xx amount of money. Only attempt if you actually only have that amount of money, otherwise it looks really bad when you claim you only have 20 rmb, but then pay with a 100rmb note. (As one of my classmates did - it's now referred within our group as "pulling a Kaitlin" - name changed to protect the guilty).
Part Four: Favorite Antics of Sellers
1.) Theatrics. Sellers love theatrics. One classmate said he's had a seller fake cry when he named a price, and they will vary between immense anger that you want to go so low, or immense sadness, which generally includes explaining that this is how they make a living, how do you expect them to survive and feed their family if you only pay 20rmb for a scarf?
2.) Insults: Rarely used, but I've had one seller who was slightly aggressive in explaining that you couldn't even get the materials for the item for the price I had just named. The tone she said it in was most definitely an "Are you out of your mind?!" tone.
3.) Compliments: Flattery is the sincerest form of getting someone to buy something? Going to the markets is always a confidence booster - I get told frequently that I'm so pretty and my Chinese is so good! Less frequently heard compliments include being told that I'm very intelligent.
Part Five: Finer Points of Bargaining
There are also finer etiquette points regarding bargaining.
1.) Don't insult the quality of the product, because that makes the seller really mad at you. (I've not done it, but I've seen others do it in an attempt to get the price lower).
2.) If you name a price and the seller agrees to it, you should buy the item. (I just had a debate with a classmate as to whether this was true or not - I think it's ethically wrong to walk out after the seller agrees to a price you named, but he thinks it's okay. My philosophy is don't name a price you aren't willing to pay, it's just good manners.)
3.) Don't ask the price if you aren't actually interested in purchasing the item - it's kind of the point of no return, though you can certainly just name a price so insanely low there's no way they'd be willing to come down to and then leave. But in general, don't ask the price unless you're interested in buying.
4.) Don't treat it too seriously - it's much more fun if you consider it to be a game.
Showing posts with label shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shopping. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
To Market to Market...
As my time here in Beijing winds down, I've been going to a lot of the different markets to get gifts and souvenirs for everyone at home. It's been fun to go back to the Pearl Market, which was the market I visited during the beginning of my time here. My perception of it has changed quite a bit; it seemed a lot less intimidating and aggressive than last time I was there. Going back to places that I visited much earlier in my time here has also shown me how much my Chinese has improved. I'm so much more willing to interact with the sellers, and rather than just naming a price, I might launch into a longer explanation of why my price is so low. (I'm just a poor student, I have to eat, too!" )
An important thing to note is that you have to bargain at the markets here - if you don't, you'll probably spend 500% more money than you would otherwise. I bought a pair of boots for 100rmb (roughly 15usd), but the seller had started at 680rmb. While most of the stuff I've bought is Christmas presents (and as such, the items and their prices must remain confidential until after December 25th!), I also bought a "Tiffany" bracelet for 45rmb, down from 250. Oh, I also bought a pair of "pearl" earrings for 20rmb and a "cashmere" scarf for 20, too (roughly 3 USD each). Bargaining can be a ton of fun, but also a bit exhausting. Look for my guide to bargaining later in the week, in case your planning a trip to China anytime soon. I also try to write a post on my shady Louis Vuitton experience. :)
As far as the markets themselves go, there's three that I think are the main ones in Beijing: the Pearl, Silk, and Zoo markets. The Pearl and Silk markets are both very similar in that they tend to be oriented towards foreigners (although I've seen Chinese shoppers there, too) and have a lot more kitschy items (ie, Mao's little read book of sayings) and designer knock offs ("Hello Lady, you want to buy a Prada bag? How about Louis Vuitton, okay?). However, I like the Pearl Market better, because the price they start bargaining at tends to be a bit lower, and they just seemed more friendly. The Silk Market is a bit bigger, so has something of a better selection. The Zoo market isn't really a tourist market, and when I went, I didn't see any other foreigners. The Zoo markets sell mainly clothes and daily necessities, so it's usually packed. Not many designer knock offs (except for Uggs), but dirt cheap prices, but so insanely packed, it isn't much fun. Overall, I think the Pearl Market is my favorite, but the Zoo market is great for getting clothes and shoes.
An important thing to note is that you have to bargain at the markets here - if you don't, you'll probably spend 500% more money than you would otherwise. I bought a pair of boots for 100rmb (roughly 15usd), but the seller had started at 680rmb. While most of the stuff I've bought is Christmas presents (and as such, the items and their prices must remain confidential until after December 25th!), I also bought a "Tiffany" bracelet for 45rmb, down from 250. Oh, I also bought a pair of "pearl" earrings for 20rmb and a "cashmere" scarf for 20, too (roughly 3 USD each). Bargaining can be a ton of fun, but also a bit exhausting. Look for my guide to bargaining later in the week, in case your planning a trip to China anytime soon. I also try to write a post on my shady Louis Vuitton experience. :)
As far as the markets themselves go, there's three that I think are the main ones in Beijing: the Pearl, Silk, and Zoo markets. The Pearl and Silk markets are both very similar in that they tend to be oriented towards foreigners (although I've seen Chinese shoppers there, too) and have a lot more kitschy items (ie, Mao's little read book of sayings) and designer knock offs ("Hello Lady, you want to buy a Prada bag? How about Louis Vuitton, okay?). However, I like the Pearl Market better, because the price they start bargaining at tends to be a bit lower, and they just seemed more friendly. The Silk Market is a bit bigger, so has something of a better selection. The Zoo market isn't really a tourist market, and when I went, I didn't see any other foreigners. The Zoo markets sell mainly clothes and daily necessities, so it's usually packed. Not many designer knock offs (except for Uggs), but dirt cheap prices, but so insanely packed, it isn't much fun. Overall, I think the Pearl Market is my favorite, but the Zoo market is great for getting clothes and shoes.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Saving Money and Eating Scorpion
So after not doing too much the past two weeks, I was starting to get a little antsy to see something other than my campus and the UChicago center. This coincided happily with my classmate's final presentation on the Beijing markets, more specifically the Zoo Market, which she explained has the lowest prices. So on Sunday, a me and a couple friends went down to the Zoo market, to see what we could see.
Walking through the market, I was reminded of why I don't go out a ton in Beijing- waaaay too many people crammed into waaaaay too small of a space. It was so insanely packed, I can't imagine how people could go shopping just for fun. As mentioned, the prices were good, but I was looking more for gifts for everyone at home, so I didn't buy much. I was thinking about getting a pair of "Uggs", and some of the misspellings were funny - "Nggs", "UGCs", or best yet "Aukstalia". :) The Zoo market was a lot like other ones here in Beijing, absolutely packed with people, and about 7 stories tall. The Zoo Market was a little different, in that it was far more "legit" - they don't have a lot of knockoffs and aren't geared towards foreigners.
After the Zoo Market we went to Wangfujing, where I've been a couple times before, with Charis and then once other time. I tried to buy a knock-off Tiffany's bracelet, but the lady wanted 85 RMB and wasn't willing to drop it very low. Having tempted Asta and Eddie to come with me with the promise of scorpions ad other assorted things sold for sale there, after going to get my dad's Christmas gift, we went to get Asta and Eddie a deep fried scorpion. Asta bought it and ate two, and then I ended up eating one, too! It was pretty decent - deep fried and covered in seasonings, so that was what you tasted. We also got fruit covered in sugar, and then also deep fried ice cream. The deep fried ice cream was so terrible, it was just covered in cold oil - a waste of 10rmb, that's for sure.
It was fun to go back to a place I'd been at the beginning of my stay in China. I was a lot more friendly and willing to talk to the sellers a lot more - one said, "Hello, you want to buy?" to me in English, and I told him, "It's okay, I speak Chinese!". I also got use the line, "I'm a poor student, I don't have much money!", though even then the lady didn't give me much of a discount. Another shopkeeper thought I was Russian, which isn't the first time I've been thought to be from Russia. I kind of like it, it means I look European. :p
Walking through the market, I was reminded of why I don't go out a ton in Beijing- waaaay too many people crammed into waaaaay too small of a space. It was so insanely packed, I can't imagine how people could go shopping just for fun. As mentioned, the prices were good, but I was looking more for gifts for everyone at home, so I didn't buy much. I was thinking about getting a pair of "Uggs", and some of the misspellings were funny - "Nggs", "UGCs", or best yet "Aukstalia". :) The Zoo market was a lot like other ones here in Beijing, absolutely packed with people, and about 7 stories tall. The Zoo Market was a little different, in that it was far more "legit" - they don't have a lot of knockoffs and aren't geared towards foreigners.
After the Zoo Market we went to Wangfujing, where I've been a couple times before, with Charis and then once other time. I tried to buy a knock-off Tiffany's bracelet, but the lady wanted 85 RMB and wasn't willing to drop it very low. Having tempted Asta and Eddie to come with me with the promise of scorpions ad other assorted things sold for sale there, after going to get my dad's Christmas gift, we went to get Asta and Eddie a deep fried scorpion. Asta bought it and ate two, and then I ended up eating one, too! It was pretty decent - deep fried and covered in seasonings, so that was what you tasted. We also got fruit covered in sugar, and then also deep fried ice cream. The deep fried ice cream was so terrible, it was just covered in cold oil - a waste of 10rmb, that's for sure.
It was fun to go back to a place I'd been at the beginning of my stay in China. I was a lot more friendly and willing to talk to the sellers a lot more - one said, "Hello, you want to buy?" to me in English, and I told him, "It's okay, I speak Chinese!". I also got use the line, "I'm a poor student, I don't have much money!", though even then the lady didn't give me much of a discount. Another shopkeeper thought I was Russian, which isn't the first time I've been thought to be from Russia. I kind of like it, it means I look European. :p
Saturday, October 16, 2010
How Many People Can Say They've Climbed a Pagoda?
Many, I'm sure. But I don't know anyone who can (at least, I don't think so!). Day 2 in Xi'an....
We started out the day with a trip to the Small Goose Pagoda and museum, which were both delightful. Xi'an used to have a ton of pagodas, but since they were big on using wood to build, only two have survived, and even these two are ones that have been rebuilt. Pagoda architecture was actually 'imported' from India during the Tang (?) dynasty, when Buddhism began to be prevalent in China. Xi'an (or Chang'an, as it was called then), as the capitol of China back then, was on the Silk road and consequently was exposed to many international influences - something they're still proud of today.
We didn't climb the Small Goose Pagoda, but we did go to a museum also on the grounds, which where absolutely beautiful. As expected, we saw lots of different artifacts and old pots, and a lot of really cool stuff - figurines depicting the 'barbarians', ancient coins that show the influence of the Roman Empire on China. For some reason I find museums absolutely fascinating, and it struck me how much history China actually has. I mean, everyone realizes China's been around 3000+ years, but there's just so much! Xi'an has a rather thick city wall, a kind of daily reminder of all the history contained in Xi'an, and it's crazy to think of people just going about their daily lives with reminders of all the history that came before them. I dunno, maybe this is a bit too dramatic, but I don't know if I would like living in a place where I was constantly reminded that my city used to be the capitol of China, used to be the center of the Silk Road, used to be the favored burial place of emperors. It just seems rather heavy to have all that history around.
Anyway, after the museum we went to lunch, which was a fairly unremarkable event, replete with delicious qie zi (eggplant) and a really good chicken dish. From there, we went to Xi'an's most notable museum, which I think is considered to be one of the best in China. The quality of the artifacts was really top notch (I'm taking my professor's word for it, as I'm not sure I could tell the difference!). Again, there were a lot of old pots and whatnot, some really cool figurines and metalwork. I took a lot of pictures, but I'm not planning on uploading them to Facebook - more for my own interest, as I think they'd be rather boring to look at if you weren't familiar with them (but if you want to see them, let me know). One notable display was of 40-proof alcohol, that had been excavated completely intact inside of a large vase. I haven't the foggiest idea how it survived that long, but it was pretty cool. Another one of my favorite things about Chinese artifacts/art is that it often features the phoenix quite prominently. UChicago's mascot is the phoenix, and I've always like the story of it, so I'm amassing quite the collection of phoenix emblems on bowls/silks/tablets/other artifacts.
From that museum, we ended up walking to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which is, shockingly enough, bigger than the Small Goose Pagoda! This one we climbed to the top, only seven stories, and were rewarded with a fairly good view - the problem is, with so much pollution, anything more than a 1/2 a mile away is completely immersed in smog. Around the pagoda is a public park with fountains, and it was interesting to note the contrast between this public space and the one in Beijing: while Tiananmen is very somber and the emphasis is on the state, here, it was more like a party - fountains spewing water in time to music, vendors selling stuff from little booths, ice cream and cotton candy for sale, and a carousel. I bought a little dragon decoration; I'm not sure what it's used for, but I bought it as a Christmas ornament.
Afterward, we took the bus back to the hotel - or tried to, anyway. Traffic was rather terrible, in part because it was rush hour, and perhaps in part because there were political rallies going on. It was a pro-China march, apparently in response to the continuing tensions with Japan (over an island?), and they were marching in the street. After about 1/2 hour sitting in traffic at a stand still, we just walked about ten minutes back to the hotel. From there, a group of us went to the Muslim district, where we ate dinner (beef skewers and noodles). Interesting fact: China has the ethnic majority (Han), and 55 official minorities. One of the minorities are the Hui, which is what the Muslim district in Xi'an is. However, they racially aren't different from the Han, and they speak the same language; unlike other minority groups, the distinction is made only on religion. They're essentially Muslim Han Chinese. Just an interesting note I learned on our way back.
Going to Emperor Wu's tomb tomorrow, and we've read a lot about him, so it should be fun. Back to Beijing tomorrow night!
We started out the day with a trip to the Small Goose Pagoda and museum, which were both delightful. Xi'an used to have a ton of pagodas, but since they were big on using wood to build, only two have survived, and even these two are ones that have been rebuilt. Pagoda architecture was actually 'imported' from India during the Tang (?) dynasty, when Buddhism began to be prevalent in China. Xi'an (or Chang'an, as it was called then), as the capitol of China back then, was on the Silk road and consequently was exposed to many international influences - something they're still proud of today.
We didn't climb the Small Goose Pagoda, but we did go to a museum also on the grounds, which where absolutely beautiful. As expected, we saw lots of different artifacts and old pots, and a lot of really cool stuff - figurines depicting the 'barbarians', ancient coins that show the influence of the Roman Empire on China. For some reason I find museums absolutely fascinating, and it struck me how much history China actually has. I mean, everyone realizes China's been around 3000+ years, but there's just so much! Xi'an has a rather thick city wall, a kind of daily reminder of all the history contained in Xi'an, and it's crazy to think of people just going about their daily lives with reminders of all the history that came before them. I dunno, maybe this is a bit too dramatic, but I don't know if I would like living in a place where I was constantly reminded that my city used to be the capitol of China, used to be the center of the Silk Road, used to be the favored burial place of emperors. It just seems rather heavy to have all that history around.
Anyway, after the museum we went to lunch, which was a fairly unremarkable event, replete with delicious qie zi (eggplant) and a really good chicken dish. From there, we went to Xi'an's most notable museum, which I think is considered to be one of the best in China. The quality of the artifacts was really top notch (I'm taking my professor's word for it, as I'm not sure I could tell the difference!). Again, there were a lot of old pots and whatnot, some really cool figurines and metalwork. I took a lot of pictures, but I'm not planning on uploading them to Facebook - more for my own interest, as I think they'd be rather boring to look at if you weren't familiar with them (but if you want to see them, let me know). One notable display was of 40-proof alcohol, that had been excavated completely intact inside of a large vase. I haven't the foggiest idea how it survived that long, but it was pretty cool. Another one of my favorite things about Chinese artifacts/art is that it often features the phoenix quite prominently. UChicago's mascot is the phoenix, and I've always like the story of it, so I'm amassing quite the collection of phoenix emblems on bowls/silks/tablets/other artifacts.
From that museum, we ended up walking to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which is, shockingly enough, bigger than the Small Goose Pagoda! This one we climbed to the top, only seven stories, and were rewarded with a fairly good view - the problem is, with so much pollution, anything more than a 1/2 a mile away is completely immersed in smog. Around the pagoda is a public park with fountains, and it was interesting to note the contrast between this public space and the one in Beijing: while Tiananmen is very somber and the emphasis is on the state, here, it was more like a party - fountains spewing water in time to music, vendors selling stuff from little booths, ice cream and cotton candy for sale, and a carousel. I bought a little dragon decoration; I'm not sure what it's used for, but I bought it as a Christmas ornament.
Afterward, we took the bus back to the hotel - or tried to, anyway. Traffic was rather terrible, in part because it was rush hour, and perhaps in part because there were political rallies going on. It was a pro-China march, apparently in response to the continuing tensions with Japan (over an island?), and they were marching in the street. After about 1/2 hour sitting in traffic at a stand still, we just walked about ten minutes back to the hotel. From there, a group of us went to the Muslim district, where we ate dinner (beef skewers and noodles). Interesting fact: China has the ethnic majority (Han), and 55 official minorities. One of the minorities are the Hui, which is what the Muslim district in Xi'an is. However, they racially aren't different from the Han, and they speak the same language; unlike other minority groups, the distinction is made only on religion. They're essentially Muslim Han Chinese. Just an interesting note I learned on our way back.
Going to Emperor Wu's tomb tomorrow, and we've read a lot about him, so it should be fun. Back to Beijing tomorrow night!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Getting to Know You....
On Friday, the rest of the Beijing Civ students got to Beijing for orientation, which excited me to no end. After the Center opening, I had a pretty quiet week- writing a lot of stuff for Model UN, skating, making sure I had enough money to survive in China, etc. As nice as it was to get to sleep in and not be running around constantly, I was excited for everyone else to get here and to start classes (TOMORROW!!!).
On Friday night we had a meeting at the center, which included a lecture on the Forbidden City, which we visited today (Sunday). However, the highlight of the evening was likely the announcement from Mr. Yuan, who works at the center, that we would have access to free coffee at the center during our entire quarter abroad! Coffee here tends to be a bit more expensive than in the States (it's still a novelty), so getting it free makes my cheap little soul immensely happy. :) On Saturday we had an orientation to the campus/center/neighborhood, and we got to have lunch with our Chinese language teachers (who are from Renmin, our 'hosting' institution here) and our language partners. The language partners are provided for us to practice conversing with, which is actually going to be tremendously helpful - I'm reluctant to randomly engage anyone in conversation, just because I can't have a full fledged conversation in Chinese yet, and they may not be able to understand my English substitutions. The lunch was great, and I spoke Chinese for probably 90% of it, which also made me happy. :)
Also on Saturday, I got a Chinese phone! Since I'm only here until December, I got the bottom-of-the-line model for 200 RMB, roughly 30 USD. It's actually a cute little phone, about the size of my palm, and I like it better than my phone at home. :) I also have texting, which is cheaper than calling here, something that I know will make my sister insanely jealous.
The other highlight of Saturday was getting to eat a banana split at one of the cafes on campus after the tour. Chocolate ice cream never tasted so good! :)
Today we went to the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven. Even though I'd been to the Forbidden City before, it was nice to go back and see it again. Every time we visit a historic sight, I always wish I could be there either 1. when it was completely empty (no tourists) or 2. During its heyday, when the emperor still lived there and everybody was running around on official business. I love learning the history, I just wish I could actually be there for it. Same thing for the Temple of Heaven, which was also really neat - I wish I could be there when the emperor was giving the sacrifices, rather than learning about it hundreds of years later. That said, they didn't have banana splits or coffee (free or otherwise), so maybe just learning about it isn't that bad. Random fact of the day: The emperor had roughly 3000 concubines that lived in the Forbidden City.
After the Temple of Heaven, we went to the Pearl Market, which is right down the street. As its name would imply, they do sell pearls there, although I didn't buy any. They also sell a ton of other things, including electronics, clothes, and random little trinkets (such as mini statues of Chairman Mao). It was set up much like the electronics market I visited, complete with aggressive salespeople. They had everything from "Rolex" watches to "Puma" sneakers and "Louis Vuitton" bags, as well as supposed iPod Nanos (though the box said iPod Shuffle) and "iPads". It seems like a place a lot of Westerners go, and consequently you have to bargain down the price, which is fun to do and watch. I only bought a gift for my mom (can't say, since she might be reading this!), which I bargained down from 680 RMB to 100 RMB. When I named the price, though, the lady agreed instantly, which makes me think I probably still could have gone lower. But mom will like it, so it's ok. :) I think I'll go back in the future, though - I'd love to get a 'Burberry' scarf, and maybe some 'Puma' sneakers. They also have really cute coats and jewelery, too, so thank goodness I didn't have much money on me, otherwise I would have spent all the money I'm saving on coffee there!
Overall, it's been great getting to know all the other students in the program and our professors. It's also been nice knowing that I'm already over the jet lag, and watching/helping everyone else adjust to life in Beijing reminds me that I've come a long way since I first got here. I think my Chinese is most definitely getting better, and I know my way around the city pretty well, too. Tomorrow is our first day of class, I'm so excited to get back into a school routine with papers/readings/assignments/having to think! Our first course will focus on Ancient China and its development - did you know they used to use elephant carts as a means of transportation!?
Wishing I was taking an elephant instead of a bus to the ice rink,
Karissa
On Friday night we had a meeting at the center, which included a lecture on the Forbidden City, which we visited today (Sunday). However, the highlight of the evening was likely the announcement from Mr. Yuan, who works at the center, that we would have access to free coffee at the center during our entire quarter abroad! Coffee here tends to be a bit more expensive than in the States (it's still a novelty), so getting it free makes my cheap little soul immensely happy. :) On Saturday we had an orientation to the campus/center/neighborhood, and we got to have lunch with our Chinese language teachers (who are from Renmin, our 'hosting' institution here) and our language partners. The language partners are provided for us to practice conversing with, which is actually going to be tremendously helpful - I'm reluctant to randomly engage anyone in conversation, just because I can't have a full fledged conversation in Chinese yet, and they may not be able to understand my English substitutions. The lunch was great, and I spoke Chinese for probably 90% of it, which also made me happy. :)
Also on Saturday, I got a Chinese phone! Since I'm only here until December, I got the bottom-of-the-line model for 200 RMB, roughly 30 USD. It's actually a cute little phone, about the size of my palm, and I like it better than my phone at home. :) I also have texting, which is cheaper than calling here, something that I know will make my sister insanely jealous.
The other highlight of Saturday was getting to eat a banana split at one of the cafes on campus after the tour. Chocolate ice cream never tasted so good! :)
Today we went to the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven. Even though I'd been to the Forbidden City before, it was nice to go back and see it again. Every time we visit a historic sight, I always wish I could be there either 1. when it was completely empty (no tourists) or 2. During its heyday, when the emperor still lived there and everybody was running around on official business. I love learning the history, I just wish I could actually be there for it. Same thing for the Temple of Heaven, which was also really neat - I wish I could be there when the emperor was giving the sacrifices, rather than learning about it hundreds of years later. That said, they didn't have banana splits or coffee (free or otherwise), so maybe just learning about it isn't that bad. Random fact of the day: The emperor had roughly 3000 concubines that lived in the Forbidden City.
After the Temple of Heaven, we went to the Pearl Market, which is right down the street. As its name would imply, they do sell pearls there, although I didn't buy any. They also sell a ton of other things, including electronics, clothes, and random little trinkets (such as mini statues of Chairman Mao). It was set up much like the electronics market I visited, complete with aggressive salespeople. They had everything from "Rolex" watches to "Puma" sneakers and "Louis Vuitton" bags, as well as supposed iPod Nanos (though the box said iPod Shuffle) and "iPads". It seems like a place a lot of Westerners go, and consequently you have to bargain down the price, which is fun to do and watch. I only bought a gift for my mom (can't say, since she might be reading this!), which I bargained down from 680 RMB to 100 RMB. When I named the price, though, the lady agreed instantly, which makes me think I probably still could have gone lower. But mom will like it, so it's ok. :) I think I'll go back in the future, though - I'd love to get a 'Burberry' scarf, and maybe some 'Puma' sneakers. They also have really cute coats and jewelery, too, so thank goodness I didn't have much money on me, otherwise I would have spent all the money I'm saving on coffee there!
Overall, it's been great getting to know all the other students in the program and our professors. It's also been nice knowing that I'm already over the jet lag, and watching/helping everyone else adjust to life in Beijing reminds me that I've come a long way since I first got here. I think my Chinese is most definitely getting better, and I know my way around the city pretty well, too. Tomorrow is our first day of class, I'm so excited to get back into a school routine with papers/readings/assignments/having to think! Our first course will focus on Ancient China and its development - did you know they used to use elephant carts as a means of transportation!?
Wishing I was taking an elephant instead of a bus to the ice rink,
Karissa
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