Shopping in Guangzhou

Hello,

Our day began with Todd meeting with our guide to fill out the US visa paperwork. So, while he was doing that, the kids and I worked on some homework. For Ruthie, I wrote out her name so that she could practice writing it. Well, she filled out the entire page with her name; about 25 times. She is very willing to learn English and is already incorporating it into her everyday language.



She is also not using chopsticks as much. She is now only using them when she eats noodles. I loved the fact that she uses chopsticks, but understand that she is emulating us and is not using them as much. She continues to do very well.

Okay, today I went out into the city of Guangzhou with my personal shopper, Ann. Oh boy, did I have fun. She met me at our hotel and we took a taxi first to the shopping street which is kind of a swap meet with a roof. It was a real Chinese experience. I purchased some items there and had fun looking around. Ann did all the negotiating for me and she was tough. She got me great deals. It is kind of hard for me to bargain because the items are already relatively inexpensive, so I feel guilty for trying to pay less.

Our next stop was at a marketplace, which is kind of like 4 floors of a really nice swap meet. This was where the best shopping was. I had prepared myself ahead of time and brought my list for Christmas shopping. There are silk shops, home decor shops, toy shops, jewelry shops and tons more. There are also shops where you can by real designer purses and wallets (okay, they were really knock offs). The quality was quite good because most of the items we buy in the US is exactly the same thing. The difference is that in China, it is about 1/8 of the price. My father, who loved swap meets, would have been in absolute heaven.

I had given Ann the list of what I wanted to get and she would make a beeline for that particular store. So, I would hurry to keep up with her, but would pass so many other little shops that I wanted to see, that it was hard. We did double back a few times. The Chinese people take negotiating very seriously so Ann would sometimes nudge me to keep me from acting interested in a particular item while she was negotiating the price.

We had to take a taxi to the next place, where they sell DVD's and CD's. I wanted some DVD's & CD's in Chinese for Ruthie. So we went to an electronics place. It was indoors and there were individual stalls where the shops were set up. We went to a vendor that Ann knew and she led us from her shop inside the store to a little house in a dark alley, just outside of the store. I started to get a little worried, but Ann said that all the Americans come to buy the copied DVD's and they were in the house. It was interesting, because there were lots of people in this little house buying DVD's. All the DVD's I saw were already released on DVD, but they were in little plastic sleeves with the movie label on the front. Ann told me that they sell the copied DVD's for 5 yuan each (approximately .75 cents each).

I asked her if they had original movies (legal DVD's) and she said yes, but both she and the shop owner were confused about why I would want to buy the legal DVD's. I told her that I was more comfortable buying the legal DVD's and then I told her my husband was a police officer and she said that she understood. We went back into the store and bought legal copies of DVD's (in Mandarin (Chinese)), for Ruthie. I bought 9 Disney movies, 3 Hello Kitty movies, 10 Tom & Jerry movies (they are really popular in China), and 6 Barbie movies. Ann helped me to pick out three different 3 CD sets with Chinese songs for Ruthie that were popular with children. With her negotiating power, I paid $31 for all of it ; the movies and CD's. I honestly thought it would be a lot more and I was willing to pay it because I think it will be nice for Ruthie, once we get home to have them, especially when she is surrounded by nothing but English television, music, etc.

My personal shopper, Ann cost only $31 for 3 1/2 hours of shopping, which was money well spent. I had such a great time and I hardly spent anything. I got some great Christmas shopping done.


While I was shopping, Todd took the kids to the park. Kai had playing ball with 3 Chinese boys. It didn't matter that they couldn't speak each other's language. *Kai is wearing the short-sleeve red shirt.
Tomorrow, Ruthie has to go in for a physical, which is a requirement of the US government. They will be giving her a eye examination and will hopefully be able to tell us more about her eyesight. The examinations are done by Chinese doctors. She really squints from time to time, especially when she is focusing on things a few feet away.

Last night, as she went to sleep, she arranged her two dolls right next to her.

We are still having a nice time, but are really looking forward to coming home. We ordered Papa John's pizza for dinner and will then probably watch some games. Ruthie loves playing games. "Go Fish" is her absolute favorite. Right now, her favorite Chinese program is on and she is dancing around like the happy girl she is.

My "Chinism" for today is toilet paper. For some reason, toilet paper is at a premium here. Many regular restrooms do not have toilet paper, so you need to bring your own. In hotels, even nice ones, you only get one smallish roll in the bathroom. They leave no extra roll for you in case you run out. You need to call for housekeeping to supply you with another one if you run out. *In Beijing, our guide told us that some regular people make toilet paper and sell it, but you do not want to buy it from them because you do not know what material it is made of. On a related note - Gracie was so excited to use a Chinese "squatty potty" the other day. Some public restrooms have both Chinese & Western style toilets. However, some only have the Chinese style.

Two "Chinisms" that I particularly like is that you do not tip taxi drivers and you also do not tip at restaurants.

Thank you again for your prayers, comments & support. We look forward to seeing you all soon.

Noelle