I just love this city

To continue where I left off last time, I headed down to People’s Square with a Danish student around 14. We walked around for a bit before heading into the old town and the ”antique” market they have there. I wanted to get some Chinese scroll paintings for my walls at home, so I checked out the first store that had some. Found three interesting ones, and wanted to get a feel for how much they’re actually worth, so I offered 200 for them (they wanted like 500 first). Got it down to this price in like a minute, and realising that this was still probably very much an overprice, I simply left and went to another store further down the street.

Upon leaving that store, I find myself facing the the same guy and girl that I was haggling with before, and they’re holding the three scrolls that I wanted, asking why I left so suddenly and if they had made me mad somehow (they’d make quite good actors). I figured this was a good chance to renegotiate, so I told them how I could get the same kind of paintings back home for 150 (complete lie), so I just felt that 200 wasn’t worth the price. They talked a bit to each other, and then reluctantly said ”okay, for you, special price (funny how it’s always special price especially for you), 150, okay?”. I quickly responded that if I payed 150 now then there wouldn’t be much point in me buying it here, because I’d still have to carry it halfway across the globe, in which case I might as well get it at home. I offered them 100, upon which the girl got seemingly rather honestly upset, but after some whining they actually accepted my price. “But you get no box!” said the girl. “If I’m supposed to get a box then I want a box, I need to carry them in something,” I responded. “FINE, YOU GET BOX!” she said, and marched back to the store with me behind her, telling me something like “You very smart” on the way. So yeah, I felt I got a pretty good deal there.

Wanted to see the Yu Yuan Gardens while we were in the old town, but got so hungry while looking for it (I think it was closed anyway) that we just found a restaurant and had ridiculously spicy noodle and beef dinner, after which we headed back to the hotel. We’d intended to join the students that were playing football, but they basically came back to the hotel at the same time as we did, so that didn’t really happen. Simply went out for some beers instead.

Yesterday started with 20 minutes Chinese class, and then an interesting lecture on the Chinese Stock Market. Had lunch at the pedestrian street, and then another lecture called “Political-Economical Perspective about China”. Also interesting, but I still had a ridiculously hard time staying awake during both of the lectures (that actually goes for all lectures so far). And that was in spite of me getting rather proper sleep. So I think I’m just gonna screw the proper sleep thing and sleep when I get home, because I’m near-sleep at the lectures no matter how I do it.

Took it a bit easy for a while after school, then went out to the lobby at 19 to see if anyone was there and up for dinner (not having a functioning cell phone is something of a social impediment). Turned out some people were heading out to a Carrefour store that had a lot of imported goods, and lacking anything better to do, I tagged along. To my great joy I managed to find Müsli (!), so I also purchased a small porcelain (using the word china is just too confusing) bowl and spoon just for the sake of it (as well as what I think and hope is Chinese tooth paste). Had dinner at the next-door restaurant when we got back (I really like that restaurant), and then spent the rest of the evening at a bar nearby.

Today consisted of a short Chinese class, a lecture called “Perspectives on epidemic prevention, adaptive wisdom, and the professionalization of China’s medical and public health services” (someone really must’ve had fun coming up with that title), a quick lunch, and then a bus ride to the World Expo 2010 venue for an ill-translated presentation by one of the higher persons in charge of that project. It probably would’ve been rather good if we’d only had a proper translator, but as it turned out, we didn’t. We were then driven to the Urban Planning Museum (they have a humongous small-scale model of a large part of Shanghai there, but that was about it for interesting parts), after which quite a lot of students (including myself) took a few taxis out to a cloth market where I ordered one suit, two shirts, and a coat (everything tailor-made), for 1450 yuan.

Feeling up for some more shopping, I joined two students in a taxi to the so called Cheap Street (just generally cheap stuff of varying quality as well as knock-off products) and bought eight t-shirts/shirts and four pairs of pants/shorts for like 350 yuan or something. I’m getting seriously good at this haggling business (it’s especially funny when the salesperson comes running after you screaming “okay, okay!” to the price that was completely out of question just a second ago). Got some dinner once I finished shopping, then took a bus back from People’s Square to the hotel (2 yuan compared to 40 for taking a taxi, so the 30 minutes extra it takes are worth it), where I’m now.

There’s a massage parlour just across the street where you can get an hour’s worth of Chinese person walking all over you for 20 yuan. I’m seriously considering going there one of these days.

Oh, and I absolutely love this city. Just walking around downtown after dark is absolutely superb. The lights, people, everything. It’s a megacity that has everything, to insanely cheap prices. And best of all, I feel completely safe walking around basically anywhere here.

Most likely just gonna eat some peanuts now and then head to bed.

Take care everyone, miss ya.