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actually, it does make sense! they don't want you to go to US supermarkets
Well, when you're in An Shan, it's a tough commute to Seattle just to pick up some pimientos.
Seriously, though -- the Chinese system of shopping is so labor-intensive and has so many remnants of the bad old Commie-days, that it takes forever to buy anything! First you find what you want. Say it's batteries for your flashlight. You get a slip of paper from a girl that says "flashlight batteries" (or at least I think that's what it says -- it's in Chinese, after all, it might say "watch out for this foreign capitalist running dog"), then you take that to a big central counter. There, another little girl goes and finds out how much the batteries cost. She comes back, and writes down the price and hands that to a third clerk, who hands it to a woman at a cash register. She shows you the slip with numbers, you hand her the money, she takes it, ansd waves you over to another counter where a long line of people are waiting for their change. You wait too. Finally, you get your money, and a slip that says "flashlight batteries -- paid for". You take that to another counter. A clerk gives you -- taDAH! your batteries. You start to leave, but another clerk and a soldier check your purchase, and ask you for all the various slips of paper you have collected. You finally escape. You go back to your apartment. You discover that they sold you the wrong size batteries for your flashlight.
I've often wondered what happens when you die in China...
Well, when you're in An Shan, it's a tough commute to Seattle just to pick up some pimientos.
Seriously, though -- the Chinese system of shopping is so labor-intensive and has so many remnants of the bad old Commie-days, that it takes forever to buy anything! First you find what you want. Say it's batteries for your flashlight. You get a slip of paper from a girl that says "flashlight batteries" (or at least I think that's what it says -- it's in Chinese, after all, it might say "watch out for this foreign capitalist running dog"), then you take that to a big central counter. There, another little girl goes and finds out how much the batteries cost. She comes back, and writes down the price and hands that to a third clerk, who hands it to a woman at a cash register. She shows you the slip with numbers, you hand her the money, she takes it, ansd waves you over to another counter where a long line of people are waiting for their change. You wait too. Finally, you get your money, and a slip that says "flashlight batteries -- paid for". You take that to another counter. A clerk gives you -- taDAH! your batteries. You start to leave, but another clerk and a soldier check your purchase, and ask you for all the various slips of paper you have collected. You finally escape. You go back to your apartment. You discover that they sold you the wrong size batteries for your flashlight.
I've often wondered what happens when you die in China...
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