Day 4, Shenzhen China

Day 4, Shenzhen China

Welcome to the end…

Its Friday! The international day of the end of the week. I’m excited. My new Chinese friends tell me they will take me drinking. It’s a beautiful thing, beer. It brings everyone together…like a hug in a bottle. I’ve tried Tsingtao beer, which is alright, not great. I had some Japanese beer called Kirin, which was quite good. They serve the beer in 600ml bottles, which means they are about twice as big as the American bottles.

Eric also tells me he is going to take me to Macao this weekend which should prove to be pretty exciting. It’s good to have someone around who know the language and things to see.

Today’s word: pĭjiŭ

Translation: beer

You can combine today’s lesson with yesterday’s lesson and then you will be able to say two sentences. How useful!

Driving in china is to driving in USA, as finger-painting is to art

As I mentioned before, driving is crazy here. I think it bears repeating. If talk much about this, know that it’s not for no reason. It really is very different from the US. The roads are actually in surprisingly good condition around Shenzhen. Many of them look brand new. There are a few potholes and dirt roads around but most appear to be freshly paved. Someone coined a phrase, “Shenzhen Speed,” as in, the blisteringly fast pace of construction and modern development in Shenzhen China.

It’s interesting because you have a hodge-podge mix of the old and new. Modern vehicles driving on old roads. Ancient bicycles riding on modern roads. It’s almost like China has outgrown its infrastructure. There is almost no way of controlling the traffic, because there is quite a bit of it, and so they basically don’t even try. Or they try in traditional communist fashion, by using propaganda and catchy slogans. It probably costs less to make one simple 30 second TV commercial saying “Accident free streets is the china goal,” than hiring hundreds of police officers and equipping them to handle the traffic.

You do have to compliment the Chinese people on their use of every square inch of Chinese road. Shoulder’s quickly become new lanes to pass slow moving traffic. Empty lanes going in the opposite direction get used to go the other way, to avoid traffic. U-turns happen when ever and wherever is needed. And you thought the Chinese couldn’t drive.

What a mess. Clean up on aisle, China.

Two systems, one country

This is China’s (catchy) way of describing how communist mainland China and capitalist Hong Kong can coexist as part of one country. In the 1997 Great Britain allowed HK to return to China’s control under strict agreement that HK stayed a capitalist society. Even if Britain was giving back their adopted child, they still wanted to keep tabs on their investment, and make sure baby HK made daddy proud.

I’ll use this phrase to describe the duality of the communism and the love of money found here in China. People are marketed to on all levels, just like the US. Not everything is cheaper here either. I thought I would get a good deal on Puma clothing and shoes here. Not the case. The shoes ranged from about 600RMB to 900RMB, about 80 and 100USD respectively. No thank you china. I’ll wait for the counterfeit “buma’s” to come out on the night market.

Which brings us to today’s second word…(a two-for one!)

Today’s (second) word, er, phrase: Zhèshì Jiăhuō

Translation: This item is fake.

Itchy Tongue

Today we took a trip to get some living items. They don’t sell deodorant, so I’m glad I brought some. Too bad for Mike though. Carrefour, is a French version of Wal-Mart, so naturally it’s a little more pretentious. They even market items to you on the escalator. There is one thing I can’t live without, chewing gum. It cleans your teeth and makes your breath smell good. It’s perfect.

I was shocked to see there was no eclipse or trident…so I found a substitute. Tonight I raise my glass to symbols, or icons, if you prefer. Symbols are the little respected multi-translators of the world. I don’t need to read a word of Chinese to know that this gum is sugar-free (note the “good-for-your-teeth, tooth symbol”). I also know it either tastes like mint…or….uh…poison ivy. Hopefully not the latter.