In the last email my dad sent out, he reviewed some odds and ends that interested or amused him.
The one thing that completely surprised me was the Christmas / Xmas theme everywhere. There were Santas of all types and sizes, snowmen with shades (doesn't snow in Shenzhen), Santas covering the side of a 40 story building, Merry Christmas and Xmas and Christmas trees were everywhere. It was just surprising to me. The most commercial country in the world really grabbed on to the commercial side of the Christmas season.
One thing that did show as anticipated was the use of English letters and words used to sell the idea that there are better - faster - stronger - prettier - bigger goods available inside. I have some photos of words on shops and on signs that were not translated correctly or not used correctly. It seems that after 25 years of successful, even phenomenal, growth they would think that that don't need English words to hint at a higher quality of goods.
We expected that the food would be completely different, and it was. Roadside fruit stands are not unusual, but the soccer ball sized grapefruit was. And isn't dragon fruit the most unusual looking fruit you've ever seen?.
It gives one high expectations of taste exotica.... Until you actually eat one. Almost tasteless. Juicy, yes, but no flavor. Disappointing.
I already mentioned the bamboo scaffolding, and the fish head that wasn't. THAT was funny.
We were passing two young girls taking each other's photo. The one gal getting her picture taken looked up and spotted me with my camera up and gave the young Chinese girl's"V" sign.
Kissing statue - a small area off the sidewalk had some artsy statues and cement blocks. One statue was of a very young couple kissing. By itself not unusual, except I find something hinting at promiscuity in this public venue to be unusual in a country that fines you for having more than one child .
Wide screen TV - yes they have LCD screens and cable and world news and movies and we watched the Pittsburgh Penguins one night on a tape delay.
One of the small back alley shops we stopped in sells bootleg movie CD's.
Randy flipped through the "new releases" row and Myles was going through the "G" rated row. Myles picked out some Mickey Mouse Club cartoons - in English. Randy picked 2 movies I think. These cost a few RMB, Actually I guess this is NOT surprising....
The pressurized gas delivery method is surprising, even in this country where most common sense safety rules just don't exist or are just ignored.
Like the family of 4 passing by on a moped.
This goes along with the driving. We were in a taxi, it pulled up behind a line of about 6 cars and busses all stopped at a red light. He pulled to the left into the oncoming lane, passed the stopped vehicles, then pulled ahead without waiting for the light to change. The driving is atrocious. I have a YouTube video I made of traffic at Jen's that is hysterical
I didn't expect "American" fast food joints but after I spotted the 1st McDonalds it was not so surprising. Besides the 9 different Starbucks we saw we saw a couple of 7-11.
A couple of miles from the bigest container shipyard in the world (or the 2nd biggest) was the donkey train.
It was hauling goods along the highway. Even in this new part of China this was surprising. But it might be cheaper than a truck, and "greener" but certainly slower....
And about the snowsuit. It is January, mid 60's F, a bit of a breeze, and maybe I can understand how mid 60's feels chilly to people whose summers routinely hit 90's F.
BUT, note in the one photo the little boy is wearing traditional pants, that is, pants with no crotch, and he does not wear a diaper. This allows the baby to squat and take care of business - anywhere it wants. THIS is why you take your shoes off when you enter a home... never know what kids business you might have stepped in. And if it is cold enough for a snow suit, why would you leave parts of it open?????
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