Yesterday, my friend and I were tired from shopping so we took a three wheeled chariot. It was only about 3 USD. As we rumbled down the road, she said, "what if he kidnaps us and takes us somewhere in the country to sell and brides??"
I said, "well they will go through our wallets and check our IDs, realize that we are both almost 30, and drop us off at the nearest subway stop because we are too old. They'll think our eggs are withered, not good for having sons."
We laughed, but it is true that unfortunately, there is a risk when traveling anywhere, especially as a female traveling alone. Growing up, my parents were very cautious about "stranger danger", and my mom used to run through kidnapping drills with me. "Never accept candy from strangers! If stranger wants to take you somewhere fun say no! If stranger wants to offer you a ride, don't get in the car! Keep a wide distance from cars with people in them, they can grab you and you will NEVER SEE US AGAIN!!"
So I consider myself a pretty cautious person when it comes to accepting favors from strangers, though sometimes if I'm in a really optimistic mood I make exceptions. Today, I walked from my friends house to the nearest subway, and found that iPhone map does not really work on my phone, nor does google map. I asked someone where panjiaoyuan subway stop was and he said, "I am going there too, just follow me."
In my head, I thought back to my mom yelling, "if a stranger tells you to follow him SAY NO!!"
But this was a pretty public place, and he didn't seem that big so I figured I could probably take him in a fight so it would be okay. And it was; I got to the subway station safely.
We went back to the market near the zoo, since apparently we had gone to the wrong market yesterday. I had a really great series of meals, as usual. This time, bean thread noodles in lamb soup with cold pressed tofu, sautéed potato strips, black congee, and celery. I broke my rule of not buying shoes. Ever since 2009, I've forbidden myself from buying shoes because I really do have enough, and I always go overboard. I ended up buying two pairs, and I was going to just pick one, and spent a lot of time agonizing over which one to get. One was a heel, not as comfortable but so pretty. The other was less pretty, but really comfortable, since they were lower. Finally my friend calculated for me and said that in USD they were only 35 per pair, so I might as well get both. So I did.
And now, I'm sitting on a bench while my friend finishes shopping because I still feel really guilty. I'm not allowed to buy anything for the rest of the day.
Some things about culture here. I find that in general, people are a lot more direct and gruff, even more so than New Yorkers. New Yorkers are always in a rush, but it seems people in Beijing are more so. To take the subway, we have to go through security. As I place my bag on the conveyor belt, people will just reach over and try to throw their bag in front of mine, because I guess they can't wait that one extra second for my bag to go through. Lines in general are wishful thinking, because 25 percent of the people will just cut. When the train arrives, people don't wait for others to get off, rather they proceed to dive into the car. Even when exiting the bathroom stall, instead of waiting for me to exit, one woman charged in, which makes no sense because there isn't space for two, and it would take less time for her to let me exit first than for the two of us to try to squish around each other in the tiny stall. I guess maybe that's the result of having such an enormous population and not so much space. I've seen quite a few babies dressed in an outfit that completely reveals their private parts, so they can just pee and poop wherever. No diapers. I guess that's better for the environment, but not so hygienic, though I think a lot of Chinese people say baby poop is really clean because they don't really eat anything but milk. Not sure if that is true or not, either way it's not really pleasant.
On the other hand, I've noticed that the wait staff at restaurants are really polite here, contrary to a lot of the Chinese restaurants in the US. When you leave, they always tell you to walk slowly.
I do find the subway signs about blocking the doors funny. In New York, the signs just say, "do not hold the doors, it causes delays," something like that. In Beijing however, the sign says "watch your fingers," and the accompanying illustration makes it look like your fingers may be chopped off if you dare stick them through while doors are closing. The ones in NY bounce open if anything is between them, typically. I don't know if the ones here do, but given that sign I don't plan to test that theory.
People have been really nice when you ask them for directions, and for the most part, everyone has been super helpful. There is a big difference in shopping at silk street vs the warehouses. There isn't a lot of bargaining at the warehouses, and the prices quoted are usually very cheap to begin with so there isn't really room for negotiation--maybe 5 or 10 Rmb. At silk street however, the prices are super inflated.
I forgot to mention too that yesterday, the road was blocked by Tiananmen Square. Every day there is a big hullabaloo when the flags are lowered for the day, so they block traffic. I was going to go out and take some pictures, but then the cars started moving. Crossing the street here is a bit of a gamble. Even when the walk sign lights up, it's not really indication that it is safe to walk because a bunch of motorists are still allowed to make turns. Rather, the walk sign is more like a suggestion--like, "this would be a good time to attempt your crossing, but no promises."
Today I saw a dog with his owner. There are wild dogs some times, though I haven't seen any in Beijing. The owner didn't look like a person with a lot of money, so I thought it was cute that he had simply taken a red string and tied it around his dog's neck, to indicate that this dog was not a wild dog, but was owned and, presumably loved. At least, that's how I'm interpreting it.
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| Beijing subway map |
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| Subway Sign |
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