Saturday, August 06, 2005

Funny little things

Ok, so I've been in Shanghai now for a few days and each day I keep coming across little things that make me laugh. I though I'd list a few for you here for your amusement:

  • In the mall there is a lingerie store called Schiezer. If you know any German, you'll know why this is funny.
  • I saw a woman today wearing a pair of Jew Jeans.
  • The sign in the taxicab said, "Psychos and drunkards may not ride in cab without a guardian."
  • All movies on HBO are in black and white for some weird reason.
  • Pepper Steak in China uses chili peppers instead of bell peppers and causes people named Nico to nearly die when they eat one by mistake.
  • If you are leaving a restaraunt when it is raining and walk back to your hotel, the wait staff of the restaraunt will walk the entire way back with you, holding an umbrella over your head because you are a stupid American who went out in the middle of a typhoon without one. Despite the stupid American's best efforts to say it isn't necessary, the waiter will still follow you five city blocks in the pouring rain regardless.
  • If you make the mistake of leaving a tip, even a small one, they will track you down later in your hotel to give it back. They know where you live because of the point mentioned before this one.
  • Chinese will make up any excuse or even lie to avoid telling you, "no". If they don't want to go to a particular museum, they will tell you that all of the taxicab companies were shut down due to the typhoon. When you take a taxi later in the day and realize they just didn't want to tell you "no", you sit in the back of said taxi cab and chuckle.
  • Address books on your new Chinese cell phone are very difficult to read in Mandarin. (I guess I will have to get a Chinese coworker to change the phone's language to English for me.)

Anyway, thats it for me now. Talk to everyone later!