Bad China Day

Unless you have lived overseas, I am not sure you can totally understand the title of this entry. It is like you are in a groove, sailing along, and then all of a sudden all the rules change and you have no idea what is going on anymore...

I had a great lunch will almost all the other moms/babies in the same situation as Samuel (14 attended and 2 couldn't make it)

That was really nice. Then Mr. Samuel decided to cry all the way home really loud. (I can remember when he first arrived and we thought it was so sad that he couldn't cry. Now I am thinking that is not such a bad thing) Anyway, we were still ok, we just dropped him and Zao off at home and Johna, Eric, and I went to Walmart.

Every single one of the women you see in the background (and the rest of the store) came up to tell me that my baby is cold (even when he was sweating) - luckily, I now know how to say in Chinese that he is not cold (Ta bu lung) but that didn't convince them.

He didn't mind, he was still a happy guy. (You're still with me, right? I know most of you shop at Walmart...)

Just so you can see that me shopping at Walmart and you shopping at Walmart in the US (or even Korea when it was there) is not the same thing...

There is not just baby cereal here, there is also baby noodles (note this is still Heinz, an American brand)

The baby cereal they do have is in flavors not marketed in the U.S. - Tomato and Wheat for instance (I guess this is prepare them to eat spaghetti later on.) oh, it gets better...

Dates and black rice (which is actually very dark purple, so that is why it turns the cereal purple - which is of course my favorite color, so we may actually try this one)Rice with fish and vegetables. I don't like fish, so I don't think we will try this...Pork liver and vegetables. mmmmm, anyone want me to bring them some of this?

I bet pork liver smells even better as jarred food.

In case you are Jewish or Muslim, it also comes in chicken liver with veggiesThis one has a picture of a plump chicken and some broccoli, but on the back, it says in English the flavor is "chicken bones and vegetables". In the US, we are not even allowed to feed our dogs chicken bones, however, in Asia, it is quite common to have ground up bones in soup.

Now on to adult food...

These people were all excited because there was some big sale on frozen corn on the cob (which is actually like field corn we feed to cows in the US - it isn't sweet or juicy, but in Asia they like the chewy consistancy) - Note the Walmart signs in Chinese just in case you forgot where I was. Anyway, these ears of corn all all frozen and unpackaged in the freezer section and then they grab them out with their bare hands (and move the ones out of their way that they don't want) and then put them in a plastic bag and have them weighed. So, you might say that you like to just buy frozen corn that is not on the cob. That is also possible - right next to the peas that you would scoop out with that black spoon and also put in a plastic bag and have them weighed. So, you don't think you want veggies anymore? Ok, let's move on to meat...

This is a black chicken. I personally think this is one of the most un-appetizing colors for meat, but they are everywhere, so someone likes it. (don't ask what those organ pieces next to the chicken are)

So you don't feel like black chickens? Well they are not all that way. Right above this is normal colored chicken -

yes, that is a tray full of chicken feet. OH! You don't like chicken feet. Ok, Why didn't you say so??....

there are plenty of pig's feet to go around. You'd like to stay away from the feet? Well there are wings available...

also frozen and in a big bin for people to dig through and touch the ones you buy. Are you done in the meat section? OK, lets go buy eggs...

These are duck eggs that they have done something to to make them brown and green inside. I am so thankful for the picture so that we don't buy them by accident. Would you prefer chicken eggs?

Here are some chicken eggs in a basket (probably this is how they were picked from the hen house) that have not been washed or candled or graded.

Now, just to clarify, this is not what made it a "bad China day". Actually up until this point it was a great day! I actually remembered my camera to show you what we see here day to day! Seeing weird stuff is kinda fun actually. Plus, it was actually a RED LETTER DAY (that is really good for those of you who are not native English speakers) because I found individual Tang packages that I hadn't seen in 4 months after looking weekly at 6 different stores, we also found the juice the boys like which we were afraid had been discontinued, AND they had Gatorade (which our regular store has been out of for over 2 months). Even though this is the 8th grocery store I had shopped in this week and it took me almost 3 hours at the store today, this is nothing unusual here.

What made it bad was that I checked out all 1,497 RMB (that is over $200, which is a record for me - it was 2 carts FULL of food because you have to stock up on the things you may not see again for 6 months) - all of which I had to bag myself (yes, this too is normal) and then I went to pay with my credit card (that I have used at least 15 times at this very store), which in tales them calling a manager over, them taking the card 5 aisles away and swiping it in a special machine (because it isn't a Chinese card) and then calling some number and then bringing it back to me (this too is normal procedure). But this time, the lady took my card and went to the service counter, where I followed her and she called another number and wrote down some numbers and then asked me if I had my passport. "No," I answered (I don't carry it with me). "You Don't have a passport?! You have to have a passport, you aren't Chinese!"

"Well of course I own one, it just isn't with me."

"you need to have it to use your credit card."

"no I don't. I use my credit card all the time in China and have never been asked for my passport. As a matter of fact, I have used it in this store at least 15 times."

by now, it has been 45 minutes since we started checking out. So we have been in the store for over 3 hours. Aaron is not so smiley anymore and we are going to be late to get Eric and Ian off the bus, so I send Johna out to go with Tian to get the big boys and come back (home is 25 minutes away, 10 if my friend Kelly's driver were driving, but that is a different China story)

"Oh, well, we don't take foreign credit cards (CC)"

"yes you do, I have used it here before"

"no"

"yes"

"no"

"yes"

"don't you have cash?"

"no, because I have always used this card here."

"no"

"Yes!"

"do you have a different card?"

"yes."

"why don't you use that one?"

"did my bank reject the other one?"

"No, we just don't take foreign cards"

"well, this is my other card, it is from the US, too."

"Do you have your passport?"
"No, do you think I ran home while you blinked the last time and got it?"

so then she dials a few numbers, writes down some codes, and tries it in another CC machine. It then works and she brings me the slip to sign.

"so, if this one worked, then you do take foreign cards."

"no"

"this is a foreign card"

"no"

(by this time, I know that Tian and Johna and the boys will be at least another 1/2 hour, so I am in no hurry)

"yes"

"no"

"yes, see it is in English on the back and it says it is from New Hampshire, which is in the US"

"you said you were American"

"what?"

"next time bring cash"

"So I can not use a CC here anymore?"

"right"

"why? What has changed"
"Nothing changed"

"But I used a card today. why can't I use it next time"

"Because this time you used a Chinese card"

"No"

"yes"

"No"

"yes"

"I used this card (showing her the picture on the font of non-Chinese looking children), which is not Chinese"

"I bought a lot of groceries (pointing to 2 carts full), you should want me to come back and be able to buy many things again"

"I am sorry, I don't speak English."

and then she walked away.

Then I stood outside and waited for Johna and Tian and the boys to arrive for 35 minutes.

ahhhh. and such is life. we will try again tomorrow when the rules will all be different again...