Cash’s stinky little error and more china travel tips …..

In the adoption community, the families who have been here have made it clear that you should not over pack for China. “Anything you want can be found and it’s cheap!” is the general quote.

I followed this rule. I have small carry-on for my entire 2-3 weeks here. I did however forget one little item, ………………………….. my deodorant. No big deal, right? Nothing a quick trip to the local Carrefour (Super-Wal-mart like store) won’t fix.

Well, I should have taken my camera. The experience was unreal. People were everywhere. Octupus and Squid on ice to 7-up, to barbeque grills and ipods are readily available. We even found a replacement suitcase for less than $10 US. The only problem was it had a combination lock and the combination was not included, so no opening it.

We made our way to the first floor where the more grocery store like items were to be found. I can say life for the Chinese (at least at this store) is not very different from ours. I however had a very hard time finding deodorant. Christe and I looped the same four aisles for 5 minutes looking. We checked and rechecked several different areas. No luck. With much prodding, I was finally forced to ask. In my best Chinese I asked, “Please, can you tell me” and then I motioned one hand under my other arm showing how I put on deodorant.

To very nice sales ladies, parted from their guarding position to reveal what they had been protecting, men’s deodorant! All two choices! I was to pick from Adidas green or Adidas silver. These things are small! For comparison’s purpose, I’ve included a picture of my purchase next to the lady speed stick Christe brought. Mine looks like a travel size variety. Also, the only choice is roll-on, no stick style varieties here. And let me just say, they are proud of their deodorants. This one item had to be paid for separately. It was over $5 US! The remaining items of our shopping trip, which amounted to what felt like 40 gallons of bottled water was less than $1.50 US.

As for some other tips one might need when choosing what or what not to bring, the hair dryer is not quite as usable and efficient as the American varieties. I’ve attached a picture (above) for reference. Also, our ‘5 star’ hotel does not have 5 star TP. The toilet paper more closely resembles the really cheap paper towels you buy for the summer cookout over at a friends that you don’t want to spend any money on and don’t care if you leave there when your done. “What’s double ply?” would have to be the response I might get if querying further. I do like the rectangular shape though. Changes the meaning of, “Hey buddy, can you spare a square.”

On a different subject but under the same heading, Christe and I ordered a hamburger and fries from the hotel last night. Due to the lateness of our desire to eat, the hotel was the most efficient choice. The ‘hamburger’ tasted more like a really badly seasoned meatloaf. Furthermore the consistency of the ‘beef’ resembled something like an overcooked attempt at something that probably started as beef paste.

I must be going. We our going to venture out on our own today in hopes of finding a second camera battery. I don’t want to run out of juice at a critical moment in my Chinese documentary.

One final detail, I’m typing this as MTV china busts out the lastest and greatest from the US, Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven is a place on earth.”

Cash