Shopping experience

Shopping in Shanghai should be considered a workout plan. Think Christmas shopping on crack. There 10x the people, the sales are 10x better and its 10x the insanity. Saturday I decided to go to the H&M store downtown because I needed some proper teaching outfits. I live about 20-25 minutes away from the shopping street of Shanghai, Huaihai Lu, but to get there it’s only a short ride on the Metro which only cost about 4 Kuai (50 cents). So I pack up my man-bag with all the essential and get onto the metro. I always carry around a big umbrella 1) for protection and 2) I can never tell if the clouds in the sky is rain clouds or just the pollution :-/. I meet up with my friend David on Shanxi Lu and walk over to H&M where it’s mad chaos: cloths flying everywhere, people screaming, and its hot as ballz. For some reason H&M Shanghai does not believe in the invention of air-conditioning. I find a few shirts and pants that I like and I decide to go try them on. Stupid me I thought I would only take a few minutes to get a changing room . . . the waiting line almost out the door. I figure the lines too long and the cloths should fit me so I buy the cloths without trying them on first. You probably know what happens next. When I got home I decide to try the cloths on and needless to say things didn’t fit perfectly. I got a very nice pair of gray, wool pants but they turned out to be extra slim. I looked good in them but I think you could see the veins popping out of my legs for the lack of circulation. Then I noticed that I still had the security device attached to one of my button-up shirts so I had to make the journey back to H&M. Same size crowed and even hotter but I was determined to return things. You have to understand that in China to return products and get your money back is an act of Congress. You have to argue with the sales person, the manager, and their mothers. Knowing this I was ready to get into my jack pissed American mode but when it was my turn in the queue the sales girl was very pleasant, helpful, and even spoke some English. It took me 2 minutes to get the security device off and return my pants and I was on my way. Needless to say I felt a little sheepish for my close-minded views. It’s a common belief that most Chinese will not help you if it’s not their job but my experience is that most have been quite helpful. At most stores salesclerks are always ready to help, the taxi drivers are quite patients when you’re trying to direct them with broken Chinese, and I’ve even had a few Chinese direct me to the right place. I guess one cannot make judgments until one actually experiences the culture. . .