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The Diaries« Chivalry Is Not Dead | Main | The Bites » |
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May 4, 2009Labor DayPosted by KellyI had a wonderful Labor Day weekend. My three day weekend was spent relaxing, shopping, sightseeing, and meeting new people. On Friday I slept in and made my way downtown. I did some shopping in the Victory Square area. What can I say? That place is addicting and there are always new things to see every time! While I was there, I did take a rest to enjoy some cheap ice cream. While I was sitting minding my own business, a group of promoters wearing bright green shirts huddled around me and tried to explain their services. They didn’t speak much English, and I’m still learning the basics of Chinese, so it was hard to figure out the message. I narrowed it down and figured that they either wanted to chop my hair off or add hair extensions. I do really need a hair cut and the group did seem very friendly, but I was scared to see the outcome of my hair if I could not effectively communicate with the stylist. They wouldn’t take no for an answer so I stuffed the ice cream cone in my mouth, thanked them, and ran away. Ok, I didn’t run, but I did quickly walk to a different area. The different promotions in China are very interesting and unique marketing tatics! Sadly, they often lure me in! Two examples: In Victory Square I casually glanced at huge bins filled with pretty, glittery hair accessories. I was minding my own business and just looking at the hair “bling” when one of the sales people pointed at her lovely hair and then began to work on mine. She took out my hair clip and twisted, pulled, and clipped my hair back. In less than 20 seconds she managed to completely transform my hair and it looked great! How could I say no to a cute new hair do? I did end up purchasing the hair clips and I couldn’t be more pleased. The second example of “Chinese” marketing is at the super markets. On the weekends it would seem strange not to have girls dressed in matching, bright outfits shouting into an intercom advertising the best tea, dumplings, or snacks to try and buy. While I do enjoy the free samples, they practically throw loads of the products into your shopping cart so you have no option but to buy them. Besides the girls with samples, I’ve seen girls dancing in unison to pop music and more recently, young kids doing very technical partner dance routines! It was like “Dancing with the Stars”, but only with 10 year olds! And they were very good! Can you believe it, all of this to get you to buy a caffeinated beverage? Not only do these marketing tactics draw a large crowd of shoppers, I see a lot of people purchasing the products. Maybe WalMart, Target, and HyVees should bring this type of advertising to the states! I’d buy! Yes, consumers remember TV, radio, and print ads, but kids doing the tango would definitely make an impression on the buyer’s mind! Friday night I met some friends from the fitness club at a bar. In the small bar I met people from China (of course), Russia, Australia, Italy, Austria, Arkansas, Kentucky, Florida, Seattle, England, Arizona, and India! Everyone had a very interesting story of how they got to Dalian. I also feel better about my lack of Mandarin skills. Most of the people I talked with had been in China for quiet a long time and still knew very little Chinese. I’m not sure if this is a good thing or not, but it was comforting to know that I’m not the only one struggling! My English student, Chen, also had a great week. A few of her friends traveled with their school to the States and participated in a cultural exchange for 30 days. It sounds like her friends hit up the hot spots of the States, D.C, New York City, Disney World, California, Chicago, etc. I’m sad to report they didn’t make it to Iowa, but maybe Chen will suggest that for the next trip! Chen and I both laughed at the fact that all the souvenirs her friends brought back all were labeled as “Made in China.” On Sunday Evian and I went to the Golden Pebble Beach. It’s a huge area about 20-30 minutes outside of the Development Area. There are lots of unique museums to visit and places to stop in sightsee. Since everything costs money we focused our efforts on a few locations. We went to a Rock Garden. It was a huge area that lots of neat rock formations. It was set up a like a labyrinth and lots of different routes can be taken around the Garden. If you are limber and without fear you can climb up on the rocks; Evian and I opted not to do this, but I did get a few good pictures of people who were able to climb huge rocks without falling. Our next stop was at a good luck/fortune tripod statue. It was a huge statue with the same Chinese character repeated all over. You could pay money to have your family name added to the statue for good luck. The area also had all the 12 Chinese years (Ox, Rabbit, Rat, etc.), cherry blossoms, and a fountain. We added American pennies to the pond and on top of the huge statue for good luck. It took us a few times to throw the pennies on top of the statue, but we finally got it. We also walked around the sculpture touching the bottom row of characters and then we had to bring the good luck with us by placing our hand in our pocket: very symbolic. I’m not sure if it worked for me because I work up with a nasty cold this morning. (Don’t worry, not the swine flu!) The Dinosaur Swallowing the Sea was really neat to witness. It’s a huge rock formation on the sea that is shaped like a Dinosaur drinking water. You could take boat rides around the different rock formations, but I wanted to keep my breakfast (motion-sickness issues) so we declined. The area was very beautiful and we saw many wedding photo sessions taking place. (On the weekends I would be surprised if you don’t see wedding photos being taken at parks, beaches, or scenic spots. Wedding photos are a huge deal here!) We hiked up on top of the rock formation and got a better view of the sea and beach area. After the trek we took the bus to the final area, the actual beach. Golden Pebble Beach stands for its name, there’s not much sand, but lots of stones! In the swimming area they’ve brought in sand so people can enjoy the sea as a regular beach. Again, lots of photos, families and friends hanging out, picnics, and bike riders! I love riding a bike. I think I miss that the most about noting being in Iowa. Yes, you can bike in China, but I value my life, so with the crazy traffic, I think I’d rather take public transportation or walk. When I saw the bike rentals I was very excited. Instead of walking around the beach, why not ride around and see more? I learned that Evian has never ridden a bike! Can you believe it? Never! It took some convincing, but I promised her safety and an easy route, so she reluctantly agreed. We had the option of a two person bike or singles. We went with the two person bike since I figured I could help with the peddling, steering, and balance. I didn’t tell Evian, but I had never been on a bike that holds two people. It was a little hard to get started, but we quickly caught on. We biked all around the beach area and took pictures. It was very fun and we didn’t fall, hit anything, or get lost. Overall I would call that successful. I think Evian enjoyed biking and maybe next time she’ll be ready for her own bike! Who knows, maybe a RAGBRAI is in her future! It was a very fun weekend and the weather was great! This week it’s suppose to be 70s and sunny! Perfect! I decided to put my winter coat back into my suitcase. I’m not expecting anymore freak snow storms in the near future. |
Map of ChinaJuly 7, 2009Flight homeJuly 7, 2009Golf lessons in ChinaJuly 6, 2009Happy Birthday America!July 1, 2009MIAJune 23, 2009The Last Day...June 23rdJune 23, 2009Last days in ChinaJune 22, 2009Nearing the End...June 22ndJune 22, 2009Goodbye DinnersJune 22, 2009DichotomiesJune 21, 2009Culinary Hijinks and other Tom FooleryJune 21, 2009Thursday-SundayJune 20, 2009Dalian...June 20thJune 20, 2009Funniest thing I've found on one of the student blogsJune 19, 2009Differences between China and the USAJune 19, 2009Observations on prices in ChinaJune 19, 2009Pressure is BuildingJune 18, 2009Tuesday & WednesdayJune 17, 2009KTV, McBinge, and the World's WorkshopJune 16, 2009Dalian...The Journey ContinuesJune 15, 2009Saturday, Sunday, MondayJune 15, 2009Chinese Student PresentationsJune 14, 2009City Tour, SlingShot and lots of “Měiguórén!”June 14, 2009Continued CommitmentJune 14, 2009US Food Rules that don't apply in this part of ChinaJune 14, 2009Settled in DalianSyndicate this site (XML) |
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