Police Stations and Umbrellas

Saturday, June 16, 2007
Today we went to the police station to “register” since we are foreign students (China has a lot of rules and regulations). The police officers were very friendly and one of them kept offering us cigarettes and our host, ZOZ, told us to accept them. I couldn’t wait to get out of there because of the cigarette smoking. They also told me that I looked like a short version of Gary Payton. Most people I meet in China say that I look like a basketball player or a rapper. I learned a couple of customs since I have been here from ZOZ. He told me that Chinese people love to be complimented, he said, “Always tells a girl she is beautiful, even if she isn’t.” He also taught me that when you meet a senior person (someone in their 40s or older) give them a cigarette as a gesture of wanting to get to know them. He told me that many men in their 30s or older smoke cigarettes. After our police station experience we went to the university cafeteria to eat lunch. It was interesting because you purchase a card for 20 or 50 Yuan ($3 or $7) and you go to each station and tell them what you want, they deduct the money from the card and when your food is ready they bring it to your table. I had some chicken on a stick and chicken fried rice; it was pretty good, much different from fried rice in the U.S. Then we went to the market to buy cell phones and other items. When we got there we saw one of the interns arguing with the cell phone people because her phone was not working properly. My roommates bought cell phones, but I decided against it for the time being because I thought that we could have gotten them for cheaper. I bargained for an umbrella (She wanted 20 Yuan, but I got it for 15 Yuan). I like the umbrella, it’s like bootleg Burberry print. In China, many people walk around with umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun, so I joined in on the culture and got myself an umbrella. The rest of the day was pretty much a bust for me because after all of that walking in the heat, I was exhausted so I came back to the apartment and slept for the rest of the day. Next time I’ll be prepared for the sun since I got my umbrella now.