DANGER

I'll begin this post with the danger aspect of China (and a little bit of trickery). Let me explain how I often get home from Guangzhou. I live about 40 minutes away by bus, but 30 minutes by car. If I stay in Guangzhou until Monday morning, I can take the bus, but if I leave Sunday night I always have to take a "taxi". By "taxi" I mean a car that is a total rip off (painted like a taxi) OR not even a real taxi, instead a person in their personal car driving people around to make money. As far as I know in the US, when we take a taxi it is always metered. Here, what I do is take the subway to a district in the south of Guangzhou to the bus station. At the bus station I choose NOT to take a bus because Sundays are so jam packet that I don't mind paying the 12 Yuan more to take a "taxi". So from this metro station, I have to bargain with "taxi drivers". If I were to get a taxi from here to where I live with three other people it would cost about 50 Yuan metered, so a little more than 10 Yuan each. Instead, what they do is charge you 80 for one person from the get-go, or 25 per person (sometimes 30 or 35). This is when I have to bargain because I know I can get home for 20 and that is the most fair price. So after bargaining or arguing someone usually comes up to me and says 20, and then I have to wait for this driver to find more people so he can make the most out of this trip (that is what they all do). This takes about 20 minutes since all the drivers at this stop are trying to con people into going with them. Last time I went home in a mini- mini van. Yesterday I told the people shouting at me coming out of the metro, "20 YUAN!" The first guy said no, 25 (all in Chinese or even worse Cantonese which I understand a little duh) and then I was walking away and some lady said "Girl, 20!!!" and some other stuff I didn't understand. I went to where her husband, I'm assuming, was waiting by his car with a walkie talkie as she got people to go with him. Anyway, I waited five minutes, got in the car and went home. I saw that one of the guys in the back gave the driver 25 and when I got to my stop another guy was also getting out and I handed the driver a 20 and so did he (he also went in the car the same time I did) and the driver looked at me and said "25". I started getting pissed because I was not in the mood to argue and deal with their tricky conning, so I just yelled and looked mad and got out of the car, while the guy in the back explained that the woman told us 20 each. Go fuck yourself you fucking shithole driver. I am so sick of certain Chinese people trying to con me out of my money. Everywhere I go I have to experience this. In the fruit market, in the vegetable market, getting a cab, getting dumplings... one day I would just like to go through the day without stares AND without getting hassled and with fair prices and without fucking "Hallooooos". UGH as you can see TEN months in China really hits a person hard. HAHAHHA. That is how drivers get you though, they tell you a price before, you agree then they ask for more. I noticed most Chinese people don't argue for some reason and just give the driver the amount he demands. But not me. My point is it is probably dangerous to get in with people like this because 1 they are not the safest drivers and 2 who knows where they'll take you 3 who knows what kind of weapons they have?

When I went shopping yesterday the line to get into the subway was HORRIBLE. They had the entrance barricaded and police watching and then letting in a crowd of people while the others had to wait in a huge crowd behind those few being let in (so the subway area wasn't too crowded). No way was I going back in with that group of people. So when I was finished shopping which totally wore me out because they all gave me high proces and it was Sunday night and I was NOT IN THE MOOD to bargain, I went back to the subway. The line was even longer, so I walked on the left side where people were coming out of the subway. The first person didn't stop me but a subway worker then wouldn't let me go through and LUCKILY he didn't speak English so I was raising my voice to him blah blah. Then I just stood there and yelled at him saying I would not get into that huge dangerous crowd. He then called the police man and my plan was to start crying because I KNOW that there is no way HE would speak English. So he just motioned for me to get in line and I said NO. I stood there with my arms crossed and the policeman whispered something to the subway worker and he left. So then I waited a minute and said "Ok I'm going" and walked away. That was my police encounter. Sometimes I really hate China (but sometimes there are days where I love it) I just sit on the subway though and most of the time think how these people are screwed. They know nothing better than crowds, Communism, low salaries... and I do feel bad, but this place is so incredibly shitty sometimes for the actual Chinese citizens. I mean look at all the work they do and the lack of rewards and money they get. And look at how they have to shop for their whole lives. And look at how they aspire to the West, but are so incredibly lacking. I really do feel bad for saying all this stuff but it makes me love the US, seriously. I am so happy I can shop in peace with only store attendants sometimes bothering me (not like China where they follow you around and suggest ugly stuff to buy). I am happy I can return items. I am happy I can go to the grocery store and not see DEAD dogs on the counter for sale. I am happy I have a car. I am just so happy to be a Western citizen, seriously. Thank you mom and dad :) Is that wrong for me to say? Being in China really DOES make you appreciate what you have. Then again, I will miss the $1.50 manicures, the $8 70-minute massages... I guess there's good AND bad.

So next item on the agenda is bundled up babies. To stay warm, people dress their babies in LAYERS AND LAYERS AND LAYERS (and keep in mind some of these clothes still have that poop hole). I see adorable little babies that look so huge because they have on like a billion sweaters. Chinese people really need to kick it into this CENTURY with the heating situation. Still the babies are adorable and look so fat and cute.

Anyway, three more weeks until Chinese New Year, which is their biggest holiday! VACATION time!