Random Observations…
To break the norm of doing my work (in this case preparing Final Exam schedules & Questions) on the couch in front of the TV, I decided to go try working at Starbucks down the street. It was nice to be in a place with central heating & non-sporadic Internet connection – I liked it so much I was there for around 6 hours…I’ll probably head back there again tomorrow to finish up my exam preparations…
Now onto my Random Observations…
- It seems people in China, when moving a piece of furniture (even if its very light) prefer to push it across the floor creating as much noise as possible vs. picking it up and carrying it…the sound of metal legged furniture on tile is almost as bad as nails on a chalk board…not as high pitched, but much, much louder…
- Women don’t seem to wash their hands very often…Ok I guess this is somewhat of an unfair observation. In their defense someone told me, many folks around here don’t like to wash their hands during winter, because the water is usually very cold (because most places aren’t heated) – a sensation similar to washing your hands under an icy stream apparently. You maybe wondering how I know the girls didn’t wash their hands… Over here, most places seem to have their sinks in common view with the actual restrooms behind doors. A rough count I did while looking away from my laptop, is 2 out of 5 guys washed their hands, while 2 out of 8 girls washed theirs…I’ll be sure to start carrying a bottle of hand sanitizer with me…
- A barber shop that is open at 11:00pm, probably isn’t open to cut hair…While walking home from Starbucks, I noticed a barbershop was open…From the looks of it, a pretty nice one at that…though I guess the name would be Salon vs. Barber shop…At first I thought “How convenient”… 3 steps later, it dawned on me, its probably a front for something not so legal (ie. Gambling institution, brothel, etc.)…a quick search on Google back home, and yep…most likely a brothel :-p
//update
Turns out it was a legitimate Salon that just happened to be open late. Apparently the ones that aren’t really barbershops/salons are the dirty looking ones with red neon lights :-p…If a place looks normal (ie non use of red fluorescent/neon lights its probably legit)
Comments
Comment from Bob
Time: December 18, 2007, 2:17 pm
Well if you really want to read another interesting observation…One woman (coming out of the restroom), I watched play with her hair for atleast 2 minutes in the mirror of the rest area, and never washed her hands before doing so :-p
Well since this is Starbucks (to go along with their standard western pricing) they have Standard Western toilets. Though from a few girls I’ve talked to (from western countries as well as here) - they seem to generally prefer the squatters, since your butt isn’t touching anything :-P.
Comment from Sheryl
Time: December 17, 2007, 11:58 pm
GROSS !!! No wonder you need the Hep shots !!! Just Kidding. Ok, not really kidding. You definitely need the hand sanitizer at all times. As if failure to hand wash after going to the loo isn’t yucky enough, I wonder if they are the Western toilets or the squatty potties. YUUUUUKKKKKKKKK !!!!!