I’ve been here 6 months now. Wow! Half a year. That is pretty crazy.
I like to think I’ve changed a lot in that time, but it could be in my head? I don’t know. I like to think I’ve gotten more patient with life, even though sometimes it still gets to me, some of those little irksome things that I run into each day.
Looks like another apology for lack of posting is in order. To be honest, I haven’t been on the internet at all lately, just to answer business emails and what not. Between the teaching job I was doing (which just ended) and running around like crazy with the coats and other export projects, I didn’t feel like logging into this and filling everyone in on the latest with Linty Fresh.
And I’m sure there are at least some of you out there wondering what the heck is going on with LF. 2 months and no new releases! What?!
Well, for now, I’m trying to focus on Linty Fresh China. I want to launch the store in just a few weeks, which means I still need to take model shots (which will be done back in the US), design ads, and set up an ad campaign for several big college campuses here in China. This kind of stuff would’ve been way out of my budget back in the states, but it’s a doable thing here, so I want to try it out. This first batch of shirts was pretty small though (just 500 pieces!), so I’m not certain that such extensive advertising is wise… But at the very least, high demand + low supply is good, right?
Yeah, I’m nervous about it. There can be SO much red tape here. Red tape and lack of efficiency. In a previous post I complained about the Post Office. I finally stopped going. I’m looking for another shipper now. Some of my customers in the states that ordered jackets have been waiting over a MONTH for their things to arrive. The orders aren’t lost. China is just slow like that. Some of the coats were apparently sent by barge across the Pacific for who knows what reason, since everything I ever shipped from the States abroad was ALWAYS delivered by air. Dark ages? My goodness.
Anyways, these are things I’ve been dealing with. I’m hoping to get out a new episode of LITM soon though. I find it to be a really good way to unwind, seeing my life through a lens like that. Suggestions? I’m always open.
So, as optimistic as I manage to usually be about life here in China, I have to be honest and say that it’s not always smooth sailing. There are days that have me on the verge of screaming and throwing someone out of a window. It hasn’t happened yet, but most of my Western friends assure me that at one time or another I will probably lose it. Each time I visit the post office I expect to have just such an incident.
To be fair, American post offices are just marginally less frustrating. Long lines, unmotivated personnel, and silly procedures are enough to drive me wild. But here, there seems to be more of all that. For the record, I have a MAJOR pet peeve for innefficiency. I’ve run a handful of business operations in my life, and I know that having a system for everything is a MUST. In any new venture, I like to find the quickest, cheapest, simplest method, implement it, and leave it alone. China doesn’t allow me to do this.
For example, every item I take to the post office must be searched. This means nothing can be prepackaged. Instead of having a neat little shipment taken to the post office to be scanned and paid for quietly and efficiently, I have to wait while the inept clerks to sift with painstaking slowness through each box’s contents. Then, they use about a whole roll of tape wrapping each box up. And it takes FOR-EV-ER. I was at the post office today waiting for 3 shipments to be sent out, and it took 45 minutes! Back in the states, I could just drop my stuff off and leave. I miss that a lot.
Whew. It’s been a busy few weeks. Not only have the coat orders been coming in steadily, but also bigger orders for cards and other promotional items. On top of that, I’m launching Linty Fresh China in March, so there’s a lot of prep work to get ready for that, including advertising campaigns on college campuses in Beijing and Shanghai. Advertising to a Chinese market is going to be an interesting challenge, but I have plenty of reason to believe that this venture is going to be even more successful that the original. Excited!
I was also pleased to recently find out that China has it’s own line of Chupa Chups, the lollipop brand that I’ve included with outgoing Linty Fresh orders in the states. I still have yet to track down a candy wholesaler, but I have some good leads that I’ll be looking into next week. I’m also currently working on packaging design and production for the orders here. Like I said, a lot is going on.
On top of all that, I’m working as a substitute English teacher at a local private kindergarten. It’s just a couple of hours each morning and pays really well.
Anyways, that’s what I’ve been up to. Still alive, and busy. By the way, if you’re thinking of getting a coat made, get on it soon. I will probably stop doing them once LF launches here, just because it’s too many things to balance at once. (I may turn the business over to someone else, as well, haven’t decided yet)
And finally, check it out: Tintin comics! Just 10 yuan at the bookstore (about $1.50 US). And they’re in Chinese, so I get to really work on my character recognition, which I’ve been super lazy about…
So today, on my way home from the video shop downtown, I had an interesting experience. After getting on and struggling to maintain balance as the bus cut 3 lanes of traffic to make a hairpin turn through a red light, a Chinese guy in the seat behind me tugged my sleeve and motioned to an empty seat next to him, across the aisle. I thanked him and sat down, and he started talking to me in English.
This isn’t a particularly amazing thing in China. A decent number of locals actually have a pretty good grasp of English, and even though most aren’t fluent, they’re understandable, and it’s possible to have a basic conversation with them. But what made this a little different is that his accent wasn’t right. I know what a Chinese accent sounds like. They stick vowels in weird places and have trouble with “V”s. But his accent didn’t match. It was foreign in a different way. And it was obvious he’d been speaking English most of his life, though he hadn’t learned it in the States.
So I asked. It turns out he was from Kazakhstan! He’d only been in China for five years, and as soon as he explained this it made a lot of sense to me. The accent, his attire, hairdo, and even the cologne he wore (Chinese guys don’t wear cologne). And although we didn’t talk much, since he got off at the next stop, I imagined that his life here isn’t easy. Back in the States I had talked to a Chinese friend who’d grown up in the US and lived in Beijing for a month. She said it was a difficult transition. Although she could speak the language, she thought and acted like an American, and the Chinese couldn’t understand her for it.
And as I was thinking about all of this and wondering what additional challenges a Middle-Eastern-raised Chinese would face here, I really began to appreciate at least one aspect of American life – the cultural diversity. Although China continues to globalize and become familiar with other cultures, foreigners in most cities still stand out as an oddity. A taxi driver just this week almost crashed into a pedestrian because he was distracted by my black roommate. It can be frustrating and cumbersome, but that’s just the nature of a place like this. In many aspects, China is still very much a developing country.
I can’t tell you how many Chinese people have told me:
你穿的太少了！, or “Ni chuande tai shaole!” which roughly translates to, “Why aren’t you wearing more clothes, you crazy American?”
Usually I just wear a single pair of jeans when I go out, but as I’ve been reminded of on numerous occasions, that’s daft. So I finally broke down and went the Chinese way – a thick spandexy layer beneath my jeans to keep out the piercing cold. I decided to film this adventure, and was able to get some other cool footage of a typical day bargain shopping here in China.
This is the first of what I hope will be many LITM episodes about my culinary experiences here in China. In this one, I go to a local malachuar restraunt for some boiled goodies. Yum!
