Dedicated to: The Art of Haggling
A key skill to learn while you are in China is haggling. Haggling is everything in China. Items that are "haggleble" range from cell phones, clothing, trinkets, to food (mostly fruits). The importance of haggling will determine whether your stay in China will make or break your wallet. Even if you are not sure if something can be haggled, try anyways. Chances are, if the answer is "no," you can still ask if there is a discount, because merchants won't let the buyers know if there is one unless you ask.
Now, unfortunately, haggling can't be done everywhere. For example, last weekend several friends and I visited one of the many shopping malls that litter the perimeter of our study abroad college. The one that we decided to visit consisted of seven floors and a movie theater. The reason haggling isn't allowed in most malls is because the stores within the malls are actual retail stores that can be found in the US. Sephora, Nike, Armani, are just a few examples of what kind of stores are exist in these malls. Interestingly, the higher the floor you go, the pricier the items are. Within 3-4 hours, we only managed to cover four floors. By "covering" I mean walking by the shops and only going into the ones we had to look in u_u In any case, I everyone had fun and managed to buy some clothing/gifts on the basement floor, which I believe was probably one of the coolest floors. The basement floor sold a great deal of awesome T's and shoes at a decent price.
There are still some malls I need to go visit before leaving Shanghai, but until then, my next post will actually be about the Fabric Market, which truly was a one-of-a-kind experience. Tailored clothing = crazydelicious!
Friday, May 27, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Asian Cheap
Dedicated to: What it Means to be Cheap
Ok, so this is day 3 of Shanghai, China and I've spent less than 50 bucks buying all my meals (plus snacks), supplies for my dorm, stationary, groceries, and shopping.
My first reaction in tallying up my spending money was.....WTF. I still can't comprehend the fact that I can live off of 10 or less dollars in a week in Shanghai. I mean, I eat a lot and I was able to fill myself up at breakfast with less than a dollar's worth of food. I KNOW. CRAZY.
Anyways, because this is kind of a study abroad program, I've got a lot of crap to do in a very short amount of time. So, I'll sign-off for now and keep you guys updated on my adventures. Just an FYI, the next post will be about the shopping malls, which was quite an experience in itself. As always, thanks for reading!
Ok, so this is day 3 of Shanghai, China and I've spent less than 50 bucks buying all my meals (plus snacks), supplies for my dorm, stationary, groceries, and shopping.
My first reaction in tallying up my spending money was.....WTF. I still can't comprehend the fact that I can live off of 10 or less dollars in a week in Shanghai. I mean, I eat a lot and I was able to fill myself up at breakfast with less than a dollar's worth of food. I KNOW. CRAZY.
Anyways, because this is kind of a study abroad program, I've got a lot of crap to do in a very short amount of time. So, I'll sign-off for now and keep you guys updated on my adventures. Just an FYI, the next post will be about the shopping malls, which was quite an experience in itself. As always, thanks for reading!
Monday, May 9, 2011
The Edge
Dedicated to: The Heart of Gold in the Frightened
Will you come to the Edge with me? The Edge of something new?
Will you jump with me? Jump into the unknown Future?
You may not know me, but I know that if we don't jump, then there is no Meaning.
Sometimes, it's stepping off the ledge that is the scariest part.
Today, I realized that Life isn't just a path that we forge for ourselves, but a path riddled with different sized ledges. The higher the ledge, the bigger the drop. The bigger the drop, the greater the problem is.
You know the people who can't seem to take that extra step, because they are afraid that nothing will be there to catch them? I know, because I used to be one of those people. It's a time when we think we've reached an impasse, the impossible. We can't seem to continue, or solve the problem. The solution gets further away.
We are stuck.
But, today someone asked me to go to the Edge with them. I thought to myself, what do I have to lose? Let's face it (especially if you are my age), most of us haven't even made anything of ourselves yet. What am I to anyone in the Real world? Nothing. That's the sad truth.
I decided to go to the Edge.
Now I am Something.
Come to the Edge with me, and let's jump into bettering our Generation.
Let's fall into Hate, Prejudice, and Injustice.
Let's get back up in Acceptance, Equality, and Justice.
Let's be the Face of Change. Let's Take a Stand.
Will you come to the Edge with me? The Edge of something new?
Will you jump with me? Jump into the unknown Future?
You may not know me, but I know that if we don't jump, then there is no Meaning.
Sometimes, it's stepping off the ledge that is the scariest part.
Today, I realized that Life isn't just a path that we forge for ourselves, but a path riddled with different sized ledges. The higher the ledge, the bigger the drop. The bigger the drop, the greater the problem is.
You know the people who can't seem to take that extra step, because they are afraid that nothing will be there to catch them? I know, because I used to be one of those people. It's a time when we think we've reached an impasse, the impossible. We can't seem to continue, or solve the problem. The solution gets further away.
We are stuck.
But, today someone asked me to go to the Edge with them. I thought to myself, what do I have to lose? Let's face it (especially if you are my age), most of us haven't even made anything of ourselves yet. What am I to anyone in the Real world? Nothing. That's the sad truth.
I decided to go to the Edge.
Now I am Something.
Come to the Edge with me, and let's jump into bettering our Generation.
Let's fall into Hate, Prejudice, and Injustice.
Let's get back up in Acceptance, Equality, and Justice.
Let's be the Face of Change. Let's Take a Stand.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Courage
Dedicated to: No One in Particular...
Courage doesn't recognize the five senses,
Courage doesn't discriminate,
Courage doesn't require the sacrifice of others, but your own.
Courage isn't the same thing as Hope,
Courage is never being afraid to Hope,
To Hope is to have Courage.
Courage is knowing what is Right,
Right is not religion,
Right is natural human compassion,
Right is innately understanding to help those who can't help themselves.
Courage is not being afraid to do that Right,
Not being afraid is facing possible consequences no matter the severity in doing Right,
Not being afraid is taking that extra fall.
Courage is the light we make for ourselves,
Courage is the Hope people find in each other,
Courage is true Acceptance,
True Acceptance is overcoming our Hatred.
Courage is believing in yourself in your Darkest hour,
Don't be a Hero, have Courage,
Courage is the selfless side of the Hero.
Courage doesn't recognize the five senses,
Courage doesn't discriminate,
Courage doesn't require the sacrifice of others, but your own.
Courage isn't the same thing as Hope,
Courage is never being afraid to Hope,
To Hope is to have Courage.
Courage is knowing what is Right,
Right is not religion,
Right is natural human compassion,
Right is innately understanding to help those who can't help themselves.
Courage is not being afraid to do that Right,
Not being afraid is facing possible consequences no matter the severity in doing Right,
Not being afraid is taking that extra fall.
Courage is the light we make for ourselves,
Courage is the Hope people find in each other,
Courage is true Acceptance,
True Acceptance is overcoming our Hatred.
Courage is believing in yourself in your Darkest hour,
Don't be a Hero, have Courage,
Courage is the selfless side of the Hero.
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