Fitting In, and Other Assorted Ramblings

So in case any of you have forgotten - I am very, very white. I mean that physically - I am very very white. While I still have remnants of a tan from the trip I just went on, it's fading fast.

Being white in China is desirable - they sell whitening face washes, everyone walks around with umbrellas so they don't get tan...it shows that you don't have to work in the fields and that you have enough money to sit indoors the whole day.

While being an pale-skinned Chinese person is very desirable, being a blonde Caucasian, living in China is not. I mean, people love my hair, love my skin (although with all the pollution my skin is the worst that it's ever been...), love that I am VERY VERY VERY white. On the train back to Beijing, the conductor commented on how white my legs were. In a positive manner. But I digress.

In recent memory, I don't remember wanting to change my physical appearance. I am proud of being a white girl. But sometimes, particularly when I am shopping and bargaining, I wish I wasn't so damn white. Why? I stick out worse than a sore thumb.

As a foreigner in Beijing, I am used to the LaoWai tax. LaoWai is a not so nice name for "foreigner". (I don't really know what the equivalant English word would be.) Because I am a LaoWai, my starting price on things I want to buy are always, without fail, going to be higher than that of a Chinese person. For example, I went to XiDan yesterday to buy a new wallet and a new watch (hey Mom..? Is my old watch fixed...?). I overheard a vendor telling a Chinese lady that wallet X was 80 kuai. (80 kuai is the starting price, then you bargin from there.) I didn't like the wallet, but I was curious as to what would happen if I asked how much the same wallet would cost. So I asked, Duo shao qian? (How much?) Oh wait for it...wait for it...200 kuai!

Schmuck.

People at XiDan assume that if you are there, you can speak basic Chinese, but not really understand. Guess what. I understand better than I can speak. Much, much better. And when I'm shopping, don't mess around with me. So even though I didn't like the wallet that much, I wanted to make a point.

"Wo jidao wo shi laowai - bu guo ni bu keyi gei wo hen guai de dai jia."

Translation: I know I am a LaoWai - but that doesn't mean you can give me a higher price.

Oh.

He kinda looked surprised, and then promptly dropped his price.
I walked away.

Basically, this is a relatively happy ending. But many times, as soon as I say that, vendors go off on me in really fast Chinese. My Chinese is not THAT good. And at a place like XiDan, it's rare to find people that can actually speak English, like they do at places like Silk Street or Hongqiao(Pearl Market).

XiDan is one of my most favorite places to shop, in all of Beijing. They have everything I would ever need (including jerky on the bottom floor). I took video of XiDan, which I'm too lazy to upload right now 'cause the internet is being pokey, but let me say that I have never seen another white person there - and when I have, it's been because Amberle and I went together.

Will I go back to XiDan? Of course! But it's a pain in the ass, and I wanted to blog about it.

Oh, yes, I bought a new wallet and a watch. The wallet is actually really nice - and it's not a knock off! While XiDan has some of the best knockoffs in all of Beijing, I really didn't want an imitation LV or Gucci...so I found a really cute wallet for 35 kuai (starting price: 300 kuai. LaoWai tax, obvi). And while I could've gotten a knock off of my old Movado, I just went for a plastic watch. Price: 25 kuai. I didn't even bother bargaining - I just went up to the lady and was like, I'll give you 25 kuai for this. (25 is the going rate for the watch...I've been looking at it for weeks.)