Mai donxi

Shopping was not that bad. Turns out I am pretty good at bargaining. It's intense though - I had to take a break after an hour and a half and just go outside the buiding for a little while. You pass the different vendors and they all shout at you "looka looka" or "lady, you want watch?" Once you show the slightest interest, they want to push all kinds of things on you. Some even start pulling your sleeve when you try to leave. Sigh. Well, I tried to always talk to them in Chinese and say that I only want to look around a little. One guy wanted to lure me into his store and I asked him in Chinese if it was okay that I just want to have a look. He said dangran - of course and laughed. I think he saw on my face that I was tired of being pressured. What's great, though, is that once people realize you are not just a regular tourist but studying Chinese, they go easier on you. After we were done bargaining over some chop sticks, one vendor even said to me bu cuo - not bad. ;-) The end of the story is that I will probably go back to shop some more this week, now that I know what's available and for what prices.