May 12 It's 8:10 am. I've just been woken up by this booming voice on a megaphone coming from outside. I looked out the window and saw all of the kids from the high school in lines on the nasketball courts. Okay, the voice just stopped and it's now 8:20. I wish I knew what the voice had been saying... Tom just told us that the speech was about protecting yourself from SARS. We also learned yesterday that there have been 10 new cases of SARS here in Shanghai. An American died here, too. He got SARS when he ate food cooked on the street. No more street food! "Dangerous! Pay attention!" says Tom. One really neat thing here in China is shopping in markets. It's such a scam because everything is priced really high, and the whole point is to bargain for a lower price. So you go into the store, pick your item, and ask for the price. At this point, the vendor will whip out a calculator and punch in a number. It is then the shopper's turn to put in a lower price. Invariably, the sailsperson will widen their eyes, shake their head, wave their hands in the air and generally act shocked and insulted. Then, they'll suggest another price. And this can go on for a while. If it isn't working to your sarisfaction, you just say "No" and begin to walk away. Then they'll usually follow you out and give you the item at a fairly good deal. And if THAT doesn't work, you'll usually find the exact same item at a different booth, and you can try again there!
Here's some Chinese eating etiquette I've picked up: First, always cover your mouth when you pick your teeth. Apparently, it's very rude if you don't. You can fart, belch, and yawn without covering your mouth, but you can't pick your teeth! Also, I learned that you should never stick your chopsticks upright in a bowl of rice. Luc told me that it's a tribute to the dead, something done at funreals. So it's supposedly bad luck.
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