This is China

Anyone that has ever been to Shanghai knows that you can find almost anything here if you are willing to pay for it. But what I have also found is that it isn't always easy to find. You have to be patient and willing to search. (And when I say search, I mean sometimes even digging through boxes in back alleys!) And in my quests for whatever it was that took me out that day, I have seen some very interesting things. But they are really only interesting for foreign eyes because truly it is really just China.

In an attempt to capture all of these interesting snapshots of life here in China, I have decided to start a section on our blog called "This is China". My hopes is that it will help us remember everything we have learned here and to also share our experiences with everyone back home.
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It is hard to believe that Sophia is turning 2 in a few weeks. She is really into two things right now, babies and Dora. They really don't have alot of toy stores here, so I headed to the wholesale markets downtown in search of some "fallen off the truck" merchandise.

After 6 floors of wall to wall vendors, I finally stumbled across a toy store. After literally digging through boxes looking for party plates and cups for her party at school, I spotted this. Dora's Outdoor Picnic Set. Perfect! Pia loves to pretend that little people are doing things and what better than creating a little Dora land. I ask the guy, how much. He says 85RMB (~$14USD). Not bad I thought, but still a bit high considering where I am.

As I am considering this he mumbles..."But there is no Dora inside." What?? But it says 1 Figure Set included (see the top right corner of the box). So, I spot at least 10 other boxes of the same toy. I ask, what about those. Nope...no Dora. Apparently, Dora is a hot commodity and she has been removed from the boxes and most likely sold on her own for another 85RMB. Looking disappointed and knowing he was going to loose the sale, he points me to box of random figurines. Sorting through them all, I find a used Boots and Diego, but no Dora. I negotiate the price down to 60RMB and call it a day. I walk away with my Dora picnic set sans Dora and a lesson learned. Sister Dora is where it's at!

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DVDs. They are everywhere. In stores, on the streets, in the markets. One thing is the same with them all. They are fake. That is the only way they can sell them for as little as $1 USD a movie. Since TV watching here is a bit "limited", we have turned to movies and more recently different TV series. Our latest show is The Good Wife. This particular one has been graciously brought to us by a local ABC station out of Dallas-Forth Worth. And we chuckle every time we see the local station identifier on the bottom right corner. But the other night, Doug and I started laughing out loud when this came on the screen:

Hopefully we never run into an episode during a presidential election!