This is bad.
I've just realized how seriously they take the Chinese language here in China. (well. duh. yesh.) At a board meeting earlier, my boss was terribly upset (ie. he threw a fit) that I introduced myself in English. Three quarters of the room didn't understand what I was talking about! I am now officially put on a intensive course in spoken and written traditional/simplified Chinese.
My computer has it's English version of Microsoft Office uninstalled and replaced with a traditional chinese one. Tragic.
Anyway, my boss will be buying me lunch later, as well as show me where the -only- -english- bookstore is in this area. Mmmm.....after a week of Chinese food, i'm really looking forward to some foreign cusine!
Now here are some facts you must know if you wanna go to China :
- Bring local currency. Cash. Lots of it. Most of whatever you buy is going to accept local currency only. And forget about looking for a money-changer.
- Beware of the change that you get. Fake money is floating everywhere.
- Although they drive on the left side of the road, look in EVERY direction before you cross the road. "Traffic Rules" are non-existant here. Just try to stay alive.
- Rates of literacy here is higher than in Singapore. They read, they write and they've got more ways to say "fuck off" than you can think of. So please respect.
- People don't walk around with guns in their pockets. So there's no need to wear bullet proof vests around. However, people are poor, desperate and cunning, so it's best to keep your wits about you.
- Bring anti-bacterial spray, wash and vitamins. The standard of hygine is very questionable.
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