Being illiterate in the language of the country that one is residing in can be very complicated- it presents one with issues that one wasn't prepared for- a verbal language barrier can be broken through with miming, body language and a handy dictionary. Characters that one can't even begin to recognize or identify provide a wall even more impermeable than the Berlin Wall in terms of comprehension.
This makes shopping an ordeal since I've gotten here, since I often have no real idea of what i'm buying. Characters aside, grocery shopping is difficult because much of what is sold in China is unrecognizable to me- the products that are used for cleaning, beauty etc. deal with issues that never concern westerners (i.e. skin whiteners)
For example, I was confused as to why my hair spray, which I bought in the hair care area of carrefour, smelled like icy hot. I discovered that my hair spray was in reality mosquito repellent. I bought a bag of white crystals that I thought was sugar, only to discover that I had added 3 tablespoons of MSG to my coffee instead of sugar.
Thus, shopping has turned into a mindtwister, requiring a skill of logical deduction that sometimes eludes me, as I search for the package for indications as to its contents, and try to judge what it might be, based on its location in the store floor plan. Even my electronic translator is not that helpful, as the characters can be tricky to identify. Today was no different, as I returned home to find that three separate items were not what I had believed them to be.
Shopping? quite the ordeal
This makes shopping an ordeal since I've gotten here, since I often have no real idea of what i'm buying. Characters aside, grocery shopping is difficult because much of what is sold in China is unrecognizable to me- the products that are used for cleaning, beauty etc. deal with issues that never concern westerners (i.e. skin whiteners)
For example, I was confused as to why my hair spray, which I bought in the hair care area of carrefour, smelled like icy hot. I discovered that my hair spray was in reality mosquito repellent. I bought a bag of white crystals that I thought was sugar, only to discover that I had added 3 tablespoons of MSG to my coffee instead of sugar.
Thus, shopping has turned into a mindtwister, requiring a skill of logical deduction that sometimes eludes me, as I search for the package for indications as to its contents, and try to judge what it might be, based on its location in the store floor plan. Even my electronic translator is not that helpful, as the characters can be tricky to identify. Today was no different, as I returned home to find that three separate items were not what I had believed them to be.
Shopping? quite the ordeal
