sábado, febrero 05, 2011

China is the next best thing...

... but you probably already knew that.

This country has the biggest quantity of luxury cars I've ever seen. Forget about Lexus, BMV, or Mercedes. These guys think (and spend) big. Bentley's ouside hotels, Rolls Royce (I've seen more in a week than in 27 years altogether), Ferrari's, Porsche (the cool ones, not the little boy's Boxters) and why not, Lamborghini's. I haven't visited Germany recently (that made me think it's been over 10 years since I last went to the country of bratwurst and good beer), but I doubt they have this much of cool cars. Not even if we extrapolate to their correspondent population proportion.
Let's not even start with the high-end clothes' boutiques. These fellows are serious in their looks, and they want you to notice.

On the other hand, is curious how they still live a relatively modest life. I've noticed that even when they have much (and I mean a lot lot), their home is modest and has only the essential. I haven't seen (at least in my own experience) a splurge of money in housing. Moreover, they are so very giving, welcoming and willing to help. If they can help you, they will. If they can't, they'll find a way to do so. And man, oh man...they give, give, give. Chinese people love to give.

So my conclusion is, outside, they will show-off, splurge, and even make you feel a little bit intimitated by that. At home, they will keep it low key; have the essentials and have enough for whatever it may arrive. With the others, they will be giving and welcoming; making you feel confortable and at home. Morevoer, they are smart and dedicate most of their time to work and study. If all of that is not a recipie for a winning upcoming superpower, then I don't know what it is.

Chinese style or American style?

Einstein had his own definition for insanity: "doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results."

Given this information, I've found myself in a state of constant insanity. Why? I keep on eating the Chinese food here (in China) with the hope that somehow, someday, it will taste like back at home. A waitress from a restaurant in DC's Chinatown asked us one day - do you want your Chow Mein Chinese style, or American style? Laughing, we said, "duh, Chinese style". They lied to us... it tasted nice, familiar; a really good Chow Mein, we though.

Well... it wasn't Chinese style. I know that now.

 

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