This one originates on DalianXpat again, I used to be pretty active until the owner proved himself to be a total tool, and it was posted in August of 2007. I get a little more sappy in this one than I generally do, so bear with me.
Today, I had my first experience in paying a credit card bill at Bank of China. This was a horrible experience compared to paying a bill in the US. In the US, you simply write a check, put it in an envelope, put a stamp on it and mail it. Or, if you are a little more tech savi, you just do it online. In China, however, you have to pay the bill in the currency that your purchase was made in. I purchased my tickets to the US on travelocity.com and paid in US dollars on a Chinese credit card. First, I was told to go upstairs to the credit card area. Then I was told to go to 3 different counters before finally being told to go downstairs to the main lobby to change my Chinese RMB to US dollars. I went to the main lobby, got a number, waited and then went to a counter. Then, I was told to go to the front part of the bank to get a permit to exchange Chinese RMB to US dollars. So, I went there, then back to the main lobby, then finally upstairs, where the very "helpful" lady behind the desk gave me a hard time and finally took my money. What it all came down to, I was getting impatient doing things the Chinese way.
Next, I walked to Shengli Square to eat Pizza Hut, not open, 10:10am and the f'ing place isn't open. Pizza Hut in the US opens at 9am. Again, impatience.
Now I'm on bus 602 taking the long ride back to the Jinxiu Area (where I lived at the time). I gave my seat to an old-timer, cuz I'm not like the typical Chinese 20-something guy who just looks out the window when he sees an old person get on the bus and pretends he doesn't see the old people standing next to them holding 3 loaded bags of groceries. About 5 minutes from home, and I notice a traffic jam in the opposite lane of traffic, so I start to look for the cause. This is where my lesson in patience came in.
Laying in the street, in front of a smashed up, broken van, lay a girl, dead from the accident. The police tried to cover the body with some jackets and shirts, but the shirts were not big enough. Judging from the clothing the girl was wearing, I would say she was in her 20's, probably in college or just out of college, and from a well-off family. It is tragic when a young person dies like this, and as much as I hate to say this about the deceased, but she was probably impatient and trying to cross the street between passing cars.
Impatience (most likely) cut this young person's life short, prevented her from having a family of her own, or watching her family grow up. It prevented her from a life time of achievements, experiences, lessons learned and lessons taught.
Kind of makes my complaining about the banking system seem petty.
Like I said, sappy and I go off on the attitude I perceived from Chinese guys on buses, but I liked the post so I reposted it here.
