Excursion to Ikea

I am alone again for some ten days, and on Saturday decided to spend few hours in... Ikea. As I've mentioned before, it is not exactly my favorite back home, but here it is a pretty darn convenient place to get things.

Like last week I made cinamon rolls (korvapuusteja, you know), and after the dough was ready I noted I don't have a rolling pin (kaulin)! No rolling pin and the dough is rising! A little later I noted I certainly wasn't the only one in XuJiaHui who fon't have a rolling pin: ANY of the department stores nearby didn't have them either. So I ended up using a roll of cling wrap. It was actually pretty handy, and you don't even need to wash it afterwards, just peel of the outer layer, and thereyougo! It's ready for next baking session. Anyway, I decided to get a rolling pin (kaulin) for next time. I promised to bring my Chinese teacher some "korvapuusti" soon...

I took a taxi, and since I had forgotten how to say Ikea in Chinese (I think it is Yi Jia Jia) but at that moment I saw it fit to act like a total tourist and just showed the driver my old Ikea bag :o)

On the way there, actually in the first traffic lights, we were waiting couple of rounds of red-green-yellow-red-green - you get the picture. And while waiting, in the line next on left, one car in front of the taxi I was in, a red taxi started to slooowly slide backwards. Sliiiiding... sliding... all the way to the front pumper of the black Passat behind it. In 9 months in Shanghai I have learned if ever there is a small fender bender with absolute certainty big noise will follow, in the form of yelling, flailing, fighting and of course the other cars honking horns. And when I saw the sliding red Santana, I was expecting a scene.

But no. The owner of the black Passat (which looked new, by the way!) got off his car, the taxi driver, a woman, by the way, gott of her car, and they checked the damage. To my utter and complete surprise, the private car owner spoke in a calm manner, and waiwed nonchalantly. No harm done. Taxi driver got back to her car, drove a meter forward, and got off the car again, to check the damages more thoroughly.

And then she started yelling to this completely innocent man! My jaw just dropped, and so did the Passat drivers too! The black Passat was completely still when the lady let her car slide and bump to it. The man, still calm, tried to explain and was even laughing in disbelief. At this point the lady in the Passat got out off the car and started yelling to the taxi driver. At some point my taxi driver started yelling to the taxi driver lady. And then we finally had green light and room to go, so other cars started honking, for the lane was of course blocked.

So basically, the fender bender ended as it alway seems to end, but the path to the end was rather peculiar. I guess this is a small example why our company don't let us drive.

In the store the families where enjoying themselves, as usual. Just a couple of families, maybe a half a Shanghai, or so. Sitting and chatting quietly (NOT!) on the couches, taking pictures. Wandering around. And at some point, there was an alarm ringing. Big noise. Followed by an announcement in English and in Chinese. An announcement that I could not make sense of. "Please move to..." What? Could you repeat, please? And in deed, they did. But it was no use: the customers speaking and yelling to each other, and the announcing lady muttering her announcement was unbeatable combination. But the thing was, that NONE of the customers seemed to pay ANY attention to the alarm or to the announcement. So there I was, wondering if the building might be on fire, and whether Ikea keeps their fire doors locked, as so many other shops and restaurants do around here. But no, the building was still intact when I got out from there. With a blueberry-rasberry jam (for crepes) and roe and Dajm chocolade and some other Swedish delicaties :o)

When I got home with my two huge bags, our buiding door was locked. So I put the bags down to get my key card. There was a yong Chinese girl coming to the door as well. So I flashed my key card to the reader, and showed her to go first while I pick up my bags. And in deed she went, and let the door slam shut behind her. So I was exactly where I started. Except ashtonished. I guess I shouldn't be. Put I was wondering if that kind of thing (holding a door to someone with two heavy bags, who by the way just opened the lock for both of you to get in) shouldn't be in persons backbone? Like it shouldn't be up to the upbringing, should it?) I put the bags down again, digged my key card from my bag and went in.

So, basically, it was just a normal day in Shanghai.