Buying an iron in China

We needed a new iron so we thought that we could make a quick trip to the store, pick up an iron and come home. Well, that was our plan.

We asked our driver Xiao Du to take us to the nearest electronics/household appliance store. Unfortunately, Xiao Du is not the brightest bulb in the closet. So, after missing the turn to the closest location, he remembered that there was another store near our friend's house. As we neared that location, Xiao Du murmured, "I hope it's there, I hope it's there." A shopping center appeared, and Xiao Du cries out, ”Oh God! It's not here!" Josh, his dad Mike and I burst into laughter. Then we ask Xiao Du to take us to the location where we are certain there is a store. However, on the way there, we are stopped at a red light and I look to the right and there is a little girl about 6, pulling down her pants and squatting within a centimeter of the sidewalk peeing. Then she stands up, starts pulling her her underwear back up and then squats down again. Finally, the light turned and we were off.

After arriving at the store, we head to the Philips counter and look at the different irons available. Meanwhile a woman with her purse over her shoulder, comes over and asks if we need help. Since everyone else working at the store has a uniform on, I ask this woman if she works here. She tells me she is in training. So I ask her for Philips or the store? She says she is training with Philips. Josh has picked up two irons, one in each hand, so I ask the woman what the difference is between the two. She asks, which two? Josh answers in Chinese, the two in my hands! With a straight face, the woman answers, "One is red, one is blue." We hold our laughter and proceed immediately to another counter.

We ended up buying a Tefal iron. We'll see how the ayi likes it!