GuavaTalk Blog

This afternoon, I decided to make a trip out to IKEA here in Beijing. From the WuDaoKou area that we live and work in, it’s at least a 20-minute/40 RMB cab ride to IKEA. Since I was going by myself, I decided to save money and take the bus. I used my public transportation card to swipe on and off the bus for a grand total of 0.40 RMB, or less than $ 0.06! Granted, I had to walk about 10 minutes or so from the bus stop to the store, but it was well worth the 45 minutes standing on the bus.

Riding the bus during busy hours of the day is always an adventure – typically, the aisle is jam-packed with people standing, there’s the constant yelling of the lady selling tickets for people to let the elderly have a seat and for everyone to move towards the back of the bus, and you have to shove your way towards the exit early enough otherwise you’ll miss getting off at your stop. If you’ve ever been told to get behind the yellow line in the US, don’t be afraid – I once got on the bus and was barely able to squish forward so that the door could close behind me; the driver only told me to lean towards the back so I wasn’t blocking the mirror. A friend’s 10-year-old daughter was once suspended by the mass of surrounding passengers so that her feet were dangling for several minutes.

When I got off at my stop, I also ended up walking and chatting with a guy that I asked for directions. After initially giving me directions, he was silent for about 30 seconds, then got up the nerve to ask, “Where are you from?” I’m a third-generation ABC (American-Born Chinese), so while I look Chinese, my Chinese still has quite a ways to go to sound like a native. I told him I’m an ABC and had just spent a year in Beijing to learn Chinese. I explained that I grew up speaking English, and enough Cantonese to allow me to order my favorite foods, but the time I spent learning Mandarin back home didn’t do me very much good because I never practiced speaking – I just studied to pass tests. We chatted a little more before he arrived at his destination, and I kept walking to IKEA.

It’s funny, back in the States, IKEA is the place for college kids to go get cheap, “disposable” furniture, but out here in China, it’s considered fairly high-end. Prices are typically identical to back in the US, though converted into Chinese RMB, so the majority of items are pretty expensive relative to cost of living out here. However, the growing middle class in China is quickly increasing their consumption of imported products. If you think IKEA in the middle of a college town in the US is busy, it’s easily several times busier out here in China. Today was Saturday, and the aisles were filled with people, and I mean practically all of the aisles through all 3 floors of the warehouse (which is why I went alone because all of my friends hate going there on the weekend). The cafeteria is perhaps 5 times larger than the US counterpart, and the menu is half Chinese dishes in case the Swedish meatballs aren’t looking so good.

After hours of wading through the crowds, I finally paid for my stuff and headed home. I’m pretty happy with the dishes and other stuff I got, but I hope it’s quite a while before I have to make a trek back out there again.