10/23 Monday

I woke early and read my book by Da Chen about his childhood in a small provincial town in the south of China. I am still waking up kinda early due to jet lag.

Colm's driver took me to the technology sector Zhong Guan Cun and I took my laptop along to see if it could be fixed. I eventually found the place that Colm's cleaning lady had recommended amidst hundreds of other stalls in the main 8-story building. The place was a proclaimed 'computer hospital'. They took a look at my laptop and told me that they couldn't fix it because they didn't have the right part, but they could remedy my problem by giving the case a full cleaning. They were able to remove a couple bunches of dog hair/ dust, and in the end, it made the fan problem slightly less audible. During the cleaning I went to look for a lens hood for my camera, and stopped in one Canon shop to look. Their prices were too high but I got to talk to a young guy there, 24, about his life. We talked for about 45 mins. in Chinese and English about our lives in our respective countries before I had to go pick up my laptop. The more I talk to average Chinese people, the more odd stereotypes I hear placed on America. For instance, this guy thought that Americans are all shy, that we all have guns in their homes to protect ourselves from other Americans with guns, and that we are all pretty rich and like to attend professional basketball games.

Looking around the other floors in that main building in Zhong Guan Cun, I noticed a big change: no more pirated software. In years past, there had been piles and piles of pirated Windows, Norton Anti-Virus, Photoshop, Half Life 2, and whatever other applications and games you can think of. I was looking to buy a bootleg copy of Windows, but upon asking (i had been looking without success) where I could find software, I was directed to a lone booth that had certificates of authenticity hanging over it for licensed software. The games and applications were still cheaper than in the US but the variety was small and it didn't compare to the stuff I could get a year ago for $1-$2. I suppose the government had some sort of crack down on the piracy rings, and has made digital property rights a bit more strict. I bet that if I look hard enough I will still be able to find what I am looking for though.

I bought a really nice jacket in the evening for around $30 USD, but I doubt I could get it below $100 in the US. I was wearing a t-shirt and it was getting cold out, so I looked at a couple of the many small stores selling shoddily made clothing for about $5 and under. I tried on at least a dozen different types of jackets and sweaters at these places, but none of them fit well, and I thought the colors were ugly. I finally came across a real Chinese clothing store that specialized in blazers, sports coats, and other upper end apparel. I found an appealing jacket and got it and was happily warm on the way home. It is nice enough that I can use it for anything but formal dress.

At night I fell asleep while watching a really funny new Jackie Chan movie, Rob-B-Hood (international English title), but I paused it before I fell asleep so I could watch the rest another time.