Made in China

November 19th

The Chinese love to shop but in my opinion they are getting seriously RIPPED OFF. The day before my flight to China I was perusing the mall for last minute MUST have items. I felt odd stocking up on towels that were made in China. In fact, almost every item I picked up was made in China, so I felt guilty and put it back. Well, I regret it now, because all that gorgeous home stuff that's made in China is ironically not available in China. The department stores here are HUGE multilevel monstrosities that have everything from dried fish to electric blankets. Not to be crass, but almost everything is CRAP-very cheaply made, decorated with animated characters in heinous colors (why does a bath mat have to have hello kitty on it?) and expensive for what it is. I initially thought that I was going to the lower quality shopping malls, but I checked out Carrefour (FRENCH owned), Walmart (American owned), Tessco and Marks and Spencer (British owned) and they all were poorly stocked and disappointing. I decided I'd rather give my money to locals, so I shopped in my neighborhood. Can't wait for visitors to check out my hot pink plastic serving bowls and fluorescent yellow shower curtain...