Vaping in China? Well i'm here now so changed the title!

[joeten]

Really nice pics, a lot of shoe wearing in them though.

[pipeman01]

Have you managed to pick up any Chinese language skills?

In my 6 months there back in 2009 I managed to get to the level of introductions, ordering a drink or meal and "are you staying for breakfast!?"

[Deleted]

Like the rest on here i love reading your posts and seeing your photos

[thebishman]

Welcome back mate! Glad your bk as ive enjoyed following your thread. Now complete with videos too i see!

[Raffles]

Apr 14, 2016 18:12:57 GMT pipeman01 said:

Have you managed to pick up any Chinese language skills?

In my 6 months there back in 2009 I managed to get to the level of introductions, ordering a drink or meal and "are you staying for breakfast!?"

digicig ... have only just caught up with this thread, and it is fascinating, makes me feel really inadequate by not grabbing life by the throat, and enjoying, like you.

pipeman01 ... in what context did you say this   

[digicig]

folks
i've been cutting down my nic quite considerably too - and kinda avoiding keeping tabs on vaping as me ability to participate has been so drastically reduced. I was supposed to be going to the Shenzhen Ecig Expo this weekend - but they kinda forgot to pay me last month - so no money to spare for the train ticket and hostel So not the happiest of bunnies! Complicated - for other reasons too but GRRR!

Consequently, i'm currently vaping probably less than 1mg juice - i can get the VG/PG but no flavours - so have been mixing the 6mg juice i do have as basically flavours and heavily diluting it to get by. LoL

Should i get paid tomorrow i could get a train down for Saturday - but i'd get maybe a day - and for the £100-150ish train fair + accommodation + new things - i'm not sure it's worth it now!

[pipeman01]

Raffles, a gentleman never says

[chykensa]

digicig, as usual, a great read, and love the photos too. I can appreciate your indecision, but my gut feeling would be to go for the second year as it opens so many other doors. Might be a pain in the proverbial to tolerate, but think of the possibilities afterwards!
Please keep posting, it's just fascinating to hear about life in a different country, with it's own culture which you write about so engagingly

[digicig]

One of the strange things about the Chinese, and consequently China, is that they are very future focussed. Partly due to having no welfare state 'safety net' - no job = no income - no pensions or NHS - healthcare is usually paid by insurance (if you can afford it, or are lucky enough to have a job that supplies it) and the only provisions for your old age are what you have managed to save, what you are still capable of earning (from shop work, street sweeping, recycling cardboard, plastic bottles and cans and collecting bricks from a collapsed building - and that's just the ladies ) and what your children and grandchildren can do to help support you.

Now, most parents will be paying to send their kid(s) to school (few free schools), from Kindergarten, primary, middle and high school, plus whatever further education they may attend (so tuition fees and maintenance - no grants or even student loans - that i'm aware of - thought there will be exceptions for the those seen as 'gifted') - as well as extra after school classes throughout, to give them the best chance to succeed at school (scoring high in the college entrance exam is the best chance of a successful future) and as adults in the work place - and of course helping support them until they get established in a profession too. So that may be seen as Quid pro quo.

Still, from an outsiders perspective, it seems to lead to an incredibly anxious society, where 'wasting time' when you could be earning money instead, and spending on yourself (like a memory foam mattress topper ) is seen as a selfish extravagance. I have a colleague who despite having a hard wooden office chair, couldn't or wouldn't buy herself a cushion to make it more comfortable - so i spent the equivalent of £2.50 on one - and she was both amazed i would 'waste' my money on such a thing and very grateful/guilty at the same time LoL

It also seems to leave the young in a dilemma when it comes to romance - if a girl is attracted to a boy, one of the first questions is either what is your income potential, how much savings do you have, do you own property/a car etc... Love - whilst valued - is a kinda of secondary consideration as you owe it to your parents, and their investment in you, to find a life partner who will also be able to help support them - especially with the single child policy - one grandchild between four grandparents - who might also need assistance in their old age!

The grandparent factor also being further complicated as many Chinese kids are either partially raised or fully raised by their grandparents - it is not unusual for both the parents from more rural or lower tier cities, to go to a larger city (Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou being the most 'popular') whilst their child(children) are left to be raised by their grandparents. The parents see them once a year at Spring Festival/New Year for maybe 2 weeks - and then they go back to working in the big cities, 12 hours a day 5.5-6 days a week - at least until the child is old enough to maybe join them at Middle or High school age. So the grandchildren have a strong bond to their grandparents.

So marrying well, is as much about your birth family as it is about the new family you plan on creating - and being unmarried and/or without child - is often seen as very selfish, misguided and distinctly strange - this i can attest too!

Until very recently, children born outside of 'wedlock' couldn't be registered for a birth certificate healthcare, school places etc - so having a child within the system meant you had to get married! So very different from the UK!

[Pacer]

Love the information digicig as well as the photos... Gosh we are so blessed in this country.
thanks for the information and thread, please keep it going. it's my own little window into China and her way of life.

[Bobsbeer]

It certainly is fascinating seeing your travels. As a child I lived in strange places, India, Burma, Ecuador, and miss it now as an adult, so it's good to see you enjoying it. Keep up the good work as we can all travel the world with you.

[anon4]

About the chinese way of thinking with money... Kind of explains all those dodgy clone vaping products, phones and other cheap nasty rubbish, they come across as reckless sellers which is kind of true, but by your logic they do it to keep food on the table which I can sympathize with. Same reason people steal or sell drugs, dodgy tabs etc over here because they can't find work. Of course on both sides of the world there will be those participating out of greed too

[digicig]

Greed maybe the guy that owns the means of production - but at the same time they might just be starting off and trying their best to find a way of keeping their work force employed until they can afford to buy the machinery they really need to make something better

As i've mentioned - aside from the folk directly working for ecig companies - i've seen maybe half a dozen vapers 'at large' - including my stay in Shenzhen and Guangzhou - so not using the products is likely to effect said products ability to work as intended - machines just can't replace the actual end users - puff counters don't vape the 'random' way vapers do

But when you're watching a 'granny' sorting through rubble for 'whole' bricks to reclaim - it does give one a certain sense of perspective

[joeten]

Needs must as the saying goes, hopefully some time the situation may change and a better system will be found, well you can always hope for the better.

[digicig]

For all i know, the army of 'Elderly' workers are doing it 'Just to keep themselves busy' rather than necessity - and the wages they get are to helppay for holidays in exotic climes rather than tap into their savings

But again, from an outsiders perspective (and i'll always be an 'outsider' here) it is a very different way of life. If you're not contributing by looking after the grandchild/children - then you are probably doing at least part-time work - whatever your age!

I suppose when you've been used to working 12 hour days, 5.5-6 days a week - to do nothing would feel incredibly weird and 'lifeless'