thinking in chinese

now i have not been in china long enough to start thinking in chinese linguistically, but i have begun to think in chinese monetarily.

in the first few weeks after i arrived, i was blown away. i could get a beer at a restaurant for less than 50 cents. i could eat out like a king for 2 dollars. i could even buy a scooter for less than 200 bucks.

but now, all of that has changed. quickly, within a month or so, i have begun thinking in yuan. it just about killed me to buy some good, imported, sharp cheddar cheese for 35 kuai (dollar:buck, yuan:kuai). granted, 4 dollars is pretty expensive for cheese, but when it is flown around the world, it's pretty moderate. you should have seen me lose it at le shan, when i found out it cost 105 yuan to get inside.

i find myself arguing with shopkeepers over 3 or 4 kuai. i gasp at a price more than 20. i've become a stingy bastard. but i guess when you get paid less than 500 dollars a month, it makes sense.

(no pun intended.)