What a crazy day!  That market is insane!  We spent four hours on different floors of a huge building buying, saying “No” to everybody, bargaining, and getting the best price.  When they start at 400 Yuan, you can usually get the item for at least as low as 50.  We had fun seeing who could get the best deal.  When you try to leave, they block your way and grab onto your arm.  We saw one man dragging the merchant because he would not let go.  I had to pull pretty hard sometimes even when I had no interest in the store and had not even spoken to the person.  I did get a great price on an Armani suit though.  I also bought a lot for my family.  Bargaining at the silk store took about 30 minutes.  They have a bunch of lines they’ve memorized and use a lot.  At the silk store, she told me:

1)       I’m losing money if I give it to you for that price.

2)      I cannot buy it for that much.

3)      This is below my brother’s price.  I cannot sell it to him for that.

4)      You’re killing me!

And a whole bunch of other lines.  After all that, I still wouldn’t budge and she finally gave me the price that lost her money, broke the relationship with her brother, and killed her.  It’s quite a system they’ve got.

It was really fun to get everything for good prices, but it sure was tiring. 

The skies have been quite clear the last two days.  There was a strong north wind yesterday that sent the pollution back to where it came from.  My run this morning was great with the clean sea-level air.

The people here have been so good to us.  They’ve paid for everything (even tickets to the sites we’ve gone to, all our food, taxis, subway, etc).  Michael, the student helping us get around, has been wonderful and is really fun to be with.

Tonight, we’re off for Peking duck, then back home in the morning.  I’m excited to get back for Meghan’s birthday.