They talked about "Pacific Time" at our pre-departure training. About how things in the Pacific happen in their own time and to accept it as there's nothing you can really do about it. Well, I've coined a new phrase; Beijing Time. No one told us about Beijing Time.
It's when if something (not necessarily something bad) is going to happen, it won't happen at the worst possible moment, but nearly. Nothing will ever happen at a time to make it remotely dangerous or anything. Beijing is an amazingly safe city, and the government might notice if it's foreigners started to drop dead and NO ONE wants to be under the attention of the government. So that rules out the worst possible moment, leaving the next most inconvenient time instead... Beijing time.
For example, I felt like I was really in China on Friday night. After a very long hot polluted day, I came home, turned on my a/c and air purifier, stepped under the shower with great relief, lathered my hair... and all the lights went out. My electricity was cut.
Not quite the worst possible moment, but nearly.
To be honest, it's actually my fault. Electricity here is mostly on a pre-paid system, like the mobile phones. You go to a branch of ICBC (the biggest bank in China) put money on a card, stick it in the slot below your electricity meter and the numbers go up according to how much money you put on the card. I knew I was low, but didn't realise how little time I had left. For future reference, 44 units doesn't last more than a few days. I've been carrying the card round with me looking for an ICBC branch but they have always just closed for lunch/the day, or there's a huge queue and I don't have time. Fool that I am.
So, I had 30 seconds of hot water left so I rinsed and washed as best I could, felt my way out of the bathroom and into my bed. I had my laptop playing music so I had a little light by which to manoeuvre and some music for company. Planning to just get up early, find an ICBC in the morning, I wrote in my journal by the torch on my phone (which was thankfully mostly charged) and tried to sleep despite the heat. I had to have the window open all night for relief so I had a lovely pollution cough this morning. And just as I was drifting off to sleep the though occurred to me: do banks even open on Saturdays?
Not quite the worst possible moment, but nearly.
Well, I slept intermittently as the noise from the street below woke me fairly often and I awoke as usual before my alarm went off. Knowing if the bank would be open, it wouldn't be before 8:30 or 9:00 so I pottered around for awhile, then left on my quest.
Which direction to head was a 50/50 decision, which are never good odds for me. Beijing is designed around ring roads, the Forbidden City walls being the first and each getting further apart the further out you go, like a ripple in a pond. I live just inside the South-Eastern most corner of the 2nd ring road and across the 2nd ring road to the South is my bank and several others; to the West is a more major CBD area. I decided it was worth trying closer and after a long walk that ended me nearly to the CBD to the West anyway, I found an ICBC that opened on a Saturday from 9am. Horrah! Except, it was 9:05 and there was no light on. And no people.
There was a sign on the door in Chinese and I can only guess what it said: "We apologise, but on the 2007 July 21, the Wangfujing Sub-Branch of the International Commercial Bank of China will be closed for your inconvenience. There is no reason for this closure, this is China, we'll do what we like. Michelle: keep walking."
So I did. I walked, eventually found another branch and nearly cheered when I saw someone walk out signifying it was in fact open for business. I went in, got in what I hoped was the right queue, got a man insisting I write down my "reference" (he meant amount), charged the card, randomly gave me Y2.84 change and sent me on my way. Relieved, I went home, stuck the card in the slot, the numbers changed... and nothing happened. No lights, no nothing came on.
It's when if something (not necessarily something bad) is going to happen, it won't happen at the worst possible moment, but nearly. Nothing will ever happen at a time to make it remotely dangerous or anything. Beijing is an amazingly safe city, and the government might notice if it's foreigners started to drop dead and NO ONE wants to be under the attention of the government. So that rules out the worst possible moment, leaving the next most inconvenient time instead... Beijing time.
For example, I felt like I was really in China on Friday night. After a very long hot polluted day, I came home, turned on my a/c and air purifier, stepped under the shower with great relief, lathered my hair... and all the lights went out. My electricity was cut.
Not quite the worst possible moment, but nearly.
To be honest, it's actually my fault. Electricity here is mostly on a pre-paid system, like the mobile phones. You go to a branch of ICBC (the biggest bank in China) put money on a card, stick it in the slot below your electricity meter and the numbers go up according to how much money you put on the card. I knew I was low, but didn't realise how little time I had left. For future reference, 44 units doesn't last more than a few days. I've been carrying the card round with me looking for an ICBC branch but they have always just closed for lunch/the day, or there's a huge queue and I don't have time. Fool that I am.
So, I had 30 seconds of hot water left so I rinsed and washed as best I could, felt my way out of the bathroom and into my bed. I had my laptop playing music so I had a little light by which to manoeuvre and some music for company. Planning to just get up early, find an ICBC in the morning, I wrote in my journal by the torch on my phone (which was thankfully mostly charged) and tried to sleep despite the heat. I had to have the window open all night for relief so I had a lovely pollution cough this morning. And just as I was drifting off to sleep the though occurred to me: do banks even open on Saturdays?
Not quite the worst possible moment, but nearly.
Well, I slept intermittently as the noise from the street below woke me fairly often and I awoke as usual before my alarm went off. Knowing if the bank would be open, it wouldn't be before 8:30 or 9:00 so I pottered around for awhile, then left on my quest.
Which direction to head was a 50/50 decision, which are never good odds for me. Beijing is designed around ring roads, the Forbidden City walls being the first and each getting further apart the further out you go, like a ripple in a pond. I live just inside the South-Eastern most corner of the 2nd ring road and across the 2nd ring road to the South is my bank and several others; to the West is a more major CBD area. I decided it was worth trying closer and after a long walk that ended me nearly to the CBD to the West anyway, I found an ICBC that opened on a Saturday from 9am. Horrah! Except, it was 9:05 and there was no light on. And no people.
There was a sign on the door in Chinese and I can only guess what it said: "We apologise, but on the 2007 July 21, the Wangfujing Sub-Branch of the International Commercial Bank of China will be closed for your inconvenience. There is no reason for this closure, this is China, we'll do what we like. Michelle: keep walking."
So I did. I walked, eventually found another branch and nearly cheered when I saw someone walk out signifying it was in fact open for business. I went in, got in what I hoped was the right queue, got a man insisting I write down my "reference" (he meant amount), charged the card, randomly gave me Y2.84 change and sent me on my way. Relieved, I went home, stuck the card in the slot, the numbers changed... and nothing happened. No lights, no nothing came on.
Another sigh-laugh and I called my friends to ask if there was something else I needed to do. One didn't answer, another didn't know anything about pre-paid electricity and the last suggested I stick the card into the slot the other way, but I knew that wasn't the problem as the numbers had changed. I thought then maybe the breaker had been tripped, switched it over, and miracle of miracles: there was light. And cool air, and hot water, and clean air nearly 12 hours after it went off.
And the punch line? If I had gone left instead of right at the end of my HuTong when I went in search of an ICBC, I would have seen it's bright red logo. I have one 200m from my house.
I'm sure I have other examples of Beijing Time too, but I can't think of any at the moment (the term is so new) but I'm sure many MANY more examples will follow.
And the punch line? If I had gone left instead of right at the end of my HuTong when I went in search of an ICBC, I would have seen it's bright red logo. I have one 200m from my house.
I'm sure I have other examples of Beijing Time too, but I can't think of any at the moment (the term is so new) but I'm sure many MANY more examples will follow.
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