:: zone3 :: Dispatches of China

Monday, August 27. 2007

Dispatches of China

Back in China. Nice to be back visiting again.

Was expecting some nice sunny weather but arrived yesterday morning to rain in Beijing. Was only light, much finer today.

All a very un-eventful series of flights over. I'm beginning to think it is better to have a few delays or missed flights, at least it makes it a bit more exciting.

So far having the fun just adjusting to the time zone and catching up on sleep.

Have decided when travelling it's not the major cultural differences you really notice. As John Travolta put it in Pulp Fiction "It's the little differences." The big ones you're sort of ready for and they don't creep up on you. However the little ones are the ones that sneak in and blind side you.

After getting a little sleep after my flight, thought would find a coffee. Found a little cafe, looked like they might know how to make coffee and even had an English menu.

Decided wanted a flat white. None on the menu. Ok, well they had espresso and they also did hot milk. Tried remember the Mandarin for 'with milk' (could only remember 'sugar').

So order a espresso and a hot milk, the barista looks at me like I'm crazy. Sort asks in broken English (better English than my Mandarin) to confirm it. Repeated the order and she still things I'm crazy, don't think she ever had someone order that before. Made attempts in sign language that I intended to pour the milk in the coffee, really didn't help.

When my espresso and hot milk arrived, promptly processed to pour the hot milk into my coffee. This was all much amusement to what was now the whole staff watching...

Nearly as much fun as ordering an omelet in St Petersburg.

Posted by Scott Walsh in China, ExportFacebook, Language, Travelling at 12:09 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)