Banking in China is a fine experience... for me to poop on! I lived in China for two years and I bring to you the horrors of China banking experience. This is the first of three installments of my attempt to deposit money at a local bank.
12:01pm - I walk through the bank doors. It smells like crap in here. 10 seconds later I see why. There's a kid taking a dump in the corner. Beautiful.
12:02pm - The bank's empty. Today's my lucky day, I think to myself. I walk up to the counter and the teller starts yelling at me. I point to the little boy in the corner because it seemed like she was accusing me of the smell.
12:06pm - The yelling ensues. I still didn't understand what's going on. security came over.
12:10pm - I finally figure out that they wanted me to get a number and wait my turn.
12:11pm - I head back the entrance. Push a button. A piece of paper comes out and I take a seat. (Remember the bank is empty.)
12:12pm - My number is called.
12:12pm - I tell the lady i want to deposit money. She throws a form in my face and tells me to fill it out. The form's in Chinese so I do my best and fill out everything I could possibly do.
12:18pm - I hand back the form, kindly telling her I cannot read. More screaming. I pull out my american passport, hoping the fact that I'm a foreigner will calm her. She thnks I'm yanking her leg. (I'm Asian-American) More yelling.
12:22pm - I finally convince her that I'm an American and she fills out the rest of the form for me.
12:27pm - She took my money and counts it 84 times by hand... then 84 times by machine.
12:41pm - I think another kid just went number two in here.
12:43pm - She tells me I cannot deposit the money.
12:45pm - I seriously consider joining the kid but I negotiated the release of chocolate hostages an hour ago. Damn it.
Moral of the story: Never negotiate before a bank run.
burntorange12 posted on Oct 11, 2006
| views: 151
Comments
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aeschylus said on Oct 11, 2006....
Soooo funny !!!
Was this when you first arrived???
When I planned my China trip, everyone said how terrible it would be to bank, and tried to convince me to take a lot of traveler's checks. I didn't. I think I had about $200 USD in traveler's checks, some cash, and a bank card. (I talked to the bank before we left.)
First thing we did when we got there, of course, was change some $$ to yuen. Then the second day we suffered through one (ONE) trip to the Bank of China with the other six Americans (we were there to teach). They all had Lots! of Traveler's Checks.
I talked to our host(esses) and said, "I'm not doing that, I want to go to an ATM machine." They said there were only two in Xi'an. When they dropped off the others at the bank (to sit for a couple of hours), we went to find the other ATM because the main bank's was down.
My daughter was hopping up and down, roaring and laughing, saying "Mom, those idiots at home (including "dad") didn't know ANYTHING! See how easy it is to get Money!"
We casually shopped while the others were still sitting in the hot, crowded bank.
Take a look (hope the link works; the Chinese lady is Pauline, one of our "babysitters"; she was amazed as well).
http://www.24752.net/002/index.html
aeschylus
bai ming sheng
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aeschylus said on Oct 11, 2006....
Ooops!
Granted, we were taking money out, not putting it in. A big difference of course.
Sorry about that.
aeschylus
bai ming sheng
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hotaka said on Oct 12, 2006....
I have been to China twice and had a few memorable experiences the first time when I didn't have a clue what to expect. Saw a kid leaving cigars on the street corner and a distinguished-looking grandma spit on the street.
Fortunately the rude people I met either stared continuously or just basically ignored me because they were too busy having a chat to be interupted to help a customer (at an airline counter). The best was when I went to the counter and saw my airline counter was closed. I went to the main desk to ask when the counter opened but didn't know how to ask at the time. I showed the woman my ticket. The woman just looked at my ticket and motioned with her head over to the empty closed counter. How was that helping me? No one was there!
But overall I had very good experiences in China and received kind service at the bank in Huang Shan City. I am ready to go back anytime.
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aeschylus said on Oct 14, 2006....
hotaka ...
I have no doubt you had all the Chinese females swooning every time you showed up.
I was going to post this link "somewhere" when I got the chance. The best book I ever read regarding Chinese philosophy, combined with success in life in general, was
Thick Face, Black Heart:
The Path To Thriving, Winning & Succeeding
By Chin-Ning Chu
A search will show reviews; I know Amazon has it on their shelves too.
An excellent read!!!
aeschylus
bai ming sheng
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