China - Day 20, Monday

Amy and I went back to the Furniture Mall to buy a mattress for Daniel and living room furniture. I had narrowed my choice down to two mattresses, so we went and tried them out again. One was a Serta and the other was an Asian brand. We decided to go with the Serta. As the saleswoman was filling out the order form she asks me the size -today I am prepared. I order 100cm. THEN she asks me how long, 190 or 200??? What? I didn't measure that. I decided to go with the 190 figuring it wouldn't hurt to be a little short (by the way, when I got home I measured the mattress and I guessed right:) !). She tells me it will be delivered in 15 days. I guess I can wait. Now it is time to pay the 3800RMB (or roughly $600). She finishes writing up all the paperwork. Then she takes me out of the store, all the way to the other side of the Mall to a Cashier Station. She hands them the paperwork and I pay and she returns to the store. I guess there is no worries about the store being left unattended!

Next we head to the Living Room furniture floor. Randy found a recliner that he liked, so now I have to find a couch to match. The recliner is a soft leather in a cream color.

The chair Randy likes.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I have given up on getting a style I really like, I am now looking for comfort. (But I admit it still has to look ok) I found a white leather sofa in a "Cheers" store and a yellowish color leather sofa in another "Cheers" store. These two are the most comfortable. So Amy and I are back a forth trying to figure out if they will match Randy's chair, the colors are off just enough to make the decision hard. The sales woman, in the store with the chair and the white sofa, was trying to help us, of course we do not speak the same language which make it difficult. So she called (on her phone) a person who could translate for us. I tell her I want to look at the other sofa, so she walks us to that store on the other side of the Mall (again leaving her store unattended). At one point the man I was speaking to on the phone told me that they would carry the chair next to the sofas. So first they put it next to the white one (in the same store as the the recliner) which was ok together, but I didn't love them together. So they offered to carry it to the other side of the Mall so I could look at it with the other sofa. I could not bring myself to have these 2 young girls carry this recliner across the Mall.  I really couldn't decide. So finally, after all this, after calling the translator a couple dozen times,  I told them that I would have to come back this weekend with Randy. Maybe he will decide on a different recliner that goes with one of the sofas and make my life a little easier! They must have thought I was out of my mind (actually I think so too!)

At IKEA we decided to have lunch. We went to their cafe. Amy had spaghetti and I had Swedish meatballs (IKEA is Swedish based). They had the cutest little cart to put your tray on and take it to the table (see picture).

Cart for carrying food from the cafeteria to the table

We met Diane at IKEA. I met Diane back in November when we toured the school and we have cooresponded over the last 9 months. We talked for a few minutes and she introduced me to some other moms, one who also has a fourth grader. It is actually nice to go some where and know someone!


Today's Cultural Differences/Frustrations 101:  On the way out the door of the furniture mall, there was an armored car (bringing or taking money to the cashier station) that had just pulled up. The guards were getting out of the car with automatic rifles, bullet proof vests, helmets: the full gear. It was a little wierd just walking past them out the door.

PS: Randy left for Bangkok,Thialand for the week.