Common Sense

Part of the fun of living in a culture that is totally different from our own is the difference. Every day we see things that make us shake our heads in disbelief - like every time we venture onto a roadway - and shrug our shoulders in resignation - like when we try to 'join a queue', in this place where a large proportion of the population "just don't get it" (either by choice or inexperience).

But every now and then we are pleasantly surprised by a little something, and we wonder "now why on earth don't we do that back home?"

We chose a rainy day to go shopping last week - they were all rainy - and I carefully slipped into dark coloured clothing rather than the white jeans I was wearing. We headed off armed with our umbrellas - useful for protection in a number of ways. It was pretty splashy out there, and the umbrellas only really keep the water off the very top of our heads. On the bus we were marveling at the wetness underfoot, the floor was positively sloshing from the drips of many feet and umbrellas.

But as we entered the supermarket, the water on the floor was noticeably absent. And not just because of the generous and effective doormat by the entrance. Just inside the door stood a little lady with a shopping trolley full of plastic bags - who knows what her motivation was, maybe she was an exceptionally clever person whose job normally would have been to mop the floors - opening the plastic bags one by one and holding them out to customers as they entered to pop their umbrella and/or wet raincoat into. She was dexterous and efficient, causing no hold-up whatsoever, and the floor was dry and clean.

Oh, here's Wuxi city on a dry day ...