Bilingual eye exam

So tonight, my American buddy Ryan and my Chinese friend Michelle and I set out to buy some glasses. I've been enamored with Asian style since I set foot in China and Ryan and I'd been talking about getting some sweet specs of our own. We ended up all buying a pair for $50 each, but there's far more to the story than just the ending... my only regret is that none of us brought a camera.

Part 1: "Guanxi"

Doing anything in China is never as simple as it seems. For starters, there's this thing called "guanxi" which has to do with relationship, expectations, obligations and, in the end, cheap glasses. We asked Michelle to come along with us because she's hilarious, she too wanted glasses, and because we needed a translator since, for some reason, we haven't yet studied the chapter on "Purchasing prescription lenses" in our Chinese language book. We met up with her and the first thing she did was tell us that she knows a shop nearby where her cousin's boyfriend's sister works (actually she was the manager) and we should go there to get a good price. This goes way beyond shopping at your uncle's store or getting a discount because your friend works somewhere: this was all-out workin' the guanxi, and Michelle played her cards like a pro. Not only we were guaranteed a fair price, but most likely a better product and definitely better service.

Part 2: "Better?"

We arrived the glasses shop two busses and twenty minutes later and began perousing the selection of stylish Asian frames. Michelle's cousin's boyfriend's sister was working there, as well as another guy who spoke a little English. Very little. He started helping me and Ryan while Michelle talked with her cousin's boyfriend's sister. We'd brought along our contact prescription and our own glasses but decided we ought to do an eye exam just to be sure. As the shopboy led me into the eye exam room, this was definitely one of those moments when you forget you're in a foreign, non-English speaking country. I've done eye exams in the States tons of times before, but those examiners always spoke English.

There was the typical read from left to right (with E-looking objects that point left, right, up and down--is that what they have back home now?)... so that was no problem with my Chinese, his English and my ability to point my thumb in said direction. Next we moved on to looking through lenses which seemed a little extreme to me... it moved from "mei can" (I can't see) to "better?" awfully quick, and I was worried whether we were actually making progress. A couple times we had some confusion with 1 or 2, what was ok, what wasn't, and what was better and best, but we made it through the left eye, right eye, and finally, both. And I could see! The test lenses he made up worked like a charm and a "fei cheng hao" (very good!) was in order.

Part 3: The price

It seemed to me there's a different time allotment in a Chinese person's mind and an American person's mind as to how long it takes to pick out a pair of glasses. Michelle was ready in five minutes flat and many-a Chinese folk came and went while Ryan and I were still making our decision. "Do I go with the sweet black and red frames with the curvy edge, the black and tan frames, or the undeniably-exciting blue and yellow frames with the sharp, pointy corners?" These are important decisions to be made, as I'm guessing I'll only buy glasses in China once. (Although, the shopguy really enjoyed it when I pointed out that my American-bought glasses were of course, made in China.) I ended up going with the sweet black and red frames with the curvy edge and it was there that Michelle took over, working her guanxi to ensure we paid the lowest price for the best lenses. It's not like bargaining as there's no verbal exchange, it's instead more like a Jedi mind trick as suddle, indirect clues are dropped and the price with it.

Ryan and I each got a 200-kuai discount on our total (with the best lenses they had) bringing each of our prices to just over 400 kuai, or $50. This was our price as Michelle's friends. She's coming back next week for what will I'm sure be an even better deal and a pair of sunglasses thrown in to boot.