COMMUNICATIONS PROBLEMS INTERESTING
By Betty Van Leer

  "Hello-hello! Postcards? Hello-hello!" This refrain of "hello-hello", sometimes accompanied by another word in English, often not, greeted our group traveling in China at practically every tourist attraction.

  Most adult Chinese people we encountered knew little English (and we knew no Chinese), but they had learned to get our attention by saying "hello". Even the few beggars we met knew this. One woman who was begging was accompanied by a little girl, about 4, who piped, "Hello," from a height slightly above our knees.

  One of the first tasks in China, or in practically any other foreign country you visit, is having money changed. Even if you don't plan to shop, you need local money to buy a snack, soft drink, newspaper (if you can find one in English), meals that aren't included in the trip, etc.

  We were told the Bank of China would probably give the best rate. However, we usually went to the closet money exchange due to time considerations, and this meant we used the one in the hotel. Rates are posted giving the exchange rate in yuan (the Chinese equivalent of a dollar) for a dozen or more moneys from other countries, both in currency and traveler's checks. In China, the rate is slightly better, about 10 or 12 yuan more, if you cashed traveler's checks.

Renminbi & FEC

  Visitors to China don't receive the same kind of money local residents use. What the tourists get is called foreign exchange certificates (or FEC) and the bills have different pictures from those on the local money, called renminbi. If you buy it at street stalls, your change comes in local money. This shows some of the different races of people who live in China and across the bottom are the five types of writing most commonly used in the country. Some of this is quite different from what we think of as Chinese writing.

  Tourist money is considered slightly better to have, as it is the only money accepted at the Friendship Stores, which are set up for tourists. These carry luxury and imported items the Chinese cannot readily get in other places, so they save their FEC for shopping in a Friendship Store. The only way local Chinese can get FEC is through foreigners. It is not issued to the people who live in the country.

  If you buy something from a street vendor or local store, you will receive your change in renminbi. You don't want too much of this, since you can't exchange it for foreign currency as you can the FEC. You either spend your renminbi before you leave China, or it becomes part of your souvenirs.

  Coins are scarce in China. We received coins when we changed money in only one place, the Beijing Hotel in Beijing, and then only a total of four coins representing two denominations. You always receive your exchange money right down to the last fen (penny), but these are usually bills. The one-fen bills are orange-colored and tiny, and you don't find anything that sells for one fen, or at least we didn't.

  The five or ten-fen notes come in handy if you want to go to a restroom at one of the tourist attractions. Some, but not all, of these have an entrance fee of about ten fen. This does have an advantage. When you pay the ten fen, you also get a piece of toilet paper. Otherwise, you'd better have brought your own, because you won't find any inside.

Communicating

  I had an interesting experience while trying to locate a restroom in one of the Friendship Stores. The girls at the counter knew almost no English, but after I asked where a restroom was, one of them started leading me across the store. We ended up at a couple of tables with chairs around them which she indicated I could use. She thought I wanted a place to rest.

  Trying a different tactic, I asked where the toilet was, at the same time attempting to explain that in America we sometimes called toilets "restrooms". The girls thought this was absolutely hilarious and the three of them giggled all the way back across the store while they led me where I wanted to go in the first place. The word "wash closet" might have worked. Later in another store I saw signs with "W.C." on them.

  Chinese toilets take some getting used to. Mostly, the women's toilets consist of a keyhole shaped piece of porcelain set in the floor with a small hood on the larger end. Some of them had a foot rest on each side. When using these, you squat. Occasionally, we'd find a place that was built with tourists in mind and at least one western-style toilet. The ladies in our group lined up for this!

  One tourist spot approached the problem directly. Going in a straight line, through all the stalls in the restroom, was a slit with an opening a few inches wide and a stream of water running continuously along the bottom. You never knew what to expect. The hotels we stayed in were quite modern and all of these had western-style toilets, or at least our rooms did.