Every year since I've been at NENU, I've witnessed graduating students line the avenue stretching from the cafeteria, past the volleyball courts, to the administration building, to sell their unwanted goods before packing up and going back to their homes. In Chinese we'd say the scene is very "re-nao," or quite lively. Although I'm not graduating until next year, I did some spring cleaning and took my goods to market.
In a moment of self-consciousness, I dressed up for the occasion. I figured as a white foreigner I'd be just as much on display as the items I wanted to sell--better to take advantage of it. Meanwhile, I practiced my best bargaining language, making note of what vendors have said to me in the past. For once I'd be on the other side of the transaction!
I was supposed to meet my friend, Dandan, who said she had a classmate that also wanted to sell some things. They wouldn't arrive until later, however, so I headed out on my own. Luckily I found Caixue, my friend from the International Students' Association. Without hesitation, she stopped hawking her shoes and helped me get set up, asking me how much I wanted for each item. Most of what I wanted to sell was jewelry. She loaded her fingers with my rings and dangled bracelets on her wrists. With a loud cry, she wailed to passersby, "Ten kuai, ten kuai! Foreigner's jewelry, ten kuai!"
Dandan and I watching the buyers
Like a school of fish to a piece of bate, people began to migrate to the sound of Caixue's voice. For the next hour, all I saw were fingers, long and short, fat and slim, male and female, rummaging through my jewelry. I soon discovered I had grossly overestimated my asking price.
Dandan's friend and her suitcase of clothes.
Despite the market being on a university campus, the majority of visitors were grandmas and grandpas, middle-aged people, and some families. They were out for a morning stroll on a Saturday morning, although I'm guessing they knew to pass through the university campuses at this time of year for some great steals. I soon cut my asking price in half. At only 5 kuai (not even 1 USD), people were still asking 3 kuai for decent jewelry. I was reminded of the time I participated in a garage sale after graduating from ASU. I ended up selling textbooks that had cost me $20-30 to people who wouldn't part with more than $1. It was a comfort to me knowing that whether in a front yard or on a sheet on the street, all people want is to pay as little as possible for as much as they can carry.
An interested customer.
I stayed until lunch time, a total of about two and a half hours. After lunch I came back to find that Dandan and her friend were packing up because of the dark, looming clouds overhead. I only had a couple of pieces of jewelry left, plus a pillowcase that everyone kept saying was too big. So I packed up and went back to my dorm. As I counted my earnings, I considered the exchange of value in which I had participated--the bargaining down to less than fifty cents, the return of seeing someone pleased with their purchase, the letting go of items associated with memories or comfort, the experience gained of having bought used jewelry from a foreigner, also that of having sold second-hand jewelry as a foreigner in China--it is all relative. With my practically free money, I treated DA3 and I to dessert at Mr. Suger (yes, that's how it's spelled) and enjoyed every bite.
