The high-heeled woman

I really wish I had photo testimony or better yet, video of some of the incredibly hilarious things that happen around here.
Updated: Found it! from a year ago, but this has happened two more times since this was snapped. It's at my apartment in the fountain by the lobby

Really, almost everyday something makes you stop and wonder about the human race. I suppose it is no different in the US where we take pride in making fun of our non-coast dwelling compatriots for being terribly dim.



Aside from crossing highways, driving into fountains, and using storm drains as convenient public bathrooms, the high heel best analogizes Shenzhen in its relation to China and the rest of the world. A large majority of the women here wear high heels, both for work and at play. It seems to be a poorly understood piece of footwear here as many simply do not have the knack for it, or have chosen to shun all conventional wisdom for wearing a vastly different shoe and continue doing what worked for flat shoes. The result is a very obvious change in gait, and a lot of stumbling/struggling/falling.
We began to notice it less, but then also took in a lot of the things we thought the Chinese were "stupid" for doing on a consistent basis (lack of any traffic rules, bicycles carrying goods down the wrong side of the road, and a general anything goes policy), and tried to better understand it. It is no news that Shenzhen is a city that is an infantile 30 years old, but I suppose we never considered that a majority of the people living here have never lived in a city before, and that in fact many are from farming communities or rather small villages. They are not used to the culture of urban dwelling, had little if any introduction into it, and have simply chosen to take what worked before, and apply it here, deftly throwing common sense and personal well-being into the wind. I am simplifying it and sounding a bit arrogant, but really, it is astounding how often you see examples of it.

People living here are like the poor girl wearing high heels not because she wants to, but because she should, just like living here. She choses to continue walking as she did before, rather than adjusting her stride and strike, and seems ok to struggle mightily, or perhaps ignorant of that fact. So too are the Chinese that move here from more rural settings.

I may sound like a stodgy British officer logging about how backwards the local conquered culture is, but we all seem to be in agreement here. Eh, we are no better I guess for eating at Macdonalds and drinking at Starbucks.