IKEA and May Holiday

On May 1st, the Chinese celebrate the May Holiday.  As with all proper holidays, this is a country-wide day off of work!  Justin wanted to take part in some shopping so we decided to spend the morning at the local Shanghai IKEA.  Our driver, JJ, picked us up at 9am to take us 45 minutes across the city.  Good plan - we would get there before the 10am opening.  With little traffic, we arrived at 9:45 and concluded that IKEA must have opened early.  There were no less than a hundred people just inside the front doors!  Oh - IKEA has a cafe - the cafe opens early (great...let's feed the mob and give them more energy and stamina to swarm through the store).  ALL the people ALL over is something I'm trying to get used to!  I've decided that when I'm back in Tulsa, I'll be one of those 'rude' people who shoves my way through crowds and fights to get as far to the front of lines as humanly possible no matter how many innocent bystanders I knock over!!  In China, this skill is necessary for survival!!  I will admit, I have already come to the point where saying "sorry" when I bump into someone is no longer my subconscious reaction.  Saying "sorry" get's you weird looks and marks you as an obvious foreigner!

OK OK back to IKEA....We went inside, and up the escalator where we joined about 50 more eager shoppers.  I took pictures of everyone as they (we!) waited behind barriers guarded by four employees until the clock struck 10am!!!  At 9:58am the room was so full I realized that everyone in Shanghai had the same great idea - to visit IKEA on vacation day.   

'The Running of the Bulls is a practice that involves running in front of bulls that have been let loose on a course of a sectioned-off subset of a town's streets.  Unlike bull fights, which are performed by professionals, anyone may participate.  Injuries are common, both to the participants who may be gored or trampled, and to the bulls, whose hooves grip poorly on the paved or cobbled street surfaces.'

Pamplona??  Shanghai??  Where are we??!

Ready, set, GO!!  Hurry... run for your life... there are only 4 more pairs of slippers in all of Shanghai!! j/k (Here, the custom is to remove your shoes when you enter a home and put on slippers.)  I climbed up onto a display table to avoid being trampled by the bulls..  ha ha..  

All in all, it was a good day.  We purchased two lamps for the living room, a set of five pictures for the guest room, a flower vase, and a few other random things..  The crowds make shopping a true athletic event, but my heart has a special place for the people here...  Seeing one smiling Chinese baby makes the frustration all worth while!