Random Chatter in the Chat Room

The Shanghai Mamas Yahoo Group has been discussing potty training this week. Several of the Mamas have followed their ayis' advice and started potty training their babies as young as 5 months. Ayis typically train babies by holding them over the toilet and whistling and the babies would pee on cue. I'm not sure how that would work exactly, especially considering that the babies are not able to let their parents/ayi know that they have to urinate. Maybe they learn a non-verbal signal? And I don't think that they have the bladder control to not urinate when they sleep. One Mama said that she started potty training her son at 1 month and at 4 months he was out of diapers. Note how I am not calling anyone a fibber.

Another topic that is red-hot on the Yahoo Group is the problems some Mamas have had with being charged an incorrect price at the grocery store. Everyone participating in the discussion seems to think that the errors were intentional. I have to admit that I have never checked my bills from the grocery stores. Partly because of the language barrier (some receipts show up in Chinese only) and partly because it usually entails getting into another line to get a refund. I don't have the energy for it. But I did check my bills this week, and they have all been correct. Some of the "mistakes" mentioned in the chat room were things like one item being wrung up as 6 items, something that was supposed to cost 8RMB showed up as 200RMB.

There was a post by a Mama indicating that someone stole her purse from her cart while at Carrefour (a large 2-story grocery store). The security man found it laying on top of a shelf. Of course, the 2,000RMB that she had in the purse was gone. She wanted the security man to close all exit doors in Carrefour and check everyone in there until they found her 2,000RMB. Unless she taped her picture to all of her money, I'm not sure how she is going to recognize her missing money. Also, closing down Carrefour is like closing down Walmart the day after Thanksgiving with everyone in it. It gets better. Since the security man would not close down Carrefour, she demanded that all of her groceries be given to her free of charge. The security man made the mistake of laughing at her. She was so irate that she sent her mother-in-law home with her baby and she intended to stay at Carrefour until they were willing to let her have free groceries. Carrefour closed at 10pm. She stayed until midnight! But it was not all of naught because she got her free groceries. Note how I am not calling anyone crazy.