One aspect of traveling I have always enjoyed is learning to use a new currency.
That experience is getting less challenging as time goes by. I can still remember the thrill of using the non-decimalized pound system. But the demise of shillings and pennies has homogenized the experience of learning new currencies.
China is no exception. The Republic decimalized the currency in 1914 in an attempt to pull China's culture out of its feudal past. The currency system is divided into yuan and jiao. There are 100 jiao in a yuan. Just like Mexico with the peso and centavo.
That experience is getting less challenging as time goes by. I can still remember the thrill of using the non-decimalized pound system. But the demise of shillings and pennies has homogenized the experience of learning new currencies.
China is no exception. The Republic decimalized the currency in 1914 in an attempt to pull China's culture out of its feudal past. The currency system is divided into yuan and jiao. There are 100 jiao in a yuan. Just like Mexico with the peso and centavo.
But the number of coins are very limited in China. And easy to remember. They are 1 yuan, 5 jiao, and 1 jiao. As a result, jiao coins have a tendency to accumulate. Just like American one cent pieces.
Language and currency have a common cultural connection. In language, the old adage is that when you start thinking in your new language, you will be on the way to mastering it.
The same is true with currencies. As long as a visitor to China keeps thinking “that translates to $5 (US); and that is cheap in my Walmart back in Des Moines,” the currency will never be mastered. It then is a mere arithmetical exercise.
You know you understand the currency when you can say: “20 yuan? No. That is too expensive. It should only be 15 yuan.”
After all, currency is merely an exchange of value. And that value always has a cultural context where the currency is used. Thinking in dollars in China is as limiting as expecting street vendors to be fluent in English.
At best in China, I got to the point of understanding which pieces of paper and metal I needed to take out of my pocket after reading a sign. And that I could master.
I did not get close to mastering whether the amount was culturally appropriate. My one clue was looking at my fellow shoppers. Whenever they were far better dressed than I was, I knew I was probably spending too much.
You know you understand the currency when you can say: “20 yuan? No. That is too expensive. It should only be 15 yuan.”
After all, currency is merely an exchange of value. And that value always has a cultural context where the currency is used. Thinking in dollars in China is as limiting as expecting street vendors to be fluent in English.
At best in China, I got to the point of understanding which pieces of paper and metal I needed to take out of my pocket after reading a sign. And that I could master.
I did not get close to mastering whether the amount was culturally appropriate. My one clue was looking at my fellow shoppers. Whenever they were far better dressed than I was, I knew I was probably spending too much.
