high-tech electronica super future technology market

HTESFTM

The other day I needed to make copies for my students, and the guy whose office is next to mine insisted on having the department copy them for me. Very nice of him, but by the sounds coming out of the "copy room" and the quality of the xeroxes themselves, I'm pretty sure the copy machine was built by Gutenberg himself. I decided to nix the whole thing and from now on hook up my computer to the overhead projector in my classroom. The students could read the instructions off the screen, and this way, I save paper. yay.

I have a really lovely MacBook. It's white, it's brilliant, it surprisingly light-weight, we have a lot in common. Unfortunately, my lovely MacBook does not have a vga port, so I couldn't connect it to the overhead without an adapter. Someone was very nice and offered to let me use their laptop instead. Their Chinese laptop. Which is not compatible with the American CD that contained all of my material for class. Totally stupid, I know, but an oversight on my part, so all of my lovely visuals and all the time I spent preparing were a total waste.
Since I rather liked the idea of being able to waltz in with my own computer and hook it up to the projector, I decided I would buy an adapter. Where would I buy such a thing? At the Hi-Tech Electronica Super Future Technology Market! Actually, I don't know what it's called. Every time someone refers to it, it has a new name, but it always sounds like a gift shop at Tomorrow Land. One end of the HTESFTM is located maybe 2 blocks away from campus, and let me be clear by saying that it is not a store. It is not 2 stores. It is blocks and blocks and blocks of stores. And I use the word "store" loosely. Step inside one of these giant warehouses, and you find yourself on 1 of 4 floors of kiosks at the world's largest electronics expo. Everyone who works there is just kind of standing around, in their t-shirts and jeans, amidst boxes and boxes of who knows what.

outside a store at the HTESFTM

Ok so I went to the HTESFM to track down an adapter. I speak like, no Chinese. I can tell you my name and that I'm American, but I do not know how to say, "Hi, excuse me, do you have a negative vga to positive mini-dvi adapter? Or firewire.... or USB.... Do they make those? Or perhaps I would need two adapters: a negative to positive vga, and then a positive vga to mini-dvi, firewire, or usb. What do you think?" I knew this would be a test of my acting skills more than anything else.
My first store was a little upscale, the people there looked like they might actually be helpful. Unfortunately, after quite a crowd of employees had gathered (6), I was told "mingtien." Tomorrow. Damn.
So I went to the next place, or rather, I tried to. The security guard (seriously?) at the front stopped me and said something, with a smile on his face like he was giving me a "hard time." I was like, um, f that I don't have time for your games.
So the 3rd place, basically a flea market. I ended up in this guy's booth, and he had baskets and baskets of different ends (usb, firewire, etc), and I think he made the converter while you wait. Except I'll never know, because apparently vga to mini-dvi adapter is basically the only way to go, and mini-dvi basically does not exist in China. After all that, I surrendered and put in a call to America to have one sent here (even though I'm pretty sure it'll be Made in China).
Incidentally, my hand signals were much more helpful than either of the 2 dictionaries I brought with me. Also, if you are ever in China looking for such an adapter, and you use any of these words (in Chinese), the Chinese people will look at you like, "woah sister, you are in the wrong place":
adapter
converter
cord
cable
wire
line

What you should tell them, and what ultimately worked for me, was "string." I needed to ask for a vga to mini-dvi "string."

Some more HTESFTM pictures:

Nucleus of the HTESFTM

Clearly the hippest statue in China.

All of these things are normal and completely acceptable:

Balancing your computer tower on the back of your bike in afternoon traffic.

Crossing 6 lanes of traffic with a dolly-full of tech equipment

Suspiciously standing in line. These people, for example, are all standing in line to talk to that guy in the blue truck. I see this a lot. I always figure they're buying pirated DVDs, but really I have no idea.

Also, people buy like, 10 computers at a time. I wanted to take a picture of someone shoving a slew of monitors into his car, but it looked kind of black market-ish, and I didn't want to get yelled at.