My first Camper

Today we did major shopping after church. Chris and I were going to shop for my Christmas gift.

Chris said he wanted to get me a new pair of shoes so I could throw out my Diesel shoes at last... though I still can't bear to. Those Diesel shoes followed me for over 8 years.

So we walked about and I couldn't decide what to get till at last we decided to go to Vivocity as he told me he wanted to buy me a pair of Camper shoes which I've always dreamed of having but never could afford.

So I tried on Camper for the first time... I think and boy... these were the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn! The fit was nice and snug and comfy and the leather provided ultimate comfort. Now I understand why people pay such high price for these shoes!

I did not really like any of the designs except the Maryjanes which resembled my Clarke's Originals A LOT. Obviously Clarke's stole their design/style. Camper was the original one that adopted that design and their famed red stitches around the bottom of the shoes.

So after a looooooooong time of selection I finalised my choice to pick a pair that was comfy but design was okay. While the staff was trying to find a new pair for me, I saw the most horrifying thing on the shoes. 'Made In China'. And boy they really shrink the font size small so you can't see it!

I was beyond horrified and had always thought Camper was made in Spain hence the exorbitant price. No way I was going to pay (or rather... get Chris to pay) for a pair of shoes that were made in China and cost a bomb!

The good thing was they didn't have a new pair so I started looking for my alternate choice and hoped that they were not made in China. China is never known for quality and Camper was SUPPOSED to be Quality! So no way!

Finally I picked the original design I liked the very first time I saw it... the maryjanes. So after another round of deliberation (I brought great embarrassment to Chris and myself for the very lengthy session of selection in the store), I finally agreed on that pair... which happened to also be the only pair as it was a design that came only in 1 piece per size, apparently.

So excited... I really pray to God that these shoes don't give me blisters or else....sigh

This is the model I bought but I got the one in brown with a subtler grey color star.

Apparently I sound like I'm from China.

This is the latest most amusing discovery.

The first time this happened was when I was throwing the trash at my workplace at Takashimaya. I met a China man there and he spoke to me. Then he asked me if I was from China. I was shocked and said no and that I was local. I thought that was strange. Do I not look Singaporean?

The second time this happened was while I was conversing with a rich Indonesian Chinese customer who is quite widely travelled. He spent $300 on a birthday bouquet for his girlfriend (probably half his age) and another $150 on his girlfriend's sister who happens to share her birthday. The guy is so rich, he took cash out of his shirt pocket like they were loose change. Tsk. Tsk.

So anyhow, he asked me if I was from China. Again. I wondered why... but it did not occur to me that it could even be remotely possible that people think I was from China from the way I spoke. I started asking my colleagues and they just had no idea.

The third time this happened was when I attended a Christmas party at a friend's place and she had invited 5 young men from China who were her colleagues. I took that opportunity to ask them all if they thought I spoke like I was from China.

Lo and behold, they all agreed vehemently saying I sounded really like a Chinese Chinese! I was quite pleased actually. I think it's pretty impressive that I could fool even a Chinese national that I was a fellow Chinese national. More importantly, I, a person who speaks really poor Mandarin and can't even follow the Chinese subtitles on TV, can actually sound like I speak with a Chinese accent!

My friends poked fun at me and said I probably sounded like the Chinese with the inaccurate accents from the countryside. So I probed further and asked the Chinese guys which part of China my 'accent' made me sound like I was from. They said Shandong. And I asked is that good or bad Mandarin. They all said Shandong people has the best/most accurate Mandarin.

I felt so proud of myself. Though I sometimes 'lao hong' in my Mandarin, I actually sounded pretty good! Not gang dang Mandarin anymore.... ! Hah!