Chinese Glasses!

I've heard from many American expats that I should purchase glasses in China because they are so much cheaper than what we are used to. I never realized how much cheaper. In America with insurance my glasses often cost about $150 and I'm lucky that growing up my parents always had really good eye insurance. Many of my friends have spent hundreds of dollars each time they purchased glasses.

With this thought in mind, a few friends and I wandered into a Chinese version of Lens Crafters the other day. We spent a while combing through the frames before we each found the perfect pair. Once we found our frames we went into a backroom, this is when I started to get a little nervous. I did not want my eyes examined, I just wanted the same prescription as my American glasses. I was frantically searching the Mandarin vocabulary in my head for a way to convey this.

In the meantime my very brave friend Katelyn sat down to get her eyes checked.

She is brave.

The eye exam was relatively uneventful (at least from my perspective), despite not speaking Chinese Katelyn didn't seem to have any trouble getting through it. Under different circumstances I would have gotten my eyes tested, however I wasn't sure how to explain "I don't care what you find, I want the same prescription." 

This picture was taken during the funniest part of the exam to watch (in my opinion). Katelyn is looking at an eye chart, but instead of using all the letters like we do in America, it uses a capital E and you point your fingers in the direction the E is pointing. However the eye chart isn't in front of her, it's behind her, she is looking at the reflection in the mirror. The guy performing the eye exam always seemed to be looking at chart behind her and not at her....

I know you've all been hanging on the edge of your seats trying to figure out if I was successful in communicating. I WAS. This was definitely a success moment when it comes to my spoken Mandarin. Here the eye glasses man is measuring my American glasses. Success!

My glasses are the middle ones on the right.

My other friend Katie already had her prescription so she just handed over her card. Katelyn's glasses are on the left, Katies are on the bottom right, mine are in the middle on the right, and a mystery person's are on the top right.

Part of what surprises me the most about China is the kindness of the Chinese people when I think about how happy and excited they were to help I wish I could say the same thing happens in America. The woman who helps you pick out frames even gave us plums as we waited for our receipts. 

It turns out the expats who told me to buy glasses were absolutely correct. My frames were slightly more expansive and I chose the best quality lenses. I spent $34.88 without insurance. 

My Glasses :-)