Big Foot has a new pair of sneakers.
After searching all over Zhengzhou for size 13 basketball shoes, I finally hit pay dirt at a Nike Factory Outlet at the upscale Wanda Shopping Plaza. They were the only pair of size 13 sneakers in the store, and maybe the only ones in the whole city.
They’re white leather with a black tongue and green laces. And, of course, they have the black Nike swoosh embossed on both sides. They cost 399 yuan, or about $65, which is a decent price for Nike sneakers in China.
Oh, by the way, they were made in Vietnam, which has an even cheaper labor force than China.
I also bought a basketball at the Nike store. As I started to spin the ball on my finger, I drew a crowd of admiring customers. For a moment, I felt like a Harlem Globetrotter.
I was joined in my shopping expedition by Summer and Annie, who are roommates of Amber, the administrative assistant in our English teaching program. They are all grad students at Henan University of Technology. When I asked them to name their favorite U.S. TV shows, they mentioned “Desperate Housewives,’’ “The Big Bang Theory,’’ “Friends’’ and “The Vampire Diaries.’’ The shows aren’t aired on Chinese TV, but the students can easily find pirated versions on the Internet and watch them on their computers.
