Pajama Day

     Since arriving in Shanghai we've been entertained by the masses of locals walking the streets in their pajamas each morning and night.  If you have read the blog from the beginning you surely remember the picture of Bri eating ice cream/a man lunging in his boxer shorts.

    In August and September we thought this was explained by the heat of the day and people just trying to be cool.  As the months grew colder the pajamas just became longer and thicker.  Getting breakfast in the wet market you're assured to see some locals in their pajamas regardless of the temperature.  In the cold months with heavy coats on, it may be a little tough to discern, until you look down and see people wearing slippers.

     In our short time over here we've started to just accepts things without question regarding cultural differences.  The pajama show was one of those differences until last week a friend who has lived here longer than us provided an explanation.  When times were harder in the past only a certain class of people in Shanghai (I don't know if this is true throughout China) could afford pajamas.  Therefore, it became a social statement to wear your pajamas out, if you had them.  It was a way of separating the have's from the have nots.  Now, thanks to economic growth jammies are affordable to most Shanghainese, but some habits are hard to break, and therefore I get to see things like this while standing in line for breakfast.
Matt