Wang Yuanyuan

    cheekywang@hotmail.com

    A postgraduate student in France took to his microblog to complain about having to do shopping for relatives and friends.

    The microblog post has drawn wide attention on the Internet and many students said they were tired of shopping for friends in China as it was interfering with their studies.

    “I am a postgraduate student, not a professional purchaser,” the student in France, identified as Li Yuandong, said.

    Li is now studying computer science in Paris. “Since I went to Paris, many friends and relatives who had not contacted with me for years have got in touch. Even their friends, who I don’t know at all, decide that they want to make friends with me. The conversation always leads to them asking me to buy something for them in Paris,” he said.

    As a science student, Li said he is now a fashion expert. “I am a scientist, but I know about the latest items of Louis Vuitton and I can distinguish various types of perfume, nail polish, and face lotion,” he said.

    Li’s story drew heated discussion on the Internet among other students studying abroad.

    “This is so typical. Mine is worse because I live in a village far away from Paris. It takes me hours to get to Galeries Lafayette, but I have to go there every week.”

    “I don’t know how much money I have spent on train tickets, but nobody seems to care,” a girl, identified by her Internet name of Jarlay121, said.

    Another student studying in Britain said that once her cousin asked her to buy 20 packs of diapers, two toilet lids and a bumper for a Toyota car.

    “Every time I am at the airport, I hold up the queue at security checks and I have to pay extra for overweight packages. I can not ask them to pay for that because they are all relatives and friends,” said a Shenzhen girl, identified as Zhu Jingtong. Zhu is now studying in the United States.

    Although some students make money from shopping for those in China, many others would rather spend more time studying and enjoying life in another country.

    “It is risky because we may be charged for avoiding taxes or even smuggling. Once I was scared because I had five iPhones for my relatives in my luggage. If customs had caught me, I could have got into a lot of trouble,” Zhu said.