Only In China

In honor of the Beijing Olympics (which has been keeping me up late for the past few weeks), I am posting an old blog entry from my time in China 3 years ago. Enjoy!

Things Seen in China and not the U.S.:

1. Babies’ bottoms hanging out of bottomless clothing…and also, babies and small children peeing on the street, in the park, inside tourist attractions.
2. Blatant disregard for traffic laws…you put your life on the line each time you cross the street. But in defense of Chinese drivers, they do have incredibly fast reflexes; they can stop on a dime.
3. Scorpions, pigeon fetuses, and other mystery meat on a stick.
4. Military-like line ups of uniformed employees outside of restaurants and stores at shift changes.
5. Hawking and spitting like nowhere else (even by women, even on the subway train).

Things I will miss about China:

1. Karaoke!
2. The “movie star treatment”… being asked numerous times at each tourist attraction to pose for photos with Chinese people.
3. The Silk Market… even the pushy salespeople (“Lady! Lady! Looky! Looky! You like silk scarf?”).
4. Ice cream pop and popsicle stands on every corner.
5. The most adorable children ever.
6. Taxi rides that make you feel like you are in a video game.
7. Chinese people who are thrilled to practice their English with you.

Things I will not miss about China:

1. The never-ending spitting and nose-picking, any time, any place.
2. The nose-assaulting smells that punch you in the face every few minutes.
3. “Squatty-potties” and wastebaskets for used toilet paper, plus the overwhelming stench that accompanies all bathrooms.
4. Not being able to read anything (now I know a bit how it feels like to be illiterate).
5. The pushing and shoving at tourist attractions and on the subway. The lack of the concept of “a line”.
6. Ordering chicken and getting only the feet and some gristly bones.
7. Cabbies who don’t want to give you a ride.