The Life I Live: China
So China is an amazing country with lots of fun quirks for my American formed mindset.
Sneezing and blowing your nose in public is a shameful thing. So that snot running down your face from the spice you insisted on adding to your bowl of noodles, let it run. Or leave the table or restaurant to wipe that nasty nasty off yo’ face.
If you sneeze, don’t expect a response from people around you. No bless yous here. Instead look up and chuckle at the number of people that turn away from you immediately. They are embarrassed for you.
Chopsticks are the bomb diggity.
Also, eating bowls of noodles with chopsticks gets easier. Slurping and food hanging out of your mouth are a part of the process. Embrace it.
China is crowded just like they say. Getting on the metros in Beijing is comparable to a Walmart in the south on Black Friday.
Everyone joins community life on overnight trains. Need a place to sit, share the bottom bunk. Need a hand climbing down, someone will help you. Want to charge your phone or need hot water, someone will oblige.
Community life is found in the villages too. Every night, people gather in the squares to exercise. Music is played and people line up for group line dances with tai chi type movements. I joined in one night; I looked less than graceful. Others play badminton and hacky sack.
People love to practice their English. But this is probably the country that was the biggest struggle for communication overall. Someone told us that it takes an additional 2000 hours of studying to master their own languages, be it Cantonese, Mandarin or Tibetan, etc. Studying a different language would not be my priority either. Also, because it is difficult for Chinese nationals to travel outside of China, there is not much incentive to branch out in new language studies.
Chinese markets are so much fun. And crazy. I tried pry a shopkeeper’s hand off of my teammate because she wanted us to buy something.
When shopping in the tourist markets, barter down to 1/5 of their asking price. Otherwise, you are paying more than what you need. If you do not want something, do not let your gaze linger on the stall’s products… you will be attacked with promises of a “special deal for you”.
Children have some pretty cool pants. They split at the butt so they can squat whenever and wherever.
Tibetan monks have some pretty cool pants. They split at the butt so they can squat whenever and wherever.
Tibetan monks have some pretty cool long robes. They go to the ground, so they too can squat whenever, wherever they need.
Chinese noodles, dumplings and fried dough are delicious. Also, heavy in your gut.
The currency has multiple names and I probably still do not have them right, but the one I used most was Yuan. Six Yuan equaled roughly $1 USD. You could get a bowl of noodles for this price… and man they were so good. I want them now.
We watched people praying and worshiping outside of the monastery one day. For a few minutes we looked on as people spun prayer wheels that supposedly release spirits and they essentially did burpees as a form of prayer.
I mentioned the word worship on the phone one day, heard a click and within a minute our phone call was cut off. Our local sim card did not work for the rest of the month. Cut off by the Chinese government. Oopsies.
Chinese kiddos are the cutest. I mean, Thai and Burmese are adorable and those youngsters in Swaziland and South Africa stole my heart, but man, Chinese kids are so cute.
Airport security at Beijing is nonsensical.
Overall, China is up there in my favorites group from the Race. I am so glad that our route took us there.
