Basic Observations of China

I thought I'd like to do some basic observations, good and bad, just to record this thoughts of mine for anyone interested, and for myself. I will try to always balance the negative observation with a positive one, sometimes related, sometimes not. This will hopefully reveal my thoughts about my surroundings.

N: The electricity is rather unstable, sometimes going out, or only carrying a very small charge so you can't run very many things at once (like the heat and the fridge).
P: I am grateful to HAVE electricty so often. I am sure there are rurual areas that still don't have it.

N: People sometimes laugh at me because I don't understand their Chinese.
P: More often, people are very patient and try to help me. Lately the lady at the grocery store has been telling me the chinese names of the items Im buying. How kind!

N: Things are much more expensive than people think. Its a bit crazy.
P: We are used to managing our money, and given that we don't have to pay rent, we can still afford most things we need/ want. Probably in some ways we are "wealthier" than in the U.S. at least while we are living in China.

N: There are NO mexican restaurants in this city...not one.
P: I will appreciate Tex-Mex all the more when I return...and I can buy some ingredients to make my own Mexican at the foreign store.

N: The food is rather spicy and oily.
P: The food is salty (which I love) and cheap enough to eat out a lot.

N: I always have to go to the grocery store for fresh foods.
P: Yay fresh foods! And veggiesand fruits are cheaper here than in the U.S. Its good to et veggies.

N: Its challenging to do things without speaking Chinese.
P: We have been surrounded with so much help (foreigners and english speaking chinese), that the challenge of it is greatly diminished.

N: The weather here changes ALL the time. It crazy- even the students say so.
P: Makes life an adventure. Plus today all of a sudden it was warm enough to wear a t-shirt, in mid-november.

N: Our neighbors have loud chickens...and people set off fireworks at all hours ofevery day.
P: I love to see that glimpse of china (the chickens) as it probably once was. Hey- maybe he'll have us over for a chicken dinner:) mm...

N: Our apartment is actually colder than the outside- yes, no lie.
P: This has some advantages in the summer I suppose.

N: We live in a city, so there aren't too many rolling hills, etc. Certainly not my disney idea of China.
P: Going to the city at night always feels like 'going out' with all the lights and huge buildings. PLUS we have a lot more modern convenicnes than we would else were.

N: Public transportation is ridiculously crowded...you'd never believe the buses.
P: Public transporation is readily available and cheap. A blessing for sure.

N: We of course miss our friends and family from home.
P: We have made many wonderful friends, foreigners and chinese a like, that we will miss grateful.

N: The public smoking here is atrocious, absolutely absurd! Not to mention the pollution.
P: Unrelated- you can't beat a shorter work week. It definetely has its advantages. Shane and I sometimes feel like we are in college again, as we go to classes and often hang out with the college age students.

N: Sometimes students here are suprisingly immature, maybe the only child syndrome.
P: Students are generally much more respectful and also, they are immature in good ways. They aren't so 'knowledgeable' about violence and sex as Americans are- definetely good!

N: The clothes often don't fit me- I am too big. Or they just aren't my style.
P: The women dress modestly. What a breath of fresh air for everyone.

That is all for my basic observations for now. More to come!