As many of you might have noticed I went to China. And I didn't write a single blog post. I attempt to be as transparent as possible with my writing. In China, the government has complete control of what people say and share. I wanted to be permitted to speak my opinions without having to be concerned about it being taken down or blocked forever.
Wile I was there, I took notes of my feelings so I could have something to write about later and remember how I was feeling. So let us start with things I didn't care for.
Things I don't like about China:
The me first mentality. There are 1.3 billion of people in China. BILLIONS. You don't realize how many people that is until every city you visit has over 10 million people.
Smoking, people smoke packs a day. There is no such thing as a smoke free to place. There is someone smoking every where. Even if there are no smoking signs. It makes the US look virtually smoke free. I honestly think if people would stop smoking it would help with the air pollution significantly. In addition, it would lower the cancer rate. Many people aren't aware of the cancer issues or the effect it has on other people.
Traffic, with so many people traffic is awful. Something that should take 10 minutes takes an hour sometimes. Also the worst part is the lack of rule following, maybe is the heritage of America, following rules, staying in lines, waiting turns. In China this doesn't happen .
Pollution is a huge problem. We couldn't see a few blocks away because the air quality was so poor. I had to go out in a mask because I was coughing up a lung. I don't has asthma but I wouldn't recommend China for those with breathing problems.
The spitting and hacking was so gross. This happens because of smoking and poor air quality. It is honestly one of the most repulsive sounds I heard on my trip. The most gross thing, to my American me, was the peeing and bowel movements in public. This is mostly done by children, but still. Sanitation is important and their standard is very different than ours.
The hard "beds" I think of them more as plywood boards with sheets over top. I don't mind it but I am more appreciative of comfort.
I like pickles, but they pickle everything in Asia. Most of it was good. Pickled everything gets old for me. I preferred the other Chinese flavors. And they are different in every city. I spent most of my time in Chengdu which is in the Sichuan area, which is know for very spicy food. They have a pepper that makes your tongue basically go numb. (La means spice. and Boo la means no spice. This is probably one of the most important phrases I learned!)
People thinking they can rip me off because I am a tourist. Many people see other types of currency as play money that doesn't really have value or they don't understand the exchange rate. This is something I was well aware of before I left. 1 dollar is 6 yuan. So when someone wants to charge you 100 yuan for a pen that is about $15. Pay attention, those people selling things make a killing because people don't pay attention.
The spitting and hacking was so gross. This happens because of smoking and poor air quality. It is honestly one of the most repulsive sounds I heard on my trip. The most gross thing, to my American me, was the peeing and bowel movements in public. This is mostly done by children, but still. Sanitation is important and their standard is very different than ours.
The hard "beds" I think of them more as plywood boards with sheets over top. I don't mind it but I am more appreciative of comfort.
I like pickles, but they pickle everything in Asia. Most of it was good. Pickled everything gets old for me. I preferred the other Chinese flavors. And they are different in every city. I spent most of my time in Chengdu which is in the Sichuan area, which is know for very spicy food. They have a pepper that makes your tongue basically go numb. (La means spice. and Boo la means no spice. This is probably one of the most important phrases I learned!)
People thinking they can rip me off because I am a tourist. Many people see other types of currency as play money that doesn't really have value or they don't understand the exchange rate. This is something I was well aware of before I left. 1 dollar is 6 yuan. So when someone wants to charge you 100 yuan for a pen that is about $15. Pay attention, those people selling things make a killing because people don't pay attention.
Things I like about China: The history is amazing. It's 3000 years old! They have records for most of that time. The people are kind. People tell me I am beautiful every day. I will be honest I do miss that. It built up my self esteem. They were so genuine about it. Haggling is awesome. I like being able to get the best deal I can. The fact that no one knows how old I am. People couldn't tell the difference between my mother and I in age. I am an average height there. It was seriously nice to be able to see things and nit struggle to see.
Amusing things: people almost crashing bikes or motorcycles because they are staring. This man was riding on his bike with a woman and a baby and he almost crashed staring at my family and me. There were a few other examples as well.
People compared their skin to mine. Being pale in Asia means you don't have to do hard physical labor outside. So the paler your skin the better. People gasped because of how white I am. In the Forbidden City there was a place where you could dress up and look like an empress or a princess and sit on a golden thrown. I took my jacket off to be able to put the dress on and the people working at the booth gasped. As if it was shocking. They kept telling me I was beautiful and I was pale and kept stroking my arms. I went to a mall and a woman pointed at me after we walked past her store. And she called out to me and she starting speaking into the women in her store. Our tour guide told me that she told those women that they could look like me if they used her cream. It was funny.
Lastly, people are shocked when they don't get to take advantage of me with haggling. It made me really happy to prove I am not a silly American who can be taken advantage of.
People compared their skin to mine. Being pale in Asia means you don't have to do hard physical labor outside. So the paler your skin the better. People gasped because of how white I am. In the Forbidden City there was a place where you could dress up and look like an empress or a princess and sit on a golden thrown. I took my jacket off to be able to put the dress on and the people working at the booth gasped. As if it was shocking. They kept telling me I was beautiful and I was pale and kept stroking my arms. I went to a mall and a woman pointed at me after we walked past her store. And she called out to me and she starting speaking into the women in her store. Our tour guide told me that she told those women that they could look like me if they used her cream. It was funny.
Lastly, people are shocked when they don't get to take advantage of me with haggling. It made me really happy to prove I am not a silly American who can be taken advantage of.
Annoying things: Drunk men hitting on me. They would get too close. Chinese alcohol is is very strong. And a little bit goes a long way. People often over do it.
The car horns people honk for every single reason you can think of. Go, stop, I am passing you, pay attention, hi friend, moron and EVERY OTHER REASON. I also am not a big fan of almost dying when ever I go outside, because no one has regard for anyone else. I was very lucky to be with my aunt who looked out for me having smoke blown in my face. The last thing was having people pull on my arms to get my attention. Instead of waving or something, they tried to force me to do what they were trying to get my attention for.
The car horns people honk for every single reason you can think of. Go, stop, I am passing you, pay attention, hi friend, moron and EVERY OTHER REASON. I also am not a big fan of almost dying when ever I go outside, because no one has regard for anyone else. I was very lucky to be with my aunt who looked out for me having smoke blown in my face. The last thing was having people pull on my arms to get my attention. Instead of waving or something, they tried to force me to do what they were trying to get my attention for.
Things I will miss: how kind people are, if I didn't understand people would volunteer to help me.
They are genuine with compliments.
They are quietly proud of who they are and where they come from. I don't like march with a big stick mentality. And we, Americans, happen to be very loudly proud of who are, what we stand for, and what we have done.
The regard for women is amazing. Men carry their purses and hug on them. They will be walking with their girlfriends and playing with their hair. It was really sweet to see. I wish men were like that here.
They are genuine with compliments.
They are quietly proud of who they are and where they come from. I don't like march with a big stick mentality. And we, Americans, happen to be very loudly proud of who are, what we stand for, and what we have done.
The regard for women is amazing. Men carry their purses and hug on them. They will be walking with their girlfriends and playing with their hair. It was really sweet to see. I wish men were like that here.
The sad things: There is a severe lack of education. People go to school for 15 hours a day! They start school at the age of three ( A toddler) and attend school all day. They memorize for a test and many students don't know how to apply the information they have "learned" To me this demonstrates the importance of application instead of a test. The suicide rate is very high in students because they never get a break. I think America is on the same path for our education system and it makes me sad for the future.
People aren't really allowed to own property. They never pay off their mortgages. They have to continue to pay something for their entire lives. Most people can't afford to own property so they rent. That is why there are so many apartment buildings.
Other government based things as well, there is a lot of corruption. They are making attempts to fix some of this. Honestly, unless you are in the country we have no clue what actually happens there. What they share with the media isn't an accurate representation of what is going on.
Other government based things as well, there is a lot of corruption. They are making attempts to fix some of this. Honestly, unless you are in the country we have no clue what actually happens there. What they share with the media isn't an accurate representation of what is going on.
