Week 4: A Tamed Bull in a China Shop

Another week is in the books here in China, the highlight a weekend foray to Shenzhen and Hong Kong. I mostly went along as my grandma’s accompaniment/assistant as she had to take care of some matters there. It was a very short stay (Saturday afternoon arrival, Monday afternoon departure), and I was only in Hong Kong long enough to eat some authentic dim sum (especially memorable: the luo bu gao, the shrimp dumpling, and the mango pudding; especially disappointing: the chang fen and lack of almond tofu.) and go up to the Peak, but it was still nice seeing some relatives and new scenery down south. As has become the running theme when visiting different cities during my stay here, I was there just long enough to get a glimpse of the place — an appetizer for a future visit moreso than a main course indulgence.

Some Things I Like About China

1. Cheap Transport: My hour-long commute from work back home costs me 0.40 RMB, or, about six cents U.S. I can also zone out and listen to my iPod everyday, which has been revitalized from the dead, getting used to the max everyday. Like, I’ve-nearly-beaten-Temple-Run-and-I-only-downloaded-it-after-getting-to-China to the max.

2. Delicious Green Bean Popsicles: There are always a wealth of little food stands selling beverages and ice cream and various other hot foods (that I’m too afraid to try due to a constant fear of explosive diarrhea), which bodes well for convenient thirst-quenching and a brief escape from the muggy weather. Sadly, I cannot say the milk tea here are any good. The weird Chinese milk really throws things off (and the boba reportedly has been caught with fake plastic-y stuff in it). This may be my greatest disappointment in China to date. Luckily, the green bean popsicles more than make up for it.
3. Large population = always having someone to talk to/service you: The plus to having a ridiculously large population is that the service labor force is bursting at the seams. Every foot massage place or barbershop features at least one if not two greeters, while a large parking lot may have 5-6 people guiding you to the correct spot on a normal day basis. Even the public buses feature people who are just stationed at each bus stop, waving little flags to usher in each bus while screaming at the lurching mob trying to cram their way on. Each public bus has an additional person besides the driver whose only job is to sell tickets and announce each stop (even though there’s already an electronic announcement). Elevators in modest buildings have elevator-button-pushing-people so you can spare yourself the tremendous physical expenditure. Toll booths are well stocked. I could keep going.

4. People can fly kites really, really high. Seriously, it’s downright impressive. Random kites fly way above my 10-story building, with the kite-flyer no where in sight. In fact, it's so high that it looks like it's flying over the highway, with the assumed park not even in sight. I guess it’s one way to brighten the smoggy horizon.

5. The lack of freedom of speech and the general absence of checks and balances. Rumor has it that certain internet searches for the term “democracy” will be redirected/blocked. Also, I find it amusing that every single dollar bill has Mao Zedong on it. Talk about repetitive. Although, I better shut my trap before I get deported or something.

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Okay, so that list didn’t last as long as I anticipated. I’m sure there are some more things I have forgotten. For example, as soon as I finished last week’s list, I realized that I forgot to include the fact that I miss having clean, ice cold water available at every single restaurant. Here, you usually have to buy bottled water, and many restaurants don’t even carry ice cubes. After playing badminton last week and becoming weary, I was handed a nice cup of steaming hot water. Anyway, I digress. I’ll have more noteworthy things to blog about next time around.