China - Day 4

2013-09-12T10:18:31.546Z

Guangdong, China

For those of you who are waiting for an update, I apologize! One of the many differences between North America and China as I have learned, is that the Internet is hard to access to certain sites. Apparently china does not allow blogger, along with Facebook, YouTube, and yes, even twitter! Don't ask me why, they just don't. So if this works, yay! (Thank you iPad app!)

A few things you should know about China, because half of what you think you know, is bogus;

1. Mom, it's not that scary! The fact that I'm sitting here in China, still has not hit me. Truth is, I doubt it will! As different as China is, it's really not. It has many similarities to back home, perhaps it's the bustling city streets that remind me of home that make it so comforting. It kind if feels like China town but MUCH bigger. I'm told that Shenyang is one of the safest cities, so much so that my Canadian friends allow their 14 & 16 year old sons go out all the time by themselves, day or night.

2. Not all Chinese people are short. You know that basketball player whom everyone thought was crazy tall... Yea he isn't that tall. I am 5'5 and have met many people whom are taller than myself.

3. It's smelly. By smelly I dont always mean stinky. Never in my life have I been able to walk 10 steps, and smell some delicious food cooking, take 4 more, and smell something disgusting like a dead rat, then walk 20 more steps and smell something completely different that I can't quite put my finger on, but it's nothing I've ever smelt before. Smelly.

4. Bathrooms here are gross, unless its an apartment or decent hotel bathroom. I was dared to go into a bathroom at a music store by my friends teenage son. I couldn't quite bring myself to attempt it after he explained that it was a cement room with dirty walls, and a hole on the floor you squatted over. Plus NO toilet paper! (It's a bring your own policy here. Yes, it's happened once to me so far, oops!)

5. They build these massive malls full of stores like Tiffany & Co., Burberry, Givenchy but no one is in the mall or stores. They are empty. Other malls, look like a post apocalypse movie! There are two store at the front of the building, then you take the escalator up 5 stories and its floor after floor of emptiness and then BAM, nice clean restraunts at the top. If I hadn't seen it for myself, I wouldn't ever really be able to grasp it. Sad part is, they never end up filling the building with stores, they just keep building new malls and these malls are everywhere already.

6. Which brings me face. Face is a term used in China for an appearance that looks good. For example, if you had a trophy wife, you would have good face. The people want to just look good on the outside, good job, good family, nice things; face. Hence why there are so many empty buildings with nothing in them, the government builds lots more to have good face.

7. Most signs and most places have English alongside Chinese, and there are a lot of people who can speak basic English so knowing Chinese to get around is not a must, it's helpful but not a must!

8. Some small children have a hole in the pants, right down the back exposing their little bums. Why? So they can pee/poop easily. Apparently diapers are just catching in...

8. And the most shocking thing I have seen, is when you walk down the streets and see beautiful buildings, nice restraunts, KFC even, clothing stores, then next door there is a run down little shop that you may or may not have to hold your breathe when you walk by it. It's like the new and old just shoved together, but when I say old, I mean condemned by Canadian standards. You want to avoid those places! :)

So do I love China? Hard to say after only 3 days here. But as different as their culture, living, and places are, it's really not that different at all.
( Sorry no pics! All on my phone :( )

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