Living It China-style

To give you a better sense of where I’m at and what I’m doing, the following list is a compilation of tasks and events that have become a big part of my life. I forewarn you that some may be shocking but I swear that it IS the lifestyle here and there is no way to avoid such things.

- Getting stuffed in a bus. Sometimes, you’d pay the fare at the front of the bus and enter from the back door because it’s just too packed at the front. One time, I had someone's hair in my face and smelt three different odours at once. In that same situation, I was standing at an angle and I would have fallen down if it weren't for the five people around me who were standing right against me, holding my body up.

- Eating meats that are beyond the Western menu, such as frog, dog and other animals that are good enough to be cooked...which is pretty much all of them.

- Enjoying squat holes, instead of toilets. (Secret: It comes out easier that way for girls...)

- Riding a bike through red lights or in the opposite direction. (The key is to ride in a crowd so you have less chances of getting hit.)

- Deciding on daily meals by always asking myself with the first question, ‘Do I want noodles, rice or dumplings?’ and then go from there.

- Spitting. (I know – it’s gross but it’s convenient when no one around you cares. Also, at this time of the year, there is constantly a mild cold bugging me so it’s nice to get the phlegm out. Haha, gross - in Toronto!)

- Not minding the tacky TV ads on the bus. There are too many, I’m not sure which one to share with you! One of my favourites: A boyfriend dumps a girl and leaves the room while the girl pouts. Then, he re-enters the room and the girl lightens up but he turns off the light instead. The moral to the story is that you should not waste electricity.

- Eating sheng1 jian1 baos1 but always being squirted on by its juice because it’s just so crunchy on the outside that you bite fast and the juice comes out unexpectedly in different directions.


[Yummy sheng1 jian1 baos1! Crispy at the top, juicy in the middle!]


[This sign does not help with the issue.]

- Pushing and shoving in a crowd in order to get onto the subway. I do it the nice way – walking into people with my bag in the front so I’m not really using my hands.

- Getting used to slow service, with the exception of food. People will guarantee you that they will arrive within a time range and then they’d come late – about an hour after the proposed time range.

- Doing peace signs in every photo taken (because it’s just the cool thing to do.)


[Karoake night with coworkers]

- Bargaining for products, services, anything!!! (unless it’s an international company, like McDonalds).

- Purchasing cheap massages (and I mean, CHEAP! $5 CDN can get you an hour foot massage).

- Understanding that when it rains, no matter what you do, the water will still leak into your rain jacket, making it useless, so you're literally swimming on land.

- Watching my step ALL the time because there is either spit or broken tiles, which, when stepped on, will splash dirty water all over my pants. I learned this the hard way.


The following are things I’ve yet to experience but eventually will because it’s just part of the culture here.

- Walk out publicly in flannel pyjamas and fuzzy slippers to go to the grocery store and run other errands. I sometimes feel like I’m at a pyjama party at the supermarket because everyone’s doing it.

- Become good at Mah-jong and play somewhere randomly at a park where there’s tons of tournaments.

- Argue like a madman in public. I’m not sure if I’ll ever experience this but it happens so frequently among citizens that I might burst one time.

- The most obvious: speak fluent Mandarin. This is what I hope for the most. :)