So I've been living in China for awhile now, and I've been working on a list ever since I got here of things I hate and things I love about China. So here's the list!!
Things I don't like about China:
1. The air pollution
2. The way people push you in a crowd and never say excuse me (it's a cultural norm, and I'm getting used to it, but I don't like it)
3. The way people honk and you have to get out of the way (makes me feel so humiliated every time...again it's a cultural norm, but I don't like it)
4. Never understanding exactly what's going on
5. Cold to hot, hot to cold, the temperature extremes in winter here are difficult from inside to outside
6. Internet issues--slow, gov't supervised, etc.
7. The unpleasant odors that are just part of daily life--cigarette smoke, trash odors, other mysterious unpleasant smells
8. Getting ripped off because you don't understand what's being said, or can't communicate your thoughts
9. How I'll never be anything but a foreigner here
10. Foods I love, like cheese, coffee, and avocados, are so difficult to find and so expensive when you do
But to make up for this, there are at least 10 things I LOVE about China, and these things more than compensate for the daily irritations I mention above: Here they are:
1. How kind many people are to me as a foreigner
2. Eggplant and how good it always tastes here
3. The daily adventures and humor that go along with living as a foreigner in a new place
4. That my purple coat is normal here
5. The convenient transportation system--it's crowded but it's there and it is dependable. I especially love the fast trains!
6. The respect for age that still exists here
7. That I can stare openly and it's not weird--the Chinese do it all the time! It's OK!!
8. The internal logic of parts of the language
9. The beautiful visual poetry the written language makes
10. My sweet and amazing students
