about everything pretty much
So I have my tickets out of here for the first week in June, and I had some good news related to that. I decided to check to see if the changes were on my e-ticket page, and they were. I also discovered that I'm allowed three 23 kg bags! Thank you, thank you BA!!! That totally helps me out as I have tons of stuff I have managed to get over the last 2 years, now I can take the majority with me rather than sending it in the post. The only bad thing is I have to buy luggage from Heathrow to Edinburgh, but I was going to spend that amount of money on 1 extra bag from Shanghai to home anyways. So basically I get a free bag worth 23 kg!
Not only do I get three 23 kg bags, but I also get 2 pieces of carry on luggage which is also fantastic. Now I don't have to wonder what I'm going to do with my laptop. Things are seriously falling into place with my luggage situation. Things are working in my favour for once!
So what am I doing? I'm packing! Yup, I'm getting ready, looking at how all this stuff will fit into one extra bag. So far, I've managed to fit pretty much everything in it, but if you know me you know I have a tendency to pack my luggage at least 5 times before I'm satisfied. I have a month basically to sort it all out on that front.
I've also finished writing up my 4 exams to be given to the students. I have to prepare two different copies of each exam (with answers), then one is chosen by the Dean of the department. I have no choice in which one will be picked which I don't agree with considering I am the teacher. I think they check because I could have put some crazy thing in it like a question about sex, or some other question that they think is morally wrong.
The only thing I have left to do is to finish teaching. That will take me about a week or so, then I have about 1-2 weeks of review which I'm hoping won't take that long, but you never know. This will basically bring me to the exam days, then I have to correct 100 8 page exams. I like giving real exams, Western exams, exams where you think and support it. Unlike Chinese exams where you memorize the material, then forget it, never to use it or understand it for the most part.
Then once all of that is finished, all I have to do is pack up the rest of my stuff, clean the flat, and leave! I'm starting to get restless as everything is basically done, and all I have to do is bring things to a close.
30/04/2008
25/04/2008
Holding onto the last bit of power
I'm in a very small Chinese city, 300 000 Chinese people to 20 foreigners. This province is in southern China, and known to be a very poor province. Everything is very traditional, and they resist change, and development at every turn.
Lately I've been hearing some crazy stories from the students. Stories where I just roll my eyes, and shake my head at the stupidity of it all.
The University itself is surrounded by a wall first off. Every Chinese University is like this, they believe in keeping students in. I'm living in the girls dormitory section, it too has a wall around it with glass shards on the top in case someone tries to climb over. The gate is locked every night at 11pm I won't even bother going into the hassle if you are late.
The powers that be, or the "leaders" as the students call these men who simply love dictating just because they can. They have come up with some pretty strange things in the attempts to keep hold of their power before change comes, and forces their traditional thinking out.
Each morning the music plays at 6:15am to get everyone up, the english majors and the international trade majors (no on else though!) have to be up at the front of their teaching building by 6:30am to do "morning exercises." Now this whole thing takes 20-30 min as I can figure out. They are like robots, long lines of students, each performing in unison. By exercise I'm talking about stretching. No running, nothing else, just stretching. (click on the pic above to see the excitement on their faces!)
After this they have to do their morning reading which should be at least 30 mins long. So where is breakfast you might wonder or cleaning yourself up? Well breakfast is on the fly if you managed to clean yourself up before having to go to class for 8am. Morning reading is a complete waste of time I have figured out. I ask the students frequently "did you remember anything you read?" "No" "Did you understand anything you read?" "No" so why bother?
The students are out by the side of the pond reading thing such as "the cat ran away" "the cat, the cat, the cat, the cat" "ran ran ran" "away away away" "the cat cat cat ran away away" This is morning reading, it drives me nuts when I have to walk by. Who cares where the damn cat cat cat is is??
The students live in rooms with 3/4/5/6/7 other people. No heat, no fan, a room simply made of cement, with bunk beds. So when it is 5C outside, you simply put on more clothes. The room itself reminds you of bare army barracks. No room is bigger than your typical Western living room. There is no hot water, whatever the ground water temperature is, that is the temperature of the water. Shower you might wonder? Well you have to go to a different building halfway across campus, to have a communal shower with about 100 other girls or boys.
There are inspections, oh yes! The more I look at it, the more like the army it is, but without the benefits that can be accrued. There can be no posters on the wall unless they are educational. So no cartoons, no pop stars, no celebrities. If you have one of these on your wall, you loose marks. Which ultimately means if you have a scholarship you could lose it. I'm wondering what does having a clean room, no fun posters on the wall actually do? The only thing I can come up with is "no distractions from memorizing your 150page book for the next exam."
Now think this is bad. A lot of students don't live in the dorm, they live outside the campus. Problem is they are not allowed to do this as it is against the rules of the University. They will get into trouble, the University will yell at them, punished etc etc etc. So they have introduced a new thing, random bed checks! Bed checks are made at 9:45pm!! 24 yr old students have to be "home" by 9:45pm!! My god if you're not in bed/your room come these bed checks, be prepared to be lynched by your teacher then by the head of your department.
The campus where I teach is only for the first years, cause you don't want the older students to corrupt them. You think the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year students have it bad at least they can go out. The first years are basically in prison. They have to stay on campus all week. They are only allowed out from 6pm Friday till 7pm Sunday. Don't forget the gate closes at 10pm on these nights. After that, you're locked in until the following Friday. Again, there is that wall around the campus with guards at the front gate. You want to get out, you better have a note from your head teacher, otherwise you're simply pointed back up the drive.
I'm so glad that I am not a student here. This is a typical University with all it's crazy rules, and regulations that make no sense what so ever.
21/04/2008
Dental destiny and the hot iron complex
Today I'm getting my wisdom tooth out which is fine in itself as I've had this done 2 times already so I know the drill (sorry no pun intended!), but I'm a little nervous.
I found this dentist through my boss. I told him I wanted the best dentist in the city, in the best dental hospital, so this is who I received. I went down to visit with him last Wednesday,and I must say he's competent enough. He did all the usual stuff my "english" speaking dentist does when you first sit down in the chair.
At first he couldn't find anything wrong, and wondered what the problem was, he decided to take an x-ray which showed the problem of my upper left wisdom tooth pushing the one beside it. This has caused the rest of my teeth to shift a little too, and I know this because I used to have braces so I'm very aware of my teeth,. This is why I went to him in the first place cause I knew something had changed, and I knew it was my wisdom tooth cause I kept having these awful headaches. In the end, he agreed with me that it has to come out. He wanted to do it right then and there!!!
Now I'm the type of person that has to think about things before I do it, so I can be mentally prepared. There was no way I would have been able to do it right then and there. So we agreed to M0nday (today) and he wanted to put me asleep! Ahhhhhhh! I told the student (who was translating for me as the woman in charge of the foreign teachers Gina was busy) that there was no way I was being put to sleep. So they agreed to simply freeze me like my other two teeth were.
This phobia come from my mother (thanks mom!!!) as when my sister was born she was breech so my mother had to have a caesarian done. My mother tells me that they put her to sleep (this is almost 27 yrs ago now), but she wasn't fully asleep! She could feel them cutting into her and it was like being opened by a hot iron. So from hearing this story a fair few times in my life, I have now developed a phobia about anesthetic.
The other thing I'm worried about is the fact it's in Chinese! You don't realize how comfortable your own language is until something like this happens. Now Gina will be coming with me this morning so she'll be translating. I myself do know enough Chinese to get me through pretty much any day. I definitely know the word of "pain" so I should be safe enough, but I'm still a little iffy about the whole thing.
Anyways I'll update this when I get back from having this stupid tooth taken out. I was totally hoping that I could make it home for them to do it there!
The process was quite strange, but when looking at it they were doing what they would have done had I been asleep. First off they froze my mouth, and I told them they might have to do that a few times during the process (3 times in total) as I know I metabolize it quite quickly. Then while they were waiting for it to be ready, I had betadine (which is liquid surgical scrub) put around the inside of my mouth twice, and around my lips, mouth, and nose. Quite strange! Then I had a surgical drape put over my face, so I couldn't see anything which I found a little disconcerting, but I got over it.
The whole process took longer than the other two times as my tooth had 2 hooks on the roots. So it didn't want to go anywhere as it was quite happy anchored where it was. I had my jaw hammered several times, but in the end the damn thing came out. The doctor's exclamation "it's a big one" and I said to the hygienist, "it's easier having a baby!"
Anyways unlike the West where it would be considered medical waste, I was able to take it home. So I'm going to brush it, and keep it cause I'm weird like that!
I found this dentist through my boss. I told him I wanted the best dentist in the city, in the best dental hospital, so this is who I received. I went down to visit with him last Wednesday,and I must say he's competent enough. He did all the usual stuff my "english" speaking dentist does when you first sit down in the chair.
At first he couldn't find anything wrong, and wondered what the problem was, he decided to take an x-ray which showed the problem of my upper left wisdom tooth pushing the one beside it. This has caused the rest of my teeth to shift a little too, and I know this because I used to have braces so I'm very aware of my teeth,. This is why I went to him in the first place cause I knew something had changed, and I knew it was my wisdom tooth cause I kept having these awful headaches. In the end, he agreed with me that it has to come out. He wanted to do it right then and there!!!
Now I'm the type of person that has to think about things before I do it, so I can be mentally prepared. There was no way I would have been able to do it right then and there. So we agreed to M0nday (today) and he wanted to put me asleep! Ahhhhhhh! I told the student (who was translating for me as the woman in charge of the foreign teachers Gina was busy) that there was no way I was being put to sleep. So they agreed to simply freeze me like my other two teeth were.
This phobia come from my mother (thanks mom!!!) as when my sister was born she was breech so my mother had to have a caesarian done. My mother tells me that they put her to sleep (this is almost 27 yrs ago now), but she wasn't fully asleep! She could feel them cutting into her and it was like being opened by a hot iron. So from hearing this story a fair few times in my life, I have now developed a phobia about anesthetic.
The other thing I'm worried about is the fact it's in Chinese! You don't realize how comfortable your own language is until something like this happens. Now Gina will be coming with me this morning so she'll be translating. I myself do know enough Chinese to get me through pretty much any day. I definitely know the word of "pain" so I should be safe enough, but I'm still a little iffy about the whole thing.
Anyways I'll update this when I get back from having this stupid tooth taken out. I was totally hoping that I could make it home for them to do it there!
The process was quite strange, but when looking at it they were doing what they would have done had I been asleep. First off they froze my mouth, and I told them they might have to do that a few times during the process (3 times in total) as I know I metabolize it quite quickly. Then while they were waiting for it to be ready, I had betadine (which is liquid surgical scrub) put around the inside of my mouth twice, and around my lips, mouth, and nose. Quite strange! Then I had a surgical drape put over my face, so I couldn't see anything which I found a little disconcerting, but I got over it.
The whole process took longer than the other two times as my tooth had 2 hooks on the roots. So it didn't want to go anywhere as it was quite happy anchored where it was. I had my jaw hammered several times, but in the end the damn thing came out. The doctor's exclamation "it's a big one" and I said to the hygienist, "it's easier having a baby!"
Anyways unlike the West where it would be considered medical waste, I was able to take it home. So I'm going to brush it, and keep it cause I'm weird like that!
19/04/2008
I should have known
Yes hindsight is a good thing. Too bad I have done this 'mistake' a few times, when will I ever learn??
What have I done? Easy, I didn't pretend that China is great, Chinese people are wonderful, that I am Pro China. Every time I give my opinion, and it is a very watered down one told very tactfully, I get abuse.
The longer I stay here the more I realize that they are 'brainwashed' to some degree to believe that everything about their country is great. They grow up being force fed to believe these things, and to not dispute them. I understand that ones country is important, but the difference is if in the West, you don't like something be that the government, your job, a person etc. you can freely say so. Here, if it has anything to do with China, Chinese people, the government the only thing you can say is "how great it is."
I teach a class on Saturday afternoon, on my own time, with no pay because I believe the students need it. I have no problem giving my time like this for anything. We were discussing how from my point of view Chinese teachers abuse their power, and that Chinese students don't really respect their teachers, they more than likely fear them. A lot of the students agreed with these statements, and I went on to give many examples I have heard, or dealt with personally.
We then get side tracked a little, and talk about me, and my opinion about the country. Now I have been verbally abused by Chinese people because I'm different. I have been treated badly because I'm a foreigner. I have more stories about problems/bad situations than I do about good things. I was discussing these situations with the students, and one student asked me "name some good things about China." I had to think for a moment, and I did give various examples. Because I didn't name 1 billion reasons, and had far fewer than the bad examples, the student decided to argue with me. Not a problem, I don't mind debating or anything like that in fact, I relish it.
They are not used to being allowed to say these things or hearing these things. Mind I think sometimes they get angry because it is the truth, and they know it personally, but they don't like foreigners telling them their downfalls. So for telling them that I've had not so nice experiences, I get told that I should "change my thinking." I'm the one that is abused for simply being me, therefore I must change because it is my fault.
Just because I don't tell 1 billion happy stories doesn't mean to say that everything in China is bad, they don't seem to understand that concept. Apparently I should only be telling good stories. I apparently have to stop thinking about the bad things, and only think of the good things. If I did that, I'd have about 6 things to think about (if that!), but yet while I think about these 6 things while walking down the street I have people talking about me, staring at me, pointing at me, discussing how fat I am, sneering at me, or spitting in my direction (they do that a lot because they know foreigners hate it).
What really gets me is that I'm the one at fault, and gets yelled at because of how badly I've been treated. I have to defend myself repeatedly in this situation, and I'm getting tired of doing it. So I'm not going to give my opinion anymore, what's the point? I'm just going to be yelled at, told to change my thinking, and having people offer me things such as videos etc to watch to help out on that point.
I guess the old adage of "the truth hurts" actually does, because if it didn't I think I wouldn't have to defend myself quite so frequently.
What have I done? Easy, I didn't pretend that China is great, Chinese people are wonderful, that I am Pro China. Every time I give my opinion, and it is a very watered down one told very tactfully, I get abuse.
The longer I stay here the more I realize that they are 'brainwashed' to some degree to believe that everything about their country is great. They grow up being force fed to believe these things, and to not dispute them. I understand that ones country is important, but the difference is if in the West, you don't like something be that the government, your job, a person etc. you can freely say so. Here, if it has anything to do with China, Chinese people, the government the only thing you can say is "how great it is."
I teach a class on Saturday afternoon, on my own time, with no pay because I believe the students need it. I have no problem giving my time like this for anything. We were discussing how from my point of view Chinese teachers abuse their power, and that Chinese students don't really respect their teachers, they more than likely fear them. A lot of the students agreed with these statements, and I went on to give many examples I have heard, or dealt with personally.
We then get side tracked a little, and talk about me, and my opinion about the country. Now I have been verbally abused by Chinese people because I'm different. I have been treated badly because I'm a foreigner. I have more stories about problems/bad situations than I do about good things. I was discussing these situations with the students, and one student asked me "name some good things about China." I had to think for a moment, and I did give various examples. Because I didn't name 1 billion reasons, and had far fewer than the bad examples, the student decided to argue with me. Not a problem, I don't mind debating or anything like that in fact, I relish it.
They are not used to being allowed to say these things or hearing these things. Mind I think sometimes they get angry because it is the truth, and they know it personally, but they don't like foreigners telling them their downfalls. So for telling them that I've had not so nice experiences, I get told that I should "change my thinking." I'm the one that is abused for simply being me, therefore I must change because it is my fault.
Just because I don't tell 1 billion happy stories doesn't mean to say that everything in China is bad, they don't seem to understand that concept. Apparently I should only be telling good stories. I apparently have to stop thinking about the bad things, and only think of the good things. If I did that, I'd have about 6 things to think about (if that!), but yet while I think about these 6 things while walking down the street I have people talking about me, staring at me, pointing at me, discussing how fat I am, sneering at me, or spitting in my direction (they do that a lot because they know foreigners hate it).
What really gets me is that I'm the one at fault, and gets yelled at because of how badly I've been treated. I have to defend myself repeatedly in this situation, and I'm getting tired of doing it. So I'm not going to give my opinion anymore, what's the point? I'm just going to be yelled at, told to change my thinking, and having people offer me things such as videos etc to watch to help out on that point.
I guess the old adage of "the truth hurts" actually does, because if it didn't I think I wouldn't have to defend myself quite so frequently.
Typical clothes of a country child
Okay these are the clothes I was telling you about.
City children's clothes consist of a t-shirt, and trousers with this same split leg. Being a farm child he's allowed to go with less on!
City children's clothes consist of a t-shirt, and trousers with this same split leg. Being a farm child he's allowed to go with less on!
Typical country school classroom
That's my dad, ignore him!
This is a classroom for elementary school kids in a small village. Most students come from this type of educational background
This is a classroom for elementary school kids in a small village. Most students come from this type of educational background
15/04/2008
Things You May or May Not Know
about China that is.
I'm going to describe my life in this small poor city, in a very poor province. None of this is exaggerated (I wish I could say it is), and totally honest about everything. This is the REAL China!
My students ask me frequently why I didn't go to Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong to teach, and my response has always been the same "I wanted to see the real China" and let me tell you I have and then some!
Now in this case I'm the foreigner, and I know life is not going to be the same as in the West. Even though these things bother me, make me angry, frustrate me, I'm actually in the wrong with my initial reactions. Having said that...... let's take a look at what I'm talking about. When I say 'everyone' read that as the vast majority.
Manners
Now I don't know from my Western viewpoint if Chinese people have any. So far I have yet to see any that I as a foreigner would consider appropriate in pretty much any situation.
Spitting: Yes everyone here spits! I don't mean a little more saliva in your mouth and you spit it out, I'm talking gut reaching, lung cleaning spitting to the point where I want to retch. It doesn't matter if you are young, old, a man, a woman, rich, poor, tall or short, pretty much everyone does this. So when you are walking you have to watch out for people spitting anywhere around you as it could hit you, and you have to watch out where you are walking cause who wants to walk in green phlegm?
I have one student that spits like this in my class, not just once a class, but at least 6-8 times during two 45 min periods. It is really disgusting cause I'm trying to ignore it, but how can you?
Urinating in public: yup, they do! Mostly the male population, but I have witnessed a few young girls do this. According to Chinese, babies (anyone under the age of 3) only urinate water, so it is perfectly safe. Huh?? Children here wear trousers that are split up the front and back to make it easier to use the toilet (I'll post a picture) so children when they want to use the toilet, just squat and go! It doesn't matter if it is in the middle of the supermarket where open fruit and vegetables are (I have witnessed this), it doesn't matter if it is in the middle of a store, it doesn't matter if it is in the train or bus. Children go where they like whenever they like.
I wish I could restrict this to very young children, but I can't. I don't know how many times I've been walking or driving by and witnessed a boy between 4-12 urinating on the side of the road into oncoming traffic. I have once been walking up the front steps to the local department store, and here a boy of 10 was urinating down the stairs towards me.
Children aren't the only ones that do this. I have witness older men, anywhere bewtween 40-75, urinating in public even though the public toilet might be 50 feet away.
Urinating in public, okay you say, better than defecating in public. Well I've also witnessed that as well with children 0-4.
picking their nose: Everyone here does it. Again doesn't matter if you are old, young, male, female, rich or poor, they pick their nose. And even worse than picking their nose is what I call 'snotting' which is where you place one finger on one nostril and blow out whatever is in the other nostril, then repeat on the other side. It is a beautiful sight to see this, and what boggles my mind is after they do this, they then take the tissue out, and wipe their nose. Why didn't they just do that in the first place?
Eating: Chinese people are always eating, seriously! They eat with their mouth open, chewing like a cow or pig which not only is it not pretty to look at, but it isn't pretty to listen to either. Apparently they have never heard of keeping your mouth closed when eating.
What is worse than this you might ask? Well here is something else about eating. When you go to a restaurant and order say a fish, the fish comes whole with all the bones. So what do you do with those bones? You take a piece, suck the fish off the bones, then proceed to spit the bones directly on to the table, or the floor. This goes for any meat as all meat is not deboned. This could be for anything you don't like, so if you have a chili in your mouth, and don't like it, you simply spit it onto the table. No problem!
Picking faces: I witness this when it is hot out as all the students are out with their boyfriends/girlfriends. So basically I see this 15 times in about a 30 feet walk from one end of the sidewalk to the bridge everyday. If a partner sees something on the other partner's face such as a blemish or dirt, they pick at their partner's face until the offensive item is removed. Not only does this go for the face, this also work for the hair. Even looking up their partner's nose.
This action alone reminds me of monkeys! Where monkeys sit with a partner, and remove bugs from each other's fur. This is the same thing, only in human form.
Obsessions
I don't know what men are obsessed about, other than money, but woman here are obsessed about 3 things; beauty, weight, and getting a rich husband.
Their definition of beauty is strange I think. A lot of girls shave off their eyebrows and pencil them in. Too bad they choose such dark colours, and draw the lines very wide. They end up looking rather clown like. Apparently this is supposed to be beautiful.
They also dress like prostitutes, I wish I could lie about this. Think micro shorts, with hot pink nylons, and cowboy boots/5 inch heels, tight tight shirt that they might as well not be wearing it as it's a second skin, mind they are pretty flat it wouldn't show much anyways (everyone wears padded bras). This is supposed to be beautiful.
Weight is another important issue. I don't know how many of my students have an eating disorder because this is 'normal.' I have been out to lunch, and the person might have 3 slivers of meat, a spoonful of soup, 3 pieces of vegetable,and 5 grains of rice then say they are full. They are always on a diet because their roomates have told them they are too fat, or they are trying to look beautiful. I didn't realize skeletons with flesh were beautiful, the things I learn!
Yup someone has come up to their face and told them they are too fat loose weight. I've had my students do this to me as well quite a few times. Now I'm not thin, nor am I particularly fat (okay I could lose about 10-15 lbs), but on my body frame you wouldn't really notice because I'm good at hiding it! I have been told this directly to my face about 10 times, indirectly about 200,000 times from students or people around the University. Don't get me started!
My body frame is a typical Western body frame, I'm not very tall 5' 6.5" (and yes that half an inch does make a difference!), but compared to the people in this city who are on average 5'2" and have body frames that look like 10 yr old Western children even though they are 18-90, I guess I do look huge aka Fat to them. I'm continually 'tisked' at every time I leave my house by students, other teachers, random uni workers, city people walking through the Uni because according to them, I'm FAT. It gets to the point where I don't want to leave to my house.
So being anorexic and looking like a hooker will get you a rich (controlling) husband! No thanks! I'd rather be fat, dress normal, and have a nice partner.
I can go on and on about this topic, but I'm sure you have other things to do other than read this. As I said, none of this is exaggerated. These are some of the reasons I can't wait to get out of here, 2 years of being verbally abused (I do know enough Chinese!) is not what I call good for an impression.
The good thing is, I can leave, most of these people can't!
I'm going to describe my life in this small poor city, in a very poor province. None of this is exaggerated (I wish I could say it is), and totally honest about everything. This is the REAL China!
My students ask me frequently why I didn't go to Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong to teach, and my response has always been the same "I wanted to see the real China" and let me tell you I have and then some!
Now in this case I'm the foreigner, and I know life is not going to be the same as in the West. Even though these things bother me, make me angry, frustrate me, I'm actually in the wrong with my initial reactions. Having said that...... let's take a look at what I'm talking about. When I say 'everyone' read that as the vast majority.
Manners
Now I don't know from my Western viewpoint if Chinese people have any. So far I have yet to see any that I as a foreigner would consider appropriate in pretty much any situation.
Spitting: Yes everyone here spits! I don't mean a little more saliva in your mouth and you spit it out, I'm talking gut reaching, lung cleaning spitting to the point where I want to retch. It doesn't matter if you are young, old, a man, a woman, rich, poor, tall or short, pretty much everyone does this. So when you are walking you have to watch out for people spitting anywhere around you as it could hit you, and you have to watch out where you are walking cause who wants to walk in green phlegm?
I have one student that spits like this in my class, not just once a class, but at least 6-8 times during two 45 min periods. It is really disgusting cause I'm trying to ignore it, but how can you?
Urinating in public: yup, they do! Mostly the male population, but I have witnessed a few young girls do this. According to Chinese, babies (anyone under the age of 3) only urinate water, so it is perfectly safe. Huh?? Children here wear trousers that are split up the front and back to make it easier to use the toilet (I'll post a picture) so children when they want to use the toilet, just squat and go! It doesn't matter if it is in the middle of the supermarket where open fruit and vegetables are (I have witnessed this), it doesn't matter if it is in the middle of a store, it doesn't matter if it is in the train or bus. Children go where they like whenever they like.
I wish I could restrict this to very young children, but I can't. I don't know how many times I've been walking or driving by and witnessed a boy between 4-12 urinating on the side of the road into oncoming traffic. I have once been walking up the front steps to the local department store, and here a boy of 10 was urinating down the stairs towards me.
Children aren't the only ones that do this. I have witness older men, anywhere bewtween 40-75, urinating in public even though the public toilet might be 50 feet away.
Urinating in public, okay you say, better than defecating in public. Well I've also witnessed that as well with children 0-4.
picking their nose: Everyone here does it. Again doesn't matter if you are old, young, male, female, rich or poor, they pick their nose. And even worse than picking their nose is what I call 'snotting' which is where you place one finger on one nostril and blow out whatever is in the other nostril, then repeat on the other side. It is a beautiful sight to see this, and what boggles my mind is after they do this, they then take the tissue out, and wipe their nose. Why didn't they just do that in the first place?
Eating: Chinese people are always eating, seriously! They eat with their mouth open, chewing like a cow or pig which not only is it not pretty to look at, but it isn't pretty to listen to either. Apparently they have never heard of keeping your mouth closed when eating.
What is worse than this you might ask? Well here is something else about eating. When you go to a restaurant and order say a fish, the fish comes whole with all the bones. So what do you do with those bones? You take a piece, suck the fish off the bones, then proceed to spit the bones directly on to the table, or the floor. This goes for any meat as all meat is not deboned. This could be for anything you don't like, so if you have a chili in your mouth, and don't like it, you simply spit it onto the table. No problem!
Picking faces: I witness this when it is hot out as all the students are out with their boyfriends/girlfriends. So basically I see this 15 times in about a 30 feet walk from one end of the sidewalk to the bridge everyday. If a partner sees something on the other partner's face such as a blemish or dirt, they pick at their partner's face until the offensive item is removed. Not only does this go for the face, this also work for the hair. Even looking up their partner's nose.
This action alone reminds me of monkeys! Where monkeys sit with a partner, and remove bugs from each other's fur. This is the same thing, only in human form.
Obsessions
I don't know what men are obsessed about, other than money, but woman here are obsessed about 3 things; beauty, weight, and getting a rich husband.
Their definition of beauty is strange I think. A lot of girls shave off their eyebrows and pencil them in. Too bad they choose such dark colours, and draw the lines very wide. They end up looking rather clown like. Apparently this is supposed to be beautiful.
They also dress like prostitutes, I wish I could lie about this. Think micro shorts, with hot pink nylons, and cowboy boots/5 inch heels, tight tight shirt that they might as well not be wearing it as it's a second skin, mind they are pretty flat it wouldn't show much anyways (everyone wears padded bras). This is supposed to be beautiful.
Weight is another important issue. I don't know how many of my students have an eating disorder because this is 'normal.' I have been out to lunch, and the person might have 3 slivers of meat, a spoonful of soup, 3 pieces of vegetable,and 5 grains of rice then say they are full. They are always on a diet because their roomates have told them they are too fat, or they are trying to look beautiful. I didn't realize skeletons with flesh were beautiful, the things I learn!
Yup someone has come up to their face and told them they are too fat loose weight. I've had my students do this to me as well quite a few times. Now I'm not thin, nor am I particularly fat (okay I could lose about 10-15 lbs), but on my body frame you wouldn't really notice because I'm good at hiding it! I have been told this directly to my face about 10 times, indirectly about 200,000 times from students or people around the University. Don't get me started!
My body frame is a typical Western body frame, I'm not very tall 5' 6.5" (and yes that half an inch does make a difference!), but compared to the people in this city who are on average 5'2" and have body frames that look like 10 yr old Western children even though they are 18-90, I guess I do look huge aka Fat to them. I'm continually 'tisked' at every time I leave my house by students, other teachers, random uni workers, city people walking through the Uni because according to them, I'm FAT. It gets to the point where I don't want to leave to my house.
So being anorexic and looking like a hooker will get you a rich (controlling) husband! No thanks! I'd rather be fat, dress normal, and have a nice partner.
I can go on and on about this topic, but I'm sure you have other things to do other than read this. As I said, none of this is exaggerated. These are some of the reasons I can't wait to get out of here, 2 years of being verbally abused (I do know enough Chinese!) is not what I call good for an impression.
The good thing is, I can leave, most of these people can't!
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