Crazy Things About China

So, just thought I would share with you some things that I have noticed / experienced in the first few days of being here.

* The street sweeper trucks play the Happy Birthday tune while driving up and down the streets (this starts promptly at 7am every morning)

* The same street sweeper truck sprays tons of water on the streets to "contain all the dust" yet doesn't care if you are in the line of fire

* Everyone drives like a maniac here (worse than when I was in Colombia); they will drive down the middle of two lanes just to get in front of another car - yet I haven't seen any accidents so far

* While the Chinese people are very nice, they have no qualms about pushing in front of you in line at the store or jumping in a taxi that you just flagged down

* Instead of going to the car wash, the car wash comes to you - there are men with water tanks on the back of their bikes that wash cars in our apartment complex all the time, and they look like they just came from the dealership

* The only children that you will find at the playground or outside playing are babies and toddlers since the other children are studying most of the time

* Baby and toddler clothing are split bottom pants so that kids can go to the bathroom easier

* Being an American you get stared at everywhere you go

* Even when they realize that you can't speak Mandarin they still speak to you in their language nonstop and even faster

So, there are just a few tidbits of things I have discovered so far. I am sure that I will have plenty more to share with you in the next few months.

To update you as well - I am now officially in my own apartment. It is a 2 bedroom / 1 bath (it was the same price as a 1 bedroom) and is located on the 8th floor (the number 8 is a lucky number for the Chinese). So, anytime you all want to visit I have a spare room for you. I have posted some pictures of my apartment for you to see (click the picture of the sunset to the right to access the photos). I am calling these the before pictures. The Chinese like to put crazy colors together such as my yellow couch, with a purple table and chairs in the eating area, which are both located in the same room. Since there are so many fabric markets here that specialize in re-upholstering furniture for really cheap prices I plan on changing out some colors over the next few months, as well as re-arranging some furniture too. When I am finished I will post some new pictures.

Well, that's it from here for now. I am still loving being here and finding my niche to make a difference in this place. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.