Things I Forgot I Love About China

• The Chinese are the nicest people in the world.  Chinese people are really great at living in large groups.  They avoid conflict like the plague, which means that you never hear, "No offense, but..." or "In my opinion..." and rarely is there a pointed comment.  They also bend over backwards to communicate accurately with you, random strangers extend themselves to help you, and they smile all the time.  It's just so nice!
• Cicadas.  The sound of these insects remind me of promises of restoration, the passing of seasons and hope.  Every time I hear them, I'm encouraged that there is a future ahead.
• Students turning in papers.  (This IS actually specific to China.)  When students turn in papers, they're obsessively neat about it.  They're always face-up, stacked in the same direction.  American students might try throwing their homework in the general area of the turn-in basket.  If you ask, Chinese students will even organize their homework according to their student numbers.  Grading bliss!
• Squattie-potties.  Ergonomically satisfying.  The End.*
• A stranger in a crowd.  There are different kinds of anonymity in your home country and in a foreign country.  In America, I'm no one special, and I blend in without question.  However, anyone at any point in time might start up a conversation.  In China, I'm ALWAYS a novelty, but rarely does anyone initiate a conversation with me.  I can be surrounded on all sides by hundreds of people, and be socially alone.  It's kind of nice in a way.  I'm present and involved in the community, but my thoughts and reflections are free to roam wherever they want.  It's nice.
• My coffee people.  There's a cafe in my building that I frequent often.  The people there are just fantastic, and I consider them personal friends.  They seemed just as excited to see me as I was to see them, even though I've only bought one cup of coffee so far.... Points to me for kicking a habit!
• Common touch.  People are always bumping into one another here.  This was something I absolutely hated when I first got to China, but now I love it.  It says, 'You're one of the crowd, you belong here.'
• Attentive listening.  When a Chinese person is interested in what you're saying.  They lock their eyes on your face and don't hardly move.  They are completely engrossed in your words and try to suck all possible meaning from it.  It's amazingly respectful and refreshing.
• Common sense problem-solving.  "Oh, you want this kind of cell phone case, with that kind of wrap?  Here, I'll glue it together."  ...that fix was way too easy to have occurred to me.
• FOOD.  American food is awesome, but there are some things that will simply never be the same unless you buy it from that one vendor one that one street corner.

*Pun really really intended

Funny New Habits...

• Hometown:  I've never used the word 'hometown' so often.  It's SO COMMON here.
• Avoiding contractions:  Expats naturally stop using contractions when talking to the Chinese.
• "It's okay":  Hao hao hao....everything is okay, always, no matter what....
• Na li?:  If someone pays me a compliment, the polite response is 'Where?' as if I didn't know the compliment were aimed at me.  I like it a lot.
• Shuffling feet: Confident, planted strides are a good way to slip on wet marble and die.
• Blocking/pushing:  Lines? What are those for? Everyone just pushes to where they need to go, like salmon jumping up a fish ladder*
• Passport 24/7:  ID-checking is a common occurrence, so I carry my passport all the time.
• The many uses of packing tape:  Hanging decorations? Broken radiator? Leaky sink? Irritating neighbor?  Packing tape.
• Walking in tandem:  Gal-pals are more physically affectionate here, more demonstrative.  You become really good at walking in sync with one another.
• Lame handshakes:  A firm handshake in China is perceived as brash, commanding, or suggestive.  Some men still have a hard time shaking a woman's hand.  My handshake has adapted to the climate (all things, to all people, right?).  My grasp is currently settled somewhere between "My fingers don't really work" and "Eew, I don't want to touch you."
• We've been told that 'laowai' means 'good old foreigner.'  Rumor has it that 'laowai' could possibly mean 'foreign devil' instead. =D

* The crowds of people always makes me think of salmon because everyone is always bumping into one another.

A friend lent me a book when I got here called, "101 Stories for Foreigners to Understand Chinese People," by Yi S. Ellis and Bryan D. Ellis.  I wish there was a book like this for every culture.  It's already helped me understand soooo many things better.  I've avoided a couple of faux pas, and shown cultural savvy (a couple of times) because of this book.

If you do business with Chinese people, teach Chinese students or are just curious, I highly suggest you read this book.  It's simple and entertaining - I downed it in two days.

ISBN 978-7-5382-8109-5