Everywhere but Home Life in Shanghai and on the road in China.

9 July 2012 My Chinese immersion and experience is coming to an end and I am ready to say goodbye this time around. China has so many things that can wear a person out just living daily life. I've shared a few in my past journal entries but now I am going to try to look on the brighter side. What's good about China? 1.Convenient store are cheap and plentiful so they are a great place to grab a cheap lunch, snack, or on-the-go drink. Family Mart, Lawsons, 7eleven, AllDays... 2.Do at your own peril. If you can fit, find a way, get away with, or negotiate your way; noone is going to readily stop you from doing whatever the hell you want. A bit of a recipie for chaos, but looked at on the brightside, it's your look at Chinese freedom compared to the USA world of laws and regulations. 3.Patience. The reason the Chinese people are known for their patience is because of the number of things they have to put up with on a day to day basis. If they get angry, curse, and throw fitting tantrums(which does happen) they would never get through the day. Sign this paper, and this and this, wait here, haggle this, haggle that, push-shove, shouting and yelling because phones really don't work, waiter, waiter, WAITER come here and communicate with this person who doesn't speak the same language...in an overly crowded world you just get used to working with the mass. 4.Dumplings! fried dumplings, steamed dumpling, meat dumplings, seafood dumplings, xialongbao soup dumplings, and veggie dumplings. Serve me more-yum yum yum. 5.carry-ins. If you want a drink at this place, and maybe a snack at this place then you can go to this other place and get your dinner and have the best of all. Few places say no carry-ins(international chains, [cough-cough]) but a Chinese will still take in whatever they've bought from somewhere else. *Reason why you don't see many drink options at Chinese restaurants) 6.Restaurant dining. It's a good and a bad, but on the good, when you order in a restaurant you order 5-10 things off the menu which come as served dishes to share with the entire table. This means you get to try a lot of different foods in one meal, but also makes it hard to go somewhere to eat alone. Solo diners get street food or go to the convenient store. My 80 hours of 1-1 Chinese tutoring has given me the daily life proficiency of talking to taxis, asking for certain items, short orders and service in restaurants, getting directions, and shopping communication. I already know that it is a use it or lose it sorta deal, so hopefully I can continue studies or review here and there to keep the basics up in the front of my mind. Many internation people visiting China from other Asian destinations will commemorate me for living in mainland China because all-in-all, it's one crazy and difficult place to live. Hao-de, Niko