Reflecting on the Chinese culture shock .....

Last night, I started reading a new book - 'Lost on Planet China' by Maarten Troost. Now, I knew that it would be a funny book (his previous book is called 'The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific and Amy recommended it highly) but I was not prepared to be laughing hysterically and wanting to share snippets of the book with anyone who would listen (rather like you Amy!). But the point of telling you about this book is not just to encourage you to read it (please do - it is a much more professionally written and funny account of the kind of things that we are all experiencing here in China!), but it actually got me thinking about the bizarre country that I've moved to.

After beginning to read this book, I have come to the conclustion that I am fully adjusted to life in China. Despite the initial culture shock of moving to this strange but amazing country, I'm fully settled. I thought I'd write you a little list of how I know this. I no longer flinch at or am baffled by the following things:

• Men and women spitting great globs of phlegm on the ground, whether it be on a bus, in a restaurant or on the street.
• When people repeatedly honk their horn at me on whilst I ride my bicycle.
• Personal trainers who pop their pimples in the gym mirrors.
• Walking into a restaurant to find some of the waiters asleep on the couches.
• Riding a bike without a helmet.
• Crossing the road at a zebra crossing only to find that no one will stop for you.
• Traffic that obeys a minimal set of rules.
• Smoking in places despite there being an obvious 'No Smoking' sign.
• Food on a stick - anything on a stick in China is good, apparently.
• Some Chinese restaurants that refuse to serve you a bowl of steamed rice to accompany a meal.
• The fact that many things are not built to last here.
• People staring into my supermarket trolley at Metro or Auchen.
• Women holding babies in the middle of the footpath while they have a wee or a poo.
• Running a red light on my bike whilst frantically sounding my bell.
• The lack of blue skies and sunny days (okay, so maybe I'm not over this one yet!).
• The amount of people and 'stuff' that fits onto a bicycle or a scooter.
• Shrink wrapped chicken feet and other body parts for sale in the 7Eleven.
• Chinese queuing - Why line up when you can use your elbows and beat your way to the front of the line to sit in your pre-assigned seat?
• Fireworks at random times.
• The unhygenic state of squat toilets, particularly the 'trough' at bus and train stations.
• Women wearing quilted pajamas in the street.

So, now I'm over the culture shock, maybe it's time I expanded my Mandarin vocabulary! Add that to my 'to do' list - Mandarin lessons here I come.