Day 7: Ten Fun Facts about China you may not have known

So as I've been here for about a week now, I have been adjusting to the Chinese life and culture, and I still seem to find hidden treasures every day. Here are some that I found to be quite great and note worthy, enjoy.

1. Babies don't wear diapers, where the poop and pee goes is still a mystery to me. A man was carrying his baby in our stairwell last night and when they started climbing the stairs after passing me, I noticed the baby's bum was bare. There is just a little flap on all of their clothes that the parents lift up when their child needs to do their business, how they know it is that time, another mystery.

2. I fall asleep and wake up every morning to the beautiful and serene sound of loogy haucking. I get to enjoy the whole process as well: the flemy cough, the deep build up in the throat, and finally the climactic sound of it finally exiting one's mouth. Dreamy, right?

3. Toilet paper is not a must have in a restroom. In fact, I have yet to find a bathroom with toilet paper in it. I had to go and buy a bunch of miniature tissue packets to stick in my purse to have on hand when I'm in public and need the restroom.

4. We got jackets from the company that sponsors our program today, and sizes are quite different. Our native coordinator ordered a large for me, and I ended up fitting into a boy's in our group, which was a double XL, talk about a drop in self esteem. Americans are big, end of story. Also, these dreamy jackets are bright orange, so we not only stand out for our looks and obnoxiousness, we are now loud and obnoxious people in matching neon jackets.

5. My hair here grows horizontally, not vertically. It is so stinkin' humid here, and no matter what I do to it, put in it, etc., it always turns into a fro within the first hour I'm outside. Jenna actually compared my hair to Hermione Granger from Harry Potter the other day, if that helps give a better visual.

6. Almost every moving vehicle you see here is either a bus or a scooter. Everyone drives scooters. They also drive them into convenience stores, yes, we witnessed it. Also, they should win an award for most people fit on a scooter. On our ride into the city, we saw a family of five cruisin' through town on one scooter, it's not an uncommon thing here.

7. The Chinese believe that if someone you are speaking to would not approve of or like the truth you're speaking, that it is ok to tell them a "white lie" in order to better the outcome and keep the peace. It's actually called "Saving Face" and we have had many encounters with this, actually. Kind of hilarious.

8. Cars DO NOT stop for you if you're crossing the street, there is no yielding to pedestrians, pedestrians have the right of way thing here. Fortunately, I always look both ways, but two other girls in our group nearly got taken out the first night we were here. Yikes.

9. Every time we see a quote that has been translated into English, by either a Chinese person or maybe an online translator, the words are all correct, but the semantics are off. One we see everyday in our supply room says, "Used to change the fate of the details of life cast". Another favorite is, "Cooperate to explore the universe widely learn persistently work".

10. You can find cool hidden surprises in your food served in the cafeteria sometimes: chunks of bone, slabs of fat, fish bones still in the fish, etc. However, I think that the winner of all the surprises was the duck bill that another teacher in our group found today. He found nostrils, teeth, and all that tasty goodness wrapped up inside.

Hope that you enjoyed that :)