September & October in review

TEN THINGS I MISS:

1.       Signs in English.  (Though admittedly Chinglish is a highly entertaining alternative)

2.       Bathrooms that have a toilet you can sit on and not just a hole or communal trough in the ground

3.       A regular working schedule and not having to make up the days off you get for national holidays

4.       Microbrews, especially IPAs; good wine, stinky cheese and specialty chocolate

5.       Blue sky, fresh air and Autumn in the Pacific Northwest

6.       Heated dryers (the dryers in China just spin your clothes so they’re merely damp; you then hang dry them.  The problem in Hefei is that although it may be 90 degrees out, it’s so humid that the clothes don’t actually dry and then you put on your ‘clean’ clothes only to discover they smell suspiciously like mildew.  As it gets colder out, there is no sun and thus no heat to dry the clothes.)

7.       I miss knowing where to go when I need to buy a specific item

8.       I miss having a sofa, coffee table and big screen TV.  And I miss Glee!

9.       I miss being able to sit down on the bus

10.   I miss my friends and family


TEN THINGS I LOVE ABOUT CHINA:

1.       Street vendor food and open air markets, especially the one in downtown Hefei by the old Pagoda

2.       Neon lights at night

3.       Chinglish

4.       Riding my new-old bike

5.       I love that students have to do eye exercises (Schools literally take 5 minutes several times a day for the students to massage and rest their eyes.) 

6.       Chinese fashion: this includes absurdly ornate women’s shoes, bedazzled men and women’s shirts, tacky patterns and embroidery on just about anything, name brand knock-offs, and socks: socks and sandals, socks and nice open toed shoes, layered socks.  They love their socks. 

7.       KTV (Karaoke TV, there are literally hundreds of them around town; some are very extravagant)

8.       Men rolling up their shirts to keep cool (pot bellies are not to be ashamed of here)

9.       Making Chinese friends and having them give you a taste of real Chinese culture

10.   First pay day!