Things I love about China...
- The laid back approach to things getting done. England is so dependent on routines, schedules, structures... but guess what? Things still get achieved without such rigid structure!
- The friendliness of the locals. No where back home would you get treated with so much respect just for being foreign. Free drinks, people taking photos with you, people bending over backwards to make sure you are enjoying yourself and wanting to be your friend. At home I get so frustrated with people who come to England and can't speak the language, which makes me feel guilty now I'm here in that exact situation, especially when the locals here are so good with handling our poor communication skills (even if we do occasionally end up with the wrong food or end up lost because of it).
- The food. I knew it would be, but it's so different to the Chinese food you get at home... I haven't seen a single resturant serving battered chicken balls, and prawn crackers are actually pretty hard to find. Food here isn't greasy, stodgy or unhealthy, it's so delicious. Dumplings covered in peanut sauce, fried noodles, soup, sticks of barbequed meat... I eat the same meals again and again and again and I haven't got bored of any of it because it's all so tasty. I just hope and pray I can get hold of some dumplings when I get back home... the addiction has got pretty serious.
- My students. So amazing. They work so hard and are so dedicated, even the really young ones. 7 days a week school for a lot of them, but they never complain. And they're so cuteeeee (if I haven't already mentioned this 10000 times)
- How cheap everything is. A massive meal for 50p. Eat in a restaurant for about £2. Bottle of coke for 30p. Get a taxi for an hour or so for about £5. Or a bus is 30p. Western food is probably the most expensive thing... a KFC will set you back about £3.
...Things I don't love so much about China
- The spitting. I don't think I'll ever get used to it. Everywhere you go (resturants and public transport included) you will always hear a lot of people coughing up things from deep down below and spitting it out on the floor. The worst experience of all is hearing someone do this from a balcony as you walk underneath, when you can do nothing but hope and pray it doesn't land on you (NEVER look up).
- Lack of queues. ANYWHERE. It goes against everything I know as a westerner to not queue for things. I'm starting to get the hang of just pushing your way in for things, but for the first weeks I was definitely standing at the back of the non-existent lunch queue for ages waiting for someone to let me get in to get my food.
- Squat toilets. Enough said.
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