Only in China....

I haven't blogged in the longest time. And so much has happened since then. Every day here is a new day, seeing new things, trying new things.. learning more about China.. Every day, I catch glimpses of "Only in China" moments.... it's these mind-boggling sights that are really not 正常 'normal' that cause my friends and I to stare for a moment, trying to process what we saw in our minds, and then we look at each other and say, "Only in China, only in China!"

And it's moments or sights like...
- Kids in Crotchless pants. (My tutor thought that kids all around the world wore pants like that, Annika and I definitely burst her bubble on that one)
- Kids in Crotchless pants, peeing in a drain or in bushes in a public area... by public area, I mean like right in the middle of the street...
- Road cleaning people sweeping water with their huge brooms to the side of the street. Sweeping water, like it's a very normal thing...
- People standing in the middle of the road with cars whizzing past them, waiting for that right split-second moment to dash across without getting hit.
- What really surprised me in Beijing is the extent of PDA here.. public displays of attention is really prevalent. (listen to me talk.. haha) Couples have their hands all over each other in subways, when crossing the street, in dark alleys, and of course, you cannot miss out in Peking University. There are so many couples on campus, it almost makes it seem like PKU is the place where you are most likely to meet your significant other. It's so weird. From 9pm onwards, walking into the SouthWest gate to our dorm, you walk past this lane where Chinese couples hang out and the girl sits on her boyfriend's lap (baby style). Or they'll be just hugging each other for the longest time by the sidewalk without saying anything... Or, couples will just be making out.. all along this sidewalk. It's the weirdest thing.
- Then there's always that scene on campus that you come across... the Chinese girl screaming at her boyfriend, while he has his head hung low, not saying a single word to her. Even better, the scene of a Chinese girl screaming at her boyfriend, while Hitting him. How can you not stare, right?
- Steph and I were walking through this underground tunnel while changing trains, and there were cleaners mopping the walls of the tunnel. Not just wiping with cloths, they were mopping the walls. The guy walking in front of us puts his hand out to touch the 'clean' wall and then proceeds to smell his hand.. Steph and I just burst out laughing. Who does that..? Smelling the wall?
- Oh oh, and then while walking back to campus, this man walking in the opposite direction of us stops, and lets out a loud huge fart, while we walked past him. That was really very gross.
- This doesn't happen to me.. but my Caucasian American friends always get Chinese people who come up to them wanting to take pictures with them. Always. Not gonna lie, sometimes I secretly wish Chinese people thought I was a celebrity too. Being a Caucasian here, not only gives you automatic celebrity status.. you also have double standards that work in your favor. You get into certain clubs in Beijing for free... you will most likely not be turned down when you show up at a busy restaurant asking for a table... you will also most likely be able to get Chinese people to buy you alcohol when at a bar or club. Yeah, us Asians... we don't get anything.

Isn't China just the most entertaining place ever? I think so...