Crazy China Drivers

From the moment I got here, I knew China was very different.

It began with the car ride from the airport to my apartment.

I thought I was going to die.

 

No one follows traffic laws here.

Traffic signals are more like polite suggestions.

Suggestions that no one follows.

 

Cars regularly weave in and out of traffic, trying to get to their destination as fast as possible.

 

I was told that cars here are constantly having two things fixes: the breaks and the horn.

My first ride in a taxi reminded me way too much of the Indianna Jones ride at Disneyland.

 

In my 8 or 9 years of driving experience, I think I've only ever used my horn twice.

Here, drivers regularly drive with one hand always over the horn.

Taxi drivers are the worst, and probably hit their horn at least every thirty seconds.

 

Also, drivers tend to ignore all others on the road. They drive in between lanes, cut people off, and run through intersections.

 

The photo below shows a guy on a scooter who wouldn't let my driver go past because he insisted on driving down the middle of the lane.

This photo shows only a fraction of the many cars who were running a red light. A light that had already been red for a solid 10 seconds.

The most important rule for the roads here is regarding horns: the bigger the horn, the bigger the vehicle. If what you just heard sounds like the horn of a freight train, you better stop your car (even if you are the one with a green light) because odds are, a giant cement truck is headed your way, and he's just going to plow through the intersection. 

The Cars of Chengdu

Chengdu is a city of 14 million people, and a few million cars.

The busy street scan get so packed with cars that they are at a standstill for what seems like forever.

 

Having so many cars in one city isn't strange.

But, what is strange is the cars themselves.

I'd guess that at least 90% of the cars on the streets are no more than 3 years old.

The only relatively old cars around are vans or trucks. (And some of those look ancient...)

I have been told that owning a car here is kind of a new thing.

A lot of the money found in this area is new money...more businesses = more people making (way too much) money = the need to purchase a car.

 

Another funny thing is that people here don't just buy a car.

They buy a car.

By that I mean, I haven't seen too many Hondas or Toyotas around.

They are all BMWs, Mercedes, VWs, and Audis. There are so many Audis.

 

Also, it is important to remember that when one sees a fancy car like that, people here have to pay double for it. Taxes on imported cars are so high that they end up paying double.

That Maserati down below? It is essentially a double Maserati, because that's what its owners paid for it.

Another thing about cars here is that they park just about anywhere.

Most people figure that since they already paid so much for the car, why should they have to pay even more money to park in the parking garage where they live?

Even when there are signs that clearly say "No Parking," people ignore it.

And they're obviously not ticketed because I see the same cars in the same no parking spots every day. 

(Funny) Random Things Part IV

Whenever I go anywhere, people stare. This has become normal. People stare more in Wenjian than in Chengdu because there really aren't other foreigners in Wenjian. 

Sometimes people just walk right up to me and snap a photo. It's fine. It doesn't really bother me.
However, my most recent experience getting my photo taken was a little different. 

The school had an assembly. While I was standing to the side of the stage this woman came up to me, handed me her child and told me to look at the camera.
There was no, "Can I take a photo of you? Would you mind holding my child?"

Before I knew it, I had this little boy in my arms (luckily he was old enough to NOT be wearing the split pants with his behind open to the fresh air). 

After the boys mom took him back, I took this photo of them:

China loves trees and flowers. They have so many trees.

While I was walking across campus I noticed something really strange about the trees...

They were all attached to an IV!

The bag that had the fluid in it was all in Chinese, so I have no idea what was in it. 

But, it certainly looked really strange. 

Have I mentioned that there is a HUGE pool in my apartment complex?

It is massive. And actually, there are two pools, and a hot tub.
However, since it costs money to have a pool, and all of the apartments have already been purchased, the owners of the complex saw no reason to continue paying for the upkeep of the pool. 

Regarding China's Impropriety

I've been avoiding this topic. For several reasons.

1. Because it disgusts me.

2. Because it is disgusting.

3. Because it grosses me out. 

4. Did I mention it is disgusting?

I mentioned in an earlier post that all of the public restrooms (and really, any restrooms anywhere) smell really bad. To find one, all you have to do is follow the smell. 

After being here for only a short time, I discovered that as gross as the restrooms are, not everyone uses them. Often times, if a child has to go to the bathroom, they just squat. On the ground. In front of everyone. 

Once, when I was on my way home from school, I looked out the window and saw a ten-year-old standing on the sidewalk, peeing onto a tree. His mother was a few feet away from him, texting on her phone. 

This was shocking to me, but then I found out that this is really common. 

In China, babies don't wear diapers. Instead, most baby clothes have a big slit at the crotch so that parents can just hold their child over a trash can, sewer, or the sidewalk in front of a KFC as they relieve themselves.  This practice is not just common for babies, but also toddlers and younger children. 

I wonder what age one has to be for this to no longer be socially acceptable...

It is nasty. 

Last weekend I was walking around a friend's apartment complex. After wandering around for a few minutes, I found a children's play area. 

There were two little girls playing on the play structure, going up and down the slide.
And then it happened.
At exactly the same time, both little girls walked right over to the sewer grate, pulled down their skirts, squatted and went pee. 

In the photo below you can see the evidence of the two girls doing their business. 

See? When they are going down the slide they look so cute and innocent.
They couldn't care less about the fact they are five feet away from puddles of urine. 

A friend of mine posted this link, and it grossed me out so much, that I just had to share. 

To quote my friend, "This is normal here."

Chinese Eye Exercises

Chinese schools are known for taking mid-afternoon breaks each day for about 10 minutes. 

Their purpose?

Eye exercises. 

Over the intercom, a really loud (and annoying) voice tells students what part of their face to massage. 

Some of the students do it each day, but others just put their head on their desk and take a nap. 

I don't mind that some of my students don't participate in the eye exercises,  but the school does.

They actually have teachers go from room to room to make sure that each student is rubbing their face.

I looked online for a good demonstration, but all of the videos that were filmed in a classroom are hard to see. So, the video below is just a guy explaining how you do it. 

He does a good job describing exactly what the student do each day. 

Try the exercises for yourself. 

See if they work. 

American Food!

I recently had multiple opportunities to eat familiar American food. 

A week ago I went out to Peter's Tex-Mex Grill. 

I had already been there before, but this was a different location. 

I got some sort of sandwich with onions, peppers, meat and cheese. 

It was delicious, and I even momentarily forgot I was in China. 

Then, this last weekend I went out with a friend to The Lazy Pug. 

Everything on the menu looked really good, and I had a difficult time deciding what I should get. 

I ended up getting the burger (at the suggestion of my friend). 

It may have been the best burger I've ever eaten. 

The burger was enormous, so I couldn't finish the entire thing. 

I was actually sad when I realized I was full. 

It tasted like nothing else I've ever experienced. 

I'm beginning to think I've been in China too long....

For lunch we met up with some people from church. 

Walking through the mall we saw both Papa John's and Pizza Hut.
It's funny...in the U.S. I love Papa John's. Pizza Hut, on the other hand...I don't think I've been there in at least fifteen years. 

However, here in China, Pizza Hut is the best place. 

The menu is a little strange. 

Notice how it says "Pizza and More." 

They definitely have more than just pizza. 

Of Rabbits and Red Scarves

A week or two ago I wrote about seeing rabbits and soldier-like students on campus, but I didn't have my camera with me. 

I have since been carrying my camera with me everywhere, so that I can snap a photo of anything interesting I see. 

Below you can see a bunch of classes from the elementary school lined up doing their daily exercises. 

They marched in place, did jumping jacks, and then stood very, very still for a few minutes. 

I really hope this wasn't their recess time...

There are rabbits running around all over campus.
No. Correction. 

There were rabbits running around every where. 

I saw them for a week, and then they dissappeared.
I have no idea where they would have gone.

The strange thing is that I'm the only one who ever saw them.
None of the other teachers noticed them, and none of the students talked about them. 

I asked my students why there were rabbits outside, and they looked confused.
They told me there were no rabbits on campus. 

I think I'm going crazy.