**a little note from me, Christy Sunshine. I wrote this a while ago, but I apparently didn't push "publish" how embarrassing! So I hope you enjoy it... better late than never. I think I will split it up into two posts....**
China! Wow, such a quick word to say is not enough to encompass all that my experience has involved.
So my first impression of this huge country was that it was flat. Soooo flat. We were visiting Shanghai which is definitely in the flat part of the country. Also, the fact that they drive on the right side (as in both the right AND correct side haha) of the road brought me an unexpected feeling of comfort... a feeling that did not last the whole ride to our hotel. The streets of Shanghai are crazy! There are cars everywhere, as expected of course, but there are also every variation of bike, moped, scooter and motorcycle that I could think of. They drove through the streets as swarms of bugs might rush through an abandoned picnic table with leftover food. It was utter madness. Street lanes are, apparently, just for show, and the little green man doesn't necessarily mean it is safe to walk... just that it is the safest time to walk as long as you're still on the look out for approaching vehicles! (and no, that is NOT an exaggeration!) They don't just honk when someone is about to hit them or something, but instead, they honk when they abruptly switch lanes and don't want anybody to do the same in front of them, or when they are going to zoom past you instead of let you out, or when they are going for it, but aren't sure you are paying attention, or.... well, you get the point. If Shanghai was a musical, the honking could be the refrain for every. single. song.
There are so many people in Shanghai, that at times I was utterly overwhelmed with the presence of them all. They added to the already present stress of trying to navigate a city where the dominant language does not even use a recognizable writing system. Thankfully, Shanghai is more accustomed to outsiders than many other Chinese cities, and the English versions of their people, places and products where often displayed... though even that doesn't help much when you can still hardly pronounce them correctly much less understand them!
Eating the food in China was always something to feel wary of. No, it is not because I was afraid I was eating cat or dog...usually, but for different reasons all together. Traditional Chinese meals dictate that the platters ordered are shared, usually on a table with a lazy susan in the middle. I don't like tea, but it is usually served with your meal. The first obstacle was to order... the waiters often spoke no English at all. Since the menus were virtually all picture menus, this helped immensely. Still, however, there were several times when we would attempt to order something and the waiter would insist that we could not have that. I am still thoroughly confused by several of our restaurant experiences, and there was more than one time when what showed up wasn't quite what we had been expecting to receive, or that something was missing from our order. Then there was the added uncertainty of whether or not we would even like anything at all. Thankfully, we managed to enjoy most of our meals there though I admit that several of them took place at locations such as KFC, Pizza Hut and McDonald's.
One thing that I had considered beforehand, but wasn't really sure about, was whether or not I would be able to use my computer the same. I wasn't. There was no access to facebook as well as a couple other sites I tried to reach while I was there... including this one! Well, I guess that could be expected from a country controlled so tightly by the government.... which brings me to my next topic.....
Communism.
Now we Americans know about how Communism is portrayed in the US. It is bad stuff, right? Well to tell you the truth, I didn't know what to expect from China on this front. Yes, it was weird walking through the metro where tiny communist flags were hung as you walked down the hallways, as well as the CUBA! products (sporting attractive communist graphics) that were available from days when China and Cuba had been close buddies, but other than that there wasn't much of a visible difference. Again, I don't know what I expected to see, but I somehow expected there to be something! The first tour we took in Shanghai, our tour guide spoke of the government. THAT was where I was first surprised. The communist party in China, isn't a free-for-all, everyone-sign-up-here type of party.... it is an exclusive and privileged one.... ironic, I think given the basic concept of what communism should really mean. She spoke of the communist party with a sort of adoration, awe and pride... not that she was a part of it personally. She talked about how the children are brought up learning about their great country and even sang up a song about the great communist country with it's strong communist leader.... it really took me by surprise. I mean, obviously to her it was normal, but that, my friend, was a culture shock for this born and bred American, I can tell you!
Since I feel that this is one area where people seem to be interested, I will also tell you quickly what I learned about the One Child policy. I don't remember what year exactly this law went into effect, but they generation that right now is around 30 years old is about the age of those who began not having siblings. My first tour guide was a girl that probably mid twenties or so. She did not have siblings, though she did have many uncles, aunts and cousins since the law had not been in effect at the time of her parent's births. My second tour guide was also an only child.... he was in at least his early 30s. When he had been born, his parents, who did not live in a major city such as Shanghai, could have had more children, but had decided not to. He was married and had just had his first child, a son. He told us that there were many economical problems that were probably going to develop as a result of the One Child policy. For starters, much of the Chinese lifestyle revolves around one's family. This includes how people are taken care of when in need, holiday activities, trades.... you get the picture. Children that are being born now, when grown up and married, will have two sets of parents to look after, four sets of grandparents and, because until this generation, people had children at very young ages, they are likely to have great grandparents to care for as well! This creates a lot of stress on the children. Also, many holidays are times when you are supposed to gather with family, which before, could have included aunts, uncles and cousins.... these are family members that the children being born now will no longer have. Our tour guide also told us that, because of these concerns that there will not be enough young people, married couples who were both single children are allowed to have two children. There are also other situations where more than one child is allowed, such if you are a minority, or if you are wealthy enough to pay the fines. Well, I could talk more about this, but I will leave off for now because my post has grown rather long...
