14 Things That Remind You That You are Definitely in China

Doug says, "How many posed pictures are people going to want to see?" -- which has made me venture off in a new direction.

14 Things That Remind Us That We are Definitely In China

1. Toddlers in split pants squatting on the sidewalks. Shoes off at the door has a whole new meaning.

2. When inquiring about a restroom you make sure to ask, "Western toilet or squatty potty?" See photo above. (Natalie and I performed a balancing act one afternoon as I helped her master the squat over the hole in the ground. The theatre had only squatty potties. The line of 20 women using multiple stalls had disappeared in the time it took us to master this one use.)

3. In the restroom the guide checks, "Did you bring your own paper?" (Yes, we remembered to do this. Thank goodness, she only offered one tiny square to those who forgot.)

4. Every time you order a drink, you make sure to ask for no ice. (The water in China is not safe for us to drink.)

5. You throw away multiple toothbrushes that you accidentally stick under the faucet because it's a habit, and you momentarily forgot that the water in China is not safe. (Luckily, the hotels supply new toothbrushes, and bottled water, daily.)

6. You long for a seatbelt, a car seat, some sort of safety device as you whizz around through traffic in the semi-rundown van in which the driver constantly swerves and hits the horn. If there is a blockage in the traffic, it is OK. He will quickly pull into oncoming traffic to get around it.

7. Cars never stop as they pull out into traffic. They only blast their horn as some sort of warning of "Watch out, here I come". We saw an old man riding a bike with no horn. He had a metal pot in a basket and he was beating on it with a stick.)

8. Elevators/small spaces seem to encourage some kind of game -- "How many people can fit?"

9. You think it is foggy, but then notice that the sky is not hazy after a rain. The rainfall clears the pollution for awhile. The sun finally appears to be shining.

10. You remind yourself that you are playing life or death Frogger every time you cross the street.

11. Firecrackers. The folks here love their firecrackers. The other day at a nice restaurant the wedding party set off a brick of firecrackers outside the restaurant to scare away evil spirits and bad luck. Today is May Day, or Chinese Labour Day, and it sounds like a war zone even from the 15th floor. Not popping ... roaring explosions. Lots of them.

12. You go to check Facebook, or Google, or some other favorite Web site ... and you get nothing. "This site not available."

13. Double dipping is OK, even encouraged. We still aren't used to this,and we try to avoid it. But when you eat in China, everybody serves themselves out of the same dishes and pots , using the chopsticks that they are eating with. And you have to do it a lot, cause the plates they give you to eat on are tiny. Even when you know the people you are eating with, it just isn't something that comes naturally to germ-phobe Americans.

14. Next time you order chicken or any meat, you learn to ask if the head and feet are included.