This post is about our first impressions, meaning the things that stood out to us immediately or within the first few weeks of our time in Shenzhen. We will write much more about our Chinese transition later, but for now we will just list some fun facts that we learned once we had our boots on the ground in our new city.
1. It really is green! After living in the desert for the past two years we were so happy to see trees, bushes, plants, and flowers everywhere we looked! Our city is filled with green plants and our building complex is one giant botanical garden. This we loved from day one!
2. Bugs. Lots of bugs. The problem with all of the plants and temperate weather is that they provide a perfect breeding ground for bugs. Many of the locals have legs that look as if they have chicken pox due to the copious amounts of bug bites and it is no fun! Lindsay has been especially bothered by the bugs and it was a happy day when we finally found a store that sold OFF! bug spray!
3. Manners, as we know them, do not exist in Chinese culture. This country is a dog eat dog world and you can become very discouraged if you expect the people here to behave the way we expect people to in Western countries. The list could be very, very, very long but here are just a few things that occur nearly incessantly: men yawning so loudly it will scare children, the loudest hocking of loogies you have ever heard - even by women, spitting (even indoors), children dropping their pants and peeing in public (On day one we saw a mom holding her son above a trash can inside Wal-Mart while he peed in it!), people never holding doors open, not holding the elevator for others, pushing and shoving to get to the front of a line.
4. Chinese food in Shenzhen is not as good as American Chinese food. We could write an entire post about this, and probably will someday, but this was one of our first disappointing discoveries. It isn't just us. Even the Chinese people we know here agree that the Chinese food here in our city is terrible. Many a day we have wished for American Chinese food!
5. The weather is hot and humid, the locals don't like air conditioning, and they love to sweat. Shenzhen is a city with a tropical climate and we had the fortune of experiencing what everyone has claimed to be the hottest summer and fall in memory. Temperatures are still in the 90s into late November and with the high humidity, it feels even hotter. The Chinese love their "fresh" air and always leave windows and doors open, negating the impact of the A/C units in most places. They believe sweating is good for you, so they don't mind being hot, sweaty, stinky, and uncomfortable!
6. Things do not make much sense here. The Chinese culture has its own way of seeing things and doing things and it is easy to be often frustrated as a Westerner, especially as Americans. More on this later.
7. Chinese people love to nap - anywhere! Seriously, at almost any time throughout the day you will see people taking naps anywhere. Bus stops, sidewalks, at their work desks, on the subway, and inside stores. We were warned, but not prepared enough for our first trip to Ikea where there were dozens of Chinese people sleeping in the display beds and on the couches. Napping is a big part of the Chinese lifestyle and apparently it is socially acceptable to sleep where you want to. Seriously y'all, every bed in Ikea had Chinese people sleeping in it, both on top and underneath the covers!!!
8. The metro system is modern and excellent, meaning there is no need for a car and we love this about our new home!
9. The Chinese love McDonald's almost as much as Kuwaitis. Seriously, they are everywhere and every location is always very busy! The menu is quite different in some ways. While you see the obvious choices (Big Macs, french fries, etc.), there are choices that are totally unrecognizable or decipherable!! Just looking at some of the pictures, you would never know what the sandwich contained. Some of the things that we can figure out are a half fish, half shrimp sandwich, a chicken sandwich on a grey bun (seriously, it's grey!!), and obviously a small cup of corn as a side item.
 |
| It could be the most delicious sandwich ever, but we'll never know. |
10. Corn is everywhere! We think it is seriously one of their favorite food items because it is in/on EVERYTHING including pizza! Uh...no.
11. The Chinese people are very active. They seem to be moving/exercising (if you can call it that) at all times. Every morning you see many groups of older people throughout the city doing Tai Chi with their fans and swords. In the evenings, there are huge groups of women that "dance" for hours outside. There are two groups that meet across the street from our apartment every single night. That loud traditional music starts like clockwork at about 7:40pm. You will also see people walking backwards quite often and/or slapping themselves. Apparently they are trying to get the energy/blood moving throughout their bodies?!?
 |
| They will seriously stretch anywhere. |
13. It is VERY hard to get around if you do not speak Mandarin. Even in this huge city full of tech-savvy individuals and modern conveniences, there are very few people who can speak any English. It's actually quite surprising how limited it is!
14. China is fascinating, frustrating, fun, and challenging and we are certain we will look back on our time here with wonder later in life!
No comments:
Post a Comment