After 7 pm, the streets come to life with street vendors.
These students were be let out of school at 6 pm!
A typical side street
In China, NONE of that. If you fall off of the steps that are 15 feet off of the ground, too bad. Get hit by a car, you didn't have the right of way. Break your leg by tripping in the huge pot hole in the sidewalk, so sad.
2) No parking meters - cars park in areas on the sidewalk - for free. You just have to watch out for them as you walk along.
4) The larger the vehicle, the more right-of-way they have. Buses top the list, pedestrians are at the bottom.
7) Women as well as men will often walk arm-in-arm with each other. It's quite common and is a sign of friendship.
8) The elderly are highly respected. No nursing homes here for the most part. A son will care for his aging parents by having them move in with him. This is one reason why boys used to be favored over girls n China. In the States, we often ship our parents to the Home once they become a "burden".
An exercise park - believe it or not, this was very crowded and especially the elderly were doing exercises
Mr. South trying Gansu Province's famous beef noodles - oh, so good!
Mr. South trying Gansu Province's famous beef noodles - oh, so good!
We ventured out about town without our guide (she was preparing Julianne's passport paperwork) knowing we'd be in for some very interesting experiences. Sure enough. More stares from the majority of people on the street (there's tons) and from passers-by on bikes and buses. We tried to go to a park we THOUGHT we saw on the way into town. Trying to get directions of course was a problem. Found out, it was an exercise park for the elderly.
Hungry, we tried or hand at a local restaurant. Again, ideas get lost in translation. A couple of customers helped as best they could. We ended up getting two HUGE bowls of beef noodle soup (OUTSTANDING!) as well as two coupons for our next meal free!
After naps, we went to dinner. This time the "Chinese-Western" restaurant. We were probably the first Westerners they had in a long time. We had two steak dinners with a lot of extras all for 86 yuan (about $12). CHEAP!!
Now for the top 10 differences between China and USA:
1) China is not a law-suit happy country like America -
No child seats in cars, we simply held onto Julianne in the back seat.
There are countless situations where a person could seriously injure themselves or even get killed. In the states, we have signs warning us of danger, handrails everywhere, safety codes, safety seats, safety agencies (OSHA), safety patrols, we even have a list of what kinds of hand sanitizer teachers are allowed to use in the classroom. This is all in response to the fact that someone can sue the pants off of someone else for negligence. If you spill hot coffee on yourself, it's not your fault, the restaurant NEGLECTED to tell you it was hot. It's their fault. Sue 'em!
In China, NONE of that. If you fall off of the steps that are 15 feet off of the ground, too bad. Get hit by a car, you didn't have the right of way. Break your leg by tripping in the huge pot hole in the sidewalk, so sad.
We saw worker entering the sewer through a man-hole cover in the street. No barriers, no warning signs, cars zooming overhead of the open hole. Watch your head, dude!
2) No parking meters - cars park in areas on the sidewalk - for free. You just have to watch out for them as you walk along.
3) Sidewalks are in various degrees of disrepair. Half of our attention had to be on where we put our foot each step of the way. Gaping holes, uneven steps, drop offs, you name it.
4) The larger the vehicle, the more right-of-way they have. Buses top the list, pedestrians are at the bottom.
5) Tipping is not expected or required at restaurants. Two times we tried to leave a tip and both times the person ran after us with the tip in hand returning it to us. We even insisted they keep it.
6) If you gotta go, go. Seriously. They do have public squatty potties but they cost money, and Oh the stench. Several times we saw (kids mainly) relieving themselves in public. Watch out for wet spots on the sidewalks.
7) Women as well as men will often walk arm-in-arm with each other. It's quite common and is a sign of friendship.
8) The elderly are highly respected. No nursing homes here for the most part. A son will care for his aging parents by having them move in with him. This is one reason why boys used to be favored over girls n China. In the States, we often ship our parents to the Home once they become a "burden".
9) Most stores have tons of staff working there but very few actual customers. I don't know how they pay their employees' wages.
10) I can't find a Mountain Dew to save my life! The only soft drinks here in Lanzhou, a city of several million people, are Coke, Coke Zero, Sprite, bottled water, and a various kinds of bottle tea. Literally that is it. Tons of small vendors selling drinks, but each carries the SAME kinds.
In closing, the people in China are some of the friendliest people on the planet. They will do anything to make sure you are happy and satisfied. They are very curious and want to learn as much as possible about the American culture.
Julianne receives her passport tomorrow and we are then off on a plane to Guangzhou to meet the American Consulate.
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