Week 1 in China

My first week in China wasn’t without thrills and problems but it was interesting. The first few nights, I barely slept due to the 15-hour time difference. Basically, I’m wide awake when everyone is sleeping while exhausted when everyone is awake. I didn’t have this problem the last time I visited China, so that might mean I’m getting old.

There were plenty of other adjustments which I overlooked before the trip. In China, unless you have a newer apartment, you are still using the Chinese-style toilets. I hate that since I can squat ever since my knee surgery in 2013. Thank goodness my aunt has a western toilet though it sucks that most of the public restrooms are still the squatting toilets. I try to avoid those restrooms.

Other minor adjustments include:

• Carrying a pack of tissues with me at all times since restaurants don’t supply napkins and toilet paper to its customers
• Water must be boiled before drinking. After so many years of drinking cold water, this was tough.
• Constant gloomy and hazy skies due to smog.
• Crazy moronic drivers who yield for no one
• Traffic, loud honking, music blaring from stores outside my bedroom from morning to night
• Of course, the warm humid weather. It’s been in the 70-80 F range since I arrived. In a way, this weather is better than the frozen tundra I call Utah.

My hometown is no longer recognizable from when I left 15 years ago which means I have no idea where I’ve gone in the past week. In a way though, it’s more alive. Every spot of every street is lined with shops and restaurants while high-rise apartments stood tall in the back. I think that’s why I don’t recognize it.

My aunts tried to jog my memory by taking me to places I went as a child and unfortunately, it’s not working. Maybe those places are memorable enough in my mind.  Here are some pictures of the places I visited.

Chang-jiang Reservoir (长江水库)

Sunwen Memorial Park (孙文纪念公园)

Statue of Sun-YatSen (孙中山)

View from the place I had dimsum

I got caught up in a food festival! There are food from all over the world here!

Oh, and let’s don’t forget to mention of all the excellent food I had. Chinese food has evolved since I left my hometown 15 years ago. Some of the food I had was quite different than the food I had in the U.S. In a way, the food here felt like it’s meant to be looked at instead of eaten. However, it is good.

Some kind of tart

Left-over dimsum for breakfast

A table full of beautiful food

Steamed vegetable

Stir-fried cabbage and Tofu

Spicy steamed beef

I hope you enjoyed the summary of my first week in China. I will be posting more later in the week. Stay tune.