Observations & Comments

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We have been in China 12 days at this point. Questions have been coming from friends and family about what's different between here and the USA. A collection of random comments and observations is here for you.

1. Many kitchens do not have hot water. Although the bathrooms have hot water, it seems there's no use for hot water to clean the dishes or pots and pans. We are staying at a 'luxury' condo building that is not that old and our kitchen does not have hot water. Julie and I boil water to do the dishes.

2. And speaking of hot water, most folks have a tank on the roof of their building heated by the sun. At Chinese Grandfather’s house, there was no hot water for two days this week because of the rain (no sun). Since we are in a luxury condo we have a small, electric hot water tank in the bathroom.

3. While on the subject of all things warm, central heat isn’t appealing to our local neighbors either. Even the fancy high-speed train station was like the North Pole to us. Chinese Grandfather has something you would expect to see in a southern Florida home. It was an independent unit in the living room that blew the breakers all the time. The bedroom where Xiao Xiao is staying has a space heater to keep the baby and her warm. The apartment where we are staying has a space heater too since the place seems so cold to us. Julie and I are bunking in the same bed to stay warm. The building actually HAS central heat (neat, modern-looking radiators), but the tenants and owners refuse to agree to pay to have it turned on.

4. Speaking of buildings, the quality of construction is ironic to our American eyes. Some places have the latest technology of building supplies woven in with basics like simple cement floors and single, incandescent bulbs hanging from a wire. Once a structure is built, it seems that it mostly is not maintained and is simply torn down in 10-15 years. The exception, Beijing Airport and Luoyang high-speed train station are impeccably maintained and clean.

5. Eastern toilets are still being installed and used. We were told the government had a campaign to convert everyone to Eastern toilets a few years back. The story goes that people didn’t know what to do with the Western toilets and stood ON them instead of sitting. In the misuse, people fell frequently and therefore the Western toilets were deemed unsafe.

6. Continuing on the topic of toilets, there is a unanimous rule that no toilet paper goes down any toilet. All bathrooms have a small trashcan next to them for the used toilet paper. Perhaps this goes back to septic systems? Everywhere seems to have public sewers so perhaps it’s believed that it will clog the pipes.

7. As long as we are on the topic of plumbing, we haven’t seen any drain pipes with a trap. The sewer smell oozes right up the pipes and into living spaces. Several times we observed sponges or towels being stuffed into the drain to block the smell. Even the luxury condo building we are staying in has straight drains.

8. Changing topics, babies in China ALWAYS sleep on their backs and have done so for as long as anyone can remember. The Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) campaign we had in the states kicked off in 1994 so it’s a much more recent idea to us. Since Chinese moms have been putting their babies on their backs ages, they have these cute, traditional pillows filled with rice or grain that help the flat head problem. The mom makes a fist and burrows it into the pillow making an area for the baby’s head to rest. What a great idea! I think if I mentioned “infant” and “pillow” in the same sentence in the states I might get arrested.
9. And while on the topic of safety, don’t look for child car seats or even adult seat belts when you are in any vehicle. Motorcycles and scooters can fit a family of four. We saw an occasional helmet from time to time but clearly they are not are required.

10. Children were always dressed with thick layers. Several days the weather was in the high 60s F or even 70 F. ALL and I mean ALL the children were puffed up with coats and hats. We joked they looked like the Michelin Man. Julie bought a cute party dress for Baby Eris which no one saw at the party because she was bundled up like an Eskimo.

11. Switching to restaurants, we have eaten out a few times even though Chinese Grandfather has fed us well. Once seated at the restaurant table, the waitress hands out one menu to share. Then he/she stands there at the table the WHOLE time you are reading the menu and discussing what to order. This was one of the few things that made me uncomfortable. Usually we have 2-3 employees collecting at our table but that’s probably because we are Americans.

12. Water is sometimes served at restaurants without asking but will always come if requested. It is always served hot. Although the tap water is supposed to be safe to drink, everyone still boils their water before drinking.

13. Lastly, a comment on TV. All we have seen is reality television. Some of it involves going to person’s apartment and shocking them Jerry Springer-style with surprise lovers, paternity test results, crying and fistfights. The only difference is that the shows are not in front of a live studio audience. The rest of the shows look like variety productions with singing and dancing and then ridiculous video clips of people doing embarrassing things. These people are selected to be on stage while everyone gets to watch their reaction to the video. Contests of who has the worst clip are sprinkled through out.

Any that concludes our Observations and Comments.

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