On education

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Do not spit, do not through through litter and do not push in lines. Apparently, this is what kids study in schools these days. And I can see why. People spit a lot here. I'm just not very sure why, but I have never seen so much spitting on the streets. You can even see little boys do it probably copying their fathers. Did I say "on the streets"? Well, I'm writing this entry after spending about 2 weeks in China and I have seen people spitting in all possible locations. Yes, that includes streets, houses, museums, buses. You don't need to wait long till you hear this loud bubbling sound of stuff going though the nose followed by the smack of the lips. Tuan is saying it has something to do with being Asian, but I don't see him doing it, so I'm not very clear why it's such a popular behavior.

Trashing is another super popular behavior. First, people spit the sunflower seeds, then through packaging and food. The pile smells and between construction and trash, it's really hard to walk straight. But we're talking about education here. I found so many trash cans on the streets! Usually they come in pairs for regular trash and for recyclables. The translation though is hilarious some times. We have seen "Azardous", "Unrecyclable", "Castoff". I'm actually quite happy to see so many cans everywhere.

Pushing in lines can probably be generalized as just pushing. I know that when there are too many people, personal space becomes very limited. I was all prepared for this. Though the first few days the pushing was still a little unexpected. In the subways, the pushing is kind of normal for a person like me who spent some time in Moscow subway. The pushing in lines though is something slightly annoying. The person behind you just absolutely has to touch you. You make a step forward, the person would be right on your back as if attached. Touching in general is a topic by itself. I've been touched here so many times but getting more experienced at avoiding it. Sometimes people even grab you to try to drag you somewhere. One time a family decided to take a picture with me, because I'm white I suppose, so they grabbed my arm and forcefully started pulling me. I can only imagine how they treat their children.

This whole propaganda is to prepare Chinese for Olympics. Do not know it it's for Olympics, but I've also heard that the word "socialist" was changed for "harmonious" on the street signs as in "Let's build harmonious society". This is an interesting transition, even Russia did not do this.

Why did I start all this? I'm not complaining, I'm just observing and hoping it will all work out.

Katya

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Photos

Recycling-Unrecycling
These once are from the Yungang caves

Castoff
I'm still not clear what "Castoff" is for.

Azardous waste
From Pingyao

In arabic
From the Muslim quarter in Xi'an