Tuesday, May 12, 2009

How is life in China different?




I get this question from friends and family back in the States. How is life different in China? Whew! A loaded question. I can only compare it to where I have lived before which is the Midwest and also Tennessee for 3 years. Almost everything is done differently here.

Living in an apartment with 4 kids has been a little bit of an adjustment. One of our bathrooms is not very pleasant so often on a school morning 3 of us will be brushing our teeth at the same time (in the not as gross bathroom) with me spitting over Lily's head trying not to slime her. We pay in advance for our electricity and when we get very low our power goes out for a while and then comes back on. We have air conditioning and heat only when the government turns it on. It doesn't matter is it is 90 degrees in April, the air doesn't come on until June 10!

In China, people live their lives outside which I LOVE to watch. Anything can happen on the sidewalk or street. They exercise, take walks (sometimes in their pj's), get their hair cut, eat, cook, play mah jong, play cards, get keys made, bikes fixed, urinate, spit, sell bootleg movies, sell clothing, and the list goes on. Lately, we have witnessed a few fistfights. Being illiterate is very challenging. We get a receipt and the first thing we do is write down what it was for and where we bought it because otherwise we won't know later what it was for. We don't know what a store sells until we actually look inside the store.

Another difference is transportation. We don't own a car here and take a taxi, walk, or take a bus everywhere. Soon I will get up enough courage to buy a bike. We walk miles more than we did in Michigan. There are not many rules of the road followed here. I have had a taxi driver drive in reverse down a 4 land busy road because he missed the turn. As we were driving back from a Beijing doctor appointment, we have had a driver drive like a crazy man because he needed to get to our destination to have a cigarette. There is no regard for pedestrians, left hand turn lanes or lanes in general. It's amazing how fast you adjust and just accept that this is the way it is and we are in His hands!

There are many things that are different but that I enjoy. Because most parents work and people retire rather young, the grandparents are always seen outside with their grandchildren playing and talking with other grandparents. I love that we can walk 5 minutes and find a huge selection of fresh vegetables and fruit. I LOVE the food....simply the best. I love how our college age students always make sure we find a taxi and tell the driver where we live (even though we can do this ourselves). I'm sure they think we speak horrible Chinese and are amazed we can get anywhere by ourselves!! I especially love that that I can volunteer at the orphanage and spend time with the children there.

Life in many ways is simpler yet more complicated for us because of our lack of language. Living overseas you learn that different doesn't necessarily mean bad.......it's just different. I am so thankful that we are here and that our children are learning these things early in their lives.