The Far East

So about two weeks ago, I got on this:

And I went here (Thanks for the map www.enchantedlearning.com):

When people ask me how my trip was, I have a one word response: eye-opening. I was pretty psyched to go on this trip as my foreign travels thus far have been limited to North America and Europe, and I will tell you right now that China is a whole different animal. Here are some things you should know about my trip:
1. 40% of the pictures I took were of little Chinese kids. I love them. Probably because I was half of one.

 

2. Another 40% of the pictures I took were of little Chinese senior citizens. I love them too. They make me think of my Po Po and Gung Gung.

3. All foreign places smell, and China has a distinct smell. I'm pretty sure it comes from the squatting toilets...or the fact that I saw multiple children being held over trash cans to pee.

4. I witnessed this while eating at Pizza Hut in the Beijing Airport: http://www.news.com.au/world-news/mystery-explosion-at-beijing-airport/story-fndir2ev-1226682515216.
The crazy part was no one seemed panicked, well except for the American tourists.

5. Climbing the Great Wall was surprisingly hard. I figured after climbing my first 14er merely days before this would be nothing. Well, it was steep, the steps were uneven, and you're climbing with hundreds of other people. It was pretty awesome. I should've gone all the way to the top, but then I stepped in pee and lost my willpower.

6. The government is everywhere. I'm afraid to even write this because they are probably checking my movements. But seriously, I can't believe what a crazy military presence there was.

7. Everyone knows that China has a huge population, but what you might not be able to picture is that it's like Disneyland multiplied by 1,000. No one seems to mind if you are in line or if you bump into them either. I can't decide if it is rude that everyone is constantly pushing you over, or that it is just the culture in a dog eat dog world. Let's just say I gave up saying excuse me after a while and started using my purse as a battering ram.

 8. Chinese people are pretty intrigued by Americans. Everywhere we went people wanted to take their picture with us, because for some, we were the first white people they had ever seen. My dad ate this up.

 

9. Most people know that China has an overpopulation issue and we've also heard about the one child policy. While driving down the street, probably 8 out of 10 people that you see are male. According to our guide, you must have the 4 c's to get a wife in China: car, condo, cash, and cuteness. And we thought the dating pool here was tough! You should also know that it's wicked hot in China, so the men just lift their shirts off to cool off their bellies. Hello ladies.

 10. I am more Chinese than I thought I was. That, or people are really white. People seemed to be really concerned about what they were eating. "Is this chicken or is it pork?" Um, does it matter? Clearly these people have never sat through a Chinese banquet before. The food was okay, but not my Po Po's. I did manage to see some skewered fried scorpions that were still wiggling, however I stuck to eating the sticky rice instead.

11. My great enlightenment came from a discussion with our guide about the pollution in China. You hear about it on the news, but it's even worse than they describe. The smog mixed with the pollution literally makes you feel like you can't breath. Our guide told us that countries from across the globe send their work to China because they make high quality products for cheap prices. What other countries don't understand is that by doing this, China is now taking on all of the pollution from those countries. To top it off, they don't have a government that is prepared to deal with such a huge problem, nor do they really care. This was such a different perspective for me because here in America we always hear about how China takes all of our jobs, but in reality, we are creating even more problems for them! Can you tell my mind was a little blown?

All in all I had a great trip, but I'm also so very thankful that my grandparents immigrated to America. In my mind, one of the best reasons to travel is because it helps remind you that you are just one teeny tiny person in one ginormous world. China definitely reminded me of just that.