16 Things I've Learned in China

This will be my last post from China.  Tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. we leave for the airport and arrive home at noon the same day...too bad there is that whole "we gain 15 hours going home" thing.  It was a magical trip in many ways and I will be posting more photos from the trip in the weeks and months to come.  But in the meantime I thought I'd mention a few things I learned in China.

1.  Ice Cream tastes even better when it is hot out (which it was our whole trip, hot and humid, and occasionally rainy.)

2.  When people talk about their hotpot in China it isn't the hotpot of my college years that was round, easy to spill and took forever to heat up.  Instead the water boils almost instantly and pours like a tea kettle.  I want one at home now!

3.  Chops are cheaper on Shaiman Island than at the Folk Art Museum...even without bargaining.

4.  When an American picks up your baby's cheerio tub from the ground and gives it back to you, you probably don't need to say thank you in Chinese.

5.  Even if you don't feel a need to wear flip-flops in the shower due to cleanliness (our hotels were all very, very clean) you may want to due to the rock or grooves in the marble floor designs.  Foot massage or to prevent slipping?  I don't know, but my feet didn't like it.


6.  The traditional photo of the children's statue isn't as interesting if your baby isn't with you.

7.  Robeez shoes really do stay on all day even on the squirmiest of babies.

8.  The Pleco Translator app on one's iPod can save the day when several Chinese women are trying to help you find something in the grocery store but they don't know the English words "rice cereal" and you don't know it in Chinese.  This app pulls up the Chinese characters for the words or will tell you what Chinese characters say...somewhat tedious at times, but worth $12 when you want to feed your baby.

9.  Somethings are better in person, but postcards are adequate substitutes when it is 100 degrees out...okay, maybe it was only 90 degrees.  Others may disagree about the worth of a visit, I'm sure the postcards are better than the pictures I got of the 5 goat statue.

11.  That you need to pay attention to the caps on the coke bottles or you may end up with 4 vanilla cokes instead of regular ones.

12.  That a breeze after a long climb can make you grin like a loon.

13.  That fresh squeezed watermelon juice is almost as tasty as coke...and a more appropriate choice for breakfast.  Pineapple juice was also great, but cucumber juice not so much.

14.  That even Huckleberry can look content in a photo when he isn't feeling it...the heat got to us all today.

15.  That a Tamron lens hood is the perfect devise to remove unusual caterpillars from a stoically freaked out Huckleberry.  Once it was on the ground a Chinese man came over and squashed it.  

16.  That Sweet Pea likes to be carried on the back...and it is easier to do so.

I learned a lot more things, too...like in China you have to park your car one day a week in order to cut down on traffic and smog, but I'll leave those for another day.  See you on the other side of the world!