culture shock

yes, I'm asian and very proud of my asian-ness but all the asian-ness that I've accumulated over the years could not prepare me for China.

I feel like a fresher... I can't speak the language. It's completely alien to me. I've been to countries where I can't speak the language properly before but this is the first time that I'm completely clueless on the dialect. It doesn't help that I look chinese. Everyone starts speaking to me in Mandarin. I'vee learnt to say "I don't understand" in Mandarin. It's going to be hilarious when I meet up with David next month. It'll be a little asian girl and a tall white boy frolicking around china. Everyone will talk to the girl but it'll be the white boy that will be translating to the asian girl! good times! hehehe

Ching is insane. But there is method to it's madness :) firstly, the Land and Transport Safety Authority does not seem to exist here. Aparently there are road rules but you wouldn't survive if you relied on them. Once you understand the unwritten road rules in China, "bad asian drivers" are actually really skilled! It definitely takes alot of skills to do a U-turn on a busy 3-laned road or be part of a highway merge (13 lanes down to 4!). Oh, and with all the chaos, no one wears a seatbelt! Also, pedestrians beware! When the green man appears at a pedestrian crossing, this means "cross at your own risk" whereas the red man means "cross if you want to die!".

We went to the supermarket today. That was an adventure in itself. Will continue to take lots of pictures and will post them up one day when I can teach Pete how to do it. Stay tuned