When in Rome, do as the Romans do

It occurred to me recently how many changes I’ve had to get used to in China since I’ve first arrived.  I would say the first big one was something that hit me immediately upon arrival.  When riding in a cab around Beijing, you cannot expect them to drive like one would in the U.S.  The rules of the rode are a little different around here.  Regardless of what the laws may be (I’m really not sure) the drivers will more or less force their car into any gap they can.  It was hard to get used to at first, but it amazes me now how I no longer even flinch at some of the maneuvers you will see them pull.  Another big change struck me the other day as I was walking home from work.  I was just strolling along my way back to my apartment when I start weaving my way through a crowded intersection of moving vehicles.  It occurred to me that this would not be normal behavior in the U.S. and even some of the locals were not attempting to cross the intersection yet.  You must be really careful of course, but after being here long enough you just get used to crossing these busy roads.  Another change I’ve had to get used to is that there is no tipping in China.  I’m sure there is some kind of service charge built into the prices of the food, but there’s no tax or additional fee presented to you on your bill.  Everything costs exactly what the signs say it costs.  We tried to tip one of our cab drivers and he simply looked confused and tried returning the money.  These are just a few of many small changes I've had to learn to adapt to during my time here. 

Early in the week I was able to snap a few great photos from my office window on a clear day.

As I mentioned before I had a busy week last week.  I attended a conference Friday morning as a company representative and then I had to jet back to the office to give a presentation to our student ambassadors.  It was really great getting to meet all of them and talk about the ambassador program.  I was able to come up with a lot of good ideas for improvements and they were also very interested in learning more about my views on the MBA program in which I'm currently enrolled as well as America in general.

 The weekend was also fun filled.  We have a new roommate from Australia so we took him to a couple of the markets on Saturday and I finally started buying a few souvenirs.  I had not previously had a chance to haggle, but it’s really a lot of fun.  Since 99% of what you will find at any stall is mass produced and readily available at other stalls, you have a lot of bargaining power.  Saturday night we went to the Sanlitun district which is a local night life spot frequented by westerners.  It’s only a few subway stops north of our apartment but unfortunately Beijing’s subways close around 11pm and the one by us has been closing as early as 9, most likely because of construction (they’re adding new stops directly south of us).  In Sanlitun we tried some food from one of the street vendors.  It was pretty good, they had a few items on the menu which you would not find frequently in the States, including beetles.  We had to try some of course..they were surprisingly not bad although the outer shell was quite difficult to chew.

On Sunday we woke up and decided it was time to go to Tiananmen Square.  Believe it or not after being here a month, I actually had not been physically in the square, just looked at it from across the street at the Forbidden City.  It’s free to visit, but that’s mostly because there isn’t much to do in the square besides take photos.  We weren’t able to get great photos though because the smog was quite heavy that day.  I did manage to snap this shot of some local police marching by the front of one of the museums.

We were also approached by a family that wanted to take some photos with us though so that was entertaining.  I was able to get a copy with my camera this time.  

After Tiananmen we explored the hutong area just south of the square.  It was quite lively, and crowded but not my favorite hutong so far.  It was a little to modernized for my liking.  There was even a Rolex store. 

  

We also went to Wangfujing Snack Street which is a street known for it’s oddities.  Included on the menu were scorpion, starfish, and seahorse among other things.  I wasn't able to identify everything, but what really blew me away were the prices! You would think these unappetizing foods would be inexpensive, but each one cost about as much as a full meal would cost in a restaurant here.  Despite this I decided I had to try something so I went with the starfish.  I wouldn't call it a delicacy, but it wasn't as unappealing as it may look.

 

It's already Saturday afternoon again and this post has taken me much longer to get up than I anticipated since I've had a busy past few weeks.  I'd go into further detail, but it's time for me to take off and do some more exploring.  Check back in a few days to hear about my most recent week in China.