I can’t compete. Or perhaps better said, it’s not a competition I’ll ever have a chance to win. There are currently 46 racers plus the two Squad Leaders on U Squad and most all of them are blogging like crazy. I can’t keep up. I can hardly keep up reading them all – but I do read them all! Trying to keep up with my own blogs is a challenge to say the least.
Many of the racers have wonderful stories and profound insights to share.
You can get to the U Squad “main” blog page here: http://www.worldrace.org/?tab=participants&group=13W0901
From there you can access any of the blogs for all of the U Squad racers. Check them out.
In the meantime – I’m going to “Plagiarize” a good portion of a recent post since it did a pretty good job of summarizing many of my own experiences and observations in China. Thanks Addison for providing the foundation from one of your recent blogs!!
11 Things I didn’t know about China:
1. Always bring your own toilet paper and napkins. That’s right. Don’t expect there to be napkins on any table or toilet paper anywhere you go. You snooze ya lose. Oh, and all TP goes in the little trash can beside the toilet (when you actually have one!) or the squatty potty, never down the chute.
2. The Chinese eat ramen noodles. They eat the same ramen you find on the shelves in your local supermarket. We got “Cup ‘O Noodles” (in the cup!) on the flights to and from Beijing. This is probably the most authentic Chinese food you’ll find in America.
3. The Chinese “Love” Americans. Everywhere the Squad went the locals wanted to take pictures with them. Actually they’re REALY enamored with blue-eyed blond women and African-Americans, and although I’m neither, it happened to me too. Of course the guys with long hair – or even dreads were also celebrities.
4. Pedestrians do not have the right of way. Cars do not slow down, let alone stop for pedestrians. Crosswalks are completely ignored. In the middle of the night even red traffic signals got ignored (by big construction trucks!). It’s every man for himself if you’re trying to cross the street. In other words: Human Frogger. Ready, set, run, stop, go, zig-zag, scream, get honked at, mission successful.
5. The Chinese seem to crave American culture. Actually they seem obsessed with American culture – I saw more “American” clothing and clothing stores than you’d be likely to find walking the streets of Atlanta or Chicago. We had a difficult time finding any sort of “traditional” Chinese outfits for our granddaughter, and the only place I found any tee shirts with Chinese characters were at the tacky tourist souvenir shops. McDonalds, Starbucks, and KFC stores abound and were frequented by lots of locals – not just us tourists.
6. You don’t have to be a covert missionary in China. Going into China everybody assumed their intentions would have to be really hush-hush, that they’d have to beat around the bush instead of directly bringing up the topic of God. But that was not the case at all! They could tell people why they were here, what they were doing, and eagerly jump into a conversation about God without second thoughts.
7. Every meat is mystery meat. You may think you’re ordering chicken, pork, or beef. But the reality is you never know what you’re going to get. On the other hand, they don’t necessarily try to hide some of the more exotic stuff.
8. The 1… or 2 child policy. You may be aware of the law that Chinese citizens are only allowed to have one child. That policy was recently lifted, within the past few months. So now, if 2 single-child people get married, together they’re allowed to have 2 children. But any more than that and they are required to pay severe tax for every additional child.
9. Following their dreams isn’t easy. Students have an enormous amount of pressure from society and their family to do what will make them the most money, whether they like it or not. Parents and the government generally choose what the area of college study will be, where to go to school and, what career to have.
10. Cartoons. Chinese people are obsessed with Hello Kitty, Mickey/Minney Mouse, and Whinnie the Pooh. Their faces were EVERYWHERE.
11. China does not look like Mulan. Or anything like how it is portrayed in movies. Harbin and Beijing are a LOT like New York City. It’s a Small Small World after all.
Here’s a photo of Harbin – from Emily, another of the talented U Squad racers:
