Chinese Curiosities

Employee roll call and morning exercises outside the electronics store
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Chinese Curiosities

...people are the same and different around this planet earth

We’ve already alluded to it in previous blogs, but what we’ve often found as fascinating about China as its very interesting historical sights are the ‘curiosities’ of its people. That, in fact, is what we have found to be one of the most interesting things about traveling; to see how people are the same and different around this planet earth. Language is of course a differentiating feature of different cultures, but there are also other things that are very different. In China we have perhaps noticed more of these than in any other country we have traveled in. We document some of these below to keep them alive in our memories and to share them with you.

Just a portion of the staff willing to be photographed
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1. Refusal to take a tip. David is a generous man and I am proud of his generosity in tipping and giving. It has been difficult for him in China. Taxi drivers and waitresses look totally baffled and embarrassed when he tries to tip. One waitress pushed his hand back and ran off with a red face when he tried to round up the bill by giving her a tip. Others have come running after us with the money we left on the table or bedside. Finally, he’s given up and now pockets the change.

Drafty derriere
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2. Morning roll call and employee exercises. Many workplaces such as restaurants and stores start their work day by lining up their employees (often on the sidewalk outside the business) for what looks to us like roll call and then exercise classes. Employees come running up adjusting their ties and dutifully fall into formation for bowing and jumping jacks. Bashful smiles acknowledge our presence as we watch with fascination.

3. Over staffing and staff scattering like blossoms in the wind when a foreigner approaches. Stores, hotel reception desks and restaurants seem to have 3 or 4 times the amount of staff that we would be used to in Canada. Most often the staff seems to be standing around in groups to be scattered like in fright and nervousness when we approach. After much giggling and gesturing to each other, one poor soul seems to be nominated to attend to our needs. Do we really look that scary?

Elegant ballroom dancers in the park
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4. Giggling when you are embarrassed. This seems a universal response. David has had hotel receptionists hang up on him with a giggle when they couldn’t understand his English. Carl, a Beijing ex-pat we met, tells of an incident he had with trying to get his mountain bike repaired. Several trips to the bike store did not result in the proper work being done on the bike. He was getting fed up with continually needing to go back and his frustration was fueled even more by the response of the staff: they laughed!

Fan exercises in the park for the ladies
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5. Babies’ bare bottoms. Ecologically this one is great! Babies have big slits in the bottom of their pants so that when nature calls it can just trickle out! No need for Pampers. In Beijing where it was cold we suffered with babies walking or being carried around with bare bottoms sticking out of their thick padded snowsuits. We also witnessed little tykes, barely able to walk, squatting at the edge of the street to relieve themselves. No need to peel off all those layers when you have a big slit in the bottom. Another benefit, by the time these little tykes are old enough to go to the squatter toilets they are already very good at squatting. Until that time, anyplace will do – street, train, whatever.

Babies are beautiful wherever you travel
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6. Karaoke. We’ve already told you how much the Chinese adore karaoke, but we’ll mention it again in case you missed it. They absolutely love karaoke and it will draw a crowd anywhere. There are many wannabe pop stars in China! In addition to witnessing it on our Yangtze River tour, we have seen crowds gather on sidewalks around people singing with portable mikes and amplifiers.

7. Spitting. That’s another thing that happens all the time and anywhere. Plush carpeted hallways in hotels or outside. We’ve learned to watch where we step but David didn’t know that he needed to watch up above as well. A juicy one hit his laptop screen as he was leaning over the balcony catching some free wireless access.

8. Hovering waitresses. These are particularly unnerving when you enter a restaurant, are given a thick menu with pictures, Chinese and in some cases English descriptions, and the waitress stands with her pen and paper poised ready to take your order the moment you sit down. Getting 4 people to make up their minds about what they’d like to eat is difficult at the best of times. With limited knowledge of Chinese on our part and limited English on the part of the waitress, it’s downright stressful. Even asking them to “give us 5 minutes” is hard!

9. Happy Birthday To You! For days we were awakened at 4:00 am or 6:30 am to the tune of ‘Happy Birthday’. We thought it must be a Chinese version of the pink flamingo trick to surprise a birthday child on their day, but when we heard the ditty one day at 3:00 pm we rushed to the window only to see the street washer driving by! I suppose that in a city of 6 million or more, undoubtedly there would be someone along his route who was celebrating a birthday!

10. Exercises in the park. We need to start this in Ladner, I think. At 7:30 each morning there are at least 3 exercise classes going on in the park across from our hotel. Ladies with fans or swords move elegantly and in perfect unison to the music. In the afternoon more exercise groups form in most big parks including groups of spiffily dressed ballroom dancers. It’s lovely!

China – what a fascinating country to visit. It’s no wonder that it has for so many years cast its spell over those of us from outside its borders. A lifetime is not enough to explore it all and we have the distinct impression that we have only just begun.