China: The Conclusion

Sadly, my trip to China has come to an end. I'm in France now!! But more on that later. There were actually a few things that actually happened in the little time since my last post, though. I went to a Chinese wedding for the first time (my aunt’s friend’s son’s wedding)…it really wasn’t that interesting. All I can say is, suuuuper cheesy. How are they so cheesy?? All that happened was a bunch of speaking by either a bridesmaid or the emcee (couldn’t tell) and eating, and after the eating people left. Where’s the dancing, man?? American weddings are so much more entertaining.

We also got taken out to dinner by my aunt’s rather wealthy friend. He was our ride to the airport. Check it out, biznatches.

Black Lexus SUV. I felt like a rap star or something.

We went to this restaurant called "A Xing Ji (阿兴记)" that was so incredibly fancy, my mouth was catching flies the whole time we were walking in. We had our own private room, and…well, I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

Place setting. I know, right?

Raw "dou miao" with spicy sauce

Steamed fish

Some sorts of mushroom

Scallion pancakes!

Anyway, now that I’m out of China, I’ve decided to make a list of things I will and won’t miss.

Things I will miss:

1) Food. Oh my god, Chinese food. Need I say more? And not just any Chinese food. Sichuanese food. The land of the flavorful. Specific foods to illustrate my point:

-Red date flavored yogurt. YUM. Why doesn’t America have this flavor of yogurt? I could eat this stuff nonstop.

-My relatives’ cooking, particularly my Er Jiu Ma’s and my San Die’s (that’s aunt and uncle to you non-Chinese speakers). I've talked about Er Jiu Ma already. San Die has never had professional cooking experience, but somehow his food is equal to that of a chef’s. Maybe he was born with it. =P Even before I came back to China, I knew I wanted to eat his tang chu pai gu (sweet and sour ribs). He also makes incredible hong shao rou, which is this type of meat that is SO fatty, but so delicious. And his soups! Oh my god. I didn’t even eat rice while I was there (trying to lose weight lol); I just substituted soup for rice. I would have bowl after bowl of all of his soups because they were just so slurp-worthy. He made vegetable soup taste good. I’ve never had good vegetable soup. It’s always bland. Except for his. HOW DOES HE DO IT. Yeah, so…you get the point. 

San Die's "hui guo rou"

-This suan la fen that my aunt took me to eat one night—it was the best suan la fen I’ve ever had in my life. And I’m not even a huge fan of it! It was just so…I don’t know the word for it in English, but in Chinese we say it’s “xiang.” Literally, that it smells good. But it has another meaning too, it describes the way something tastes…but through smell. Not sure how to describe it. 

-Hot pot. Need I say more?

-Fish. Okay, usually I’m all like, “AMERICAAAA!” for most things, but when it comes to cooking fish, the Chinese definitely win. Americans can’t cook fish for shit. The Chinese do all kinds of things to their fish (fried, steamed, grilled, you name it), and they are not afraid to cook them whole, man! Whole fish is the bomb! Why can’t Americans accept that? Get rid of your crappy fish filets, they are not good. Luckily my dad knows how to make good fish. Unluckily, he lives in Florida and I do not go there very often. 

2) How cheap things are. Like taxis, tickets, etc. Pretty much everything except designer brands. Watches and electronics are actually cheaper in the States.

3) Haggling. There is NO WAY you could haggle in the US like people do in China. San Yi is a pro at it.

4) Of course, my family. That's a given, of course. I'm always jealous of Chinese friends whose families are in the States, because they can see them pretty much whenever. =/ I'm not that close with my family in China because I see them so little, which is really kind of weird. I mean, they're family. I should be close with them.

Things I will definitely NOT miss:

1) The squatting toilets. COME ON CHINA. I thought you were getting better at this...squatting toilets are so uncomfortable and awkward! Thank goodness my Er Jiu and San Yi each have one sitting toilet in their apartments. Otherwise I would constantly have cramped legs.

2) The clothes. Oh dear lord, the clothes. I don't understand how Chinese girls wear the clothes that they do. Seriously. So...tacky...they look appropriate for 5-year-olds, not 30-year-olds. All the ruffles and frills and cheap beading and misspelled English...I don't think so. Just...no.

3) The dirtiness of everything. I mean, honestly, most of China is REALLY dirty. Not just from the pollution! And I don't know how people live with it. I saw children playing on top of a GRAVEL PILE. First of all, that's just dangerous. Second, how could their parents let them play on such a dirty thing?? I would freak out if it was my kid. Also, kids pee in the street. Yeah. I saw so many kids just pop a squat and pee right off of the sidewalk. Hello, do they know what hygiene is?? I would never be able to get used to that.

4) The complete lack of respect for your fellow citizen. I mean, people say Americans are rude? We at least are taught common decency/etiquette. Most Americans say "Excuse me" when they try to get past someone. Americans know that cutting lines is a big no-no, and anyone who does cut a line is almost guaranteed to feel guilty from all the death stares he/she receives from the surrounding group. Chinese people...they shove themselves right in front of you to cut lines, they don't say excuse me, they spit on PUBLIC BUSES, they talk loudly and obnoxiously on the cell phone on a public bus...those are just a few of the things I experienced.

5) Smoking. Particularly, smoking in public spaces that are indoors, like restaurants and bars. I can't tell you how many times my mom's friends invited us out for dinner and the men would start smoking up a storm, causing me more secondhand smoke in half an hour than I've ever experienced in my life. They have got to put a ban on smoking in indoor public spaces!

Anyway, so that's pretty much it. As you can see, the cons outweigh the pros. Meaning I will never, ever move to China. Ever. The "things I will not miss" list isn't even complete. I only put the 5 biggest things (for me). Let's not forget the blatant sexism that permeates Chinese society. But I won't get into that because that will take up way too much time. All in all, though, I enjoyed my time in China. It was good to see my family again, and that was the most important thing. And I got fed well. =)