I enjoy the daily craziness that is living in China.   Always something new to see and experience.  This past week my commute has been upgraded to walking to/from work vs. taking the subway.  Hallelujah!  Of course, it’s 90+ degree with 110% humidity daily so by the time I arrive, I am soaked but still, it’s  nice not to be crammed into an underground tube with millions of coughing strangers.  At least on the street, the DNA being spit out has room to expand and a chance to blow away if I’m lucky enough to enjoy a breeze.   Now, I usually embrace public transportation as easy and cheap but enjoy it not being a daily necessity.  This past week when we were in Hong Kong, we travelled by subway and enjoyed the clean, well marked and lovely lime colored ambience.

My fellow walking commuters crack me up.  Several times I have seen ladies of a more seasoned age walking backwards down the sidewalk.  Now, are they just crazy or is there a reason for this awkward commuting behavior?  I’ve researched online and many opinions exist including that the Chinese believe that walking backwards is good for the brain and stops memory loss and also that it improves your balance.  Thom believe that these lovely ladies I see think walking backwards is like going in reverse in a car and rolling back the odometer— acting like a time machine, you can easily take years off your life!  Of course, it could just be as simple as:  WHY NOT?  Makes perfect sense to me.

The stories just rolled in this week of odd behavior that people wanted to share.  A friend visiting from the U.S. just had to tell me about his “shocking” experience in the public bathroom.  Standing at the urinal, the dude next to him dropped his pants and proceeded to do his thing buck naked from the waist down.  Again, WHY NOT?   When I told Thom this story, he one upped it by telling me his story of odd public bathroom behavior.  He was using the facilities when in walked a gent who proceeded to not only drop his pants to use the urinal but then proceeded to waddle over, pants pooled at his feet, and wash his junk in the sink.  Needless to say, Thom made the wise choice to use hand sanitizer vs. waiting to use that sink to wash up.  Smart man!

Now, some of you may be just dying to know more about the local slant on why you should poop more often so I am sharing the article I read this week that is just hysterical and comes with handy tips–read on if you dare:

http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/shanghai/blog/health-matters-poop-yourself-happy/

For those of you who might just want a quick quip from the article, here is a snapshot, “..Chinese fruit stalls also sell fancy gift boxes of fruit.  So while your colleagues may have thought that when you bought your angry supervisor a box of pears you were pai ma pi (kissing ass), what you’re really doing is making the workplace better by helping your boss be a little less full of shit.”.  The author makes a good case for the perfect gift for all–fruit, fruit and more fruit!

Who knows what craziness will greet me this week as I walk down the street on my morning commute??

Looking forward to the unexpected and the crazy as I relish the adventure of living in China.  Now, I’m off to buy some pears.