All bits of culture have their little quirks…but the cultural quirks in China have quickly made lasting impressions, and leave us wondering, “Why do they do that?”.
For example, many Chinese men wrench their shirts up above the belly, exposing their torsos, in attempts to cool off in the heat. In that there is some practicality, although unsightly in general.
In another case, there is an awful amount of spitting going on, mostly Chinese men. Projectiles of saliva shooting to and fro…one almost caught my shoe yesterday evening. I’m not sure why, although the pollution is one guess.
Lastly, and certainly the most naturalistic of all, is defecating in public. To date we have been fortunate, only bearing witness to innumerable counts of urination. Many have told us though of the alternative variety which I can only hope we escape. To be fair, it is mostly small children, but still! Apparently children do potty train quite quickly here…something having to do with what Manali says is “elimination communication” or EC. A whole bloody industry I’m sure…as you can see in the video below.
Too funny. I remember begging for toilet paper from other tourists when we visited the Beijing Zoo, as they had stalls with cement holes in the floor, but no toilet paper. I actually have a friend who has tried practicing EC with her kids. Wait, you know her, Manali…Angela Mitchell Orenczack from high school. She uses cloth diapers and all that. Don't think her kids run around with slits in their pants though. LOL If you get a chance to go to the Beijing Zoo, it is very cool. We spent a whole day there.
Haha – I thought this was going to be a lot worse…