Traveling

A negative post- quick rant- nothing to see here.

Just a little rant here for yall- most of it is negative so don't feel you have to read on. I just want to try and be as true as possible to my experience (and feelings and thoughts) while here.

I just want you to know that this is the most disgusting place I have ever been to in my life. Beijing is really not bad- I went out to some more obscure places this week so I can say- holy cow. Thing si I want to say before all of this, that when you get to some of these sites, not the spitting, nor smoking, nor hawking, or anything else for that matter, spoils how beautiful some of these places are. And I have just started. Its going to get better. Also, I need to point out that there is a lot of coal mining (and use) in this country so it does produce tons of pollution hence, coughing, hawking, and spitting. But oy vey.

There is spitting going on everywhere; the bus, the train, the street, from cars, you name it. And the hawking (you know that gross sound you make before spitting but amplified 30 times) it is truly disgusting (remember the coal). But it goes on everywhere. Can you imagine being in a restaurant and not only has the guy next to you lit up a cigarette, but he starts to hawk at the top of his lungs as well? Well, come to China and you will experience it every day. Its truly fascinating.

And the smoking.. everywhere. and they dont open windows. On an air conditioned train (where you can not open the windows) they smoke like chimneys- on buses, public private you name it, smoking without opening the windows.. restaurants.. everywhere. Its supposedly getting better bc there are non smoking sections in restaurants, but that is in Beijing.. most of this doesnt fully apply to Beijing..

Kids don't wear diapers here- they just have split pants. This makes sense bc diapers are such a waste and arent biodegradable so fine, but the kids are just going where ever. its gross.. even though its kids, its still pee.. or whatever.

Oh and the garbage. have I told you about the garbage? Its everywhere. There is no system to take it away. So granted in Canad we do the same thing, only we put the garbage somwhere no one has to look at it. Here its just collected in small piles and sometimes its burnt.... outside ppls stores or homes, they sometimes burn small piles of garbage- thats always interesting to see. I have actually gotten quite used to the smell- I just find it astonishing that there isnt more of an effort to clean things up. Mind you there is a pretty efficient recycling program in the works- ppl are constantly going thru garbages to find the plastic bottles or glass bottles in them to re use them.. paper and cardboard also. I dont really know what happens to it but at least its not being thrown on the side of the road. And the other day in Pingyao, we were having a beer on a table outside and this lady kept coming by trying to get us to finish our beer faster so she could take the glass bottle.. very efficient.

The people, well, they are also different. They seem to have such stern faces, but then, all you have to do is smile at them (which is against my nature i know) and they beam back the most beautiful smile..
But then, can you even imagine a situation like this.... we asked to be upgraded (bupiaow) on a train from seat to sleeper.. and the conductor started talking and i didnt understand so i walked away. Then about 10 min later he walks by, smiles and says we should follow him. We do (thinking we are getting upgraded- bc he did the intl sign for sleeping) and we follow him. He brings us to the car where all the guards are and tells us to sit down and we can sleep there. Where, directly across from us, there are 2 guards (about 25 years old) just sitting there staring at us. Not hostile, nor sexual, just staring, like we were some type of very odd looking bug. But they don't stop. Really. You look back right at them, and its like a little staring contest until you smile. When you smile its like they then acknowledge that you are a human and they shouldnt be staring directly at you. But then, they still do it, but just when they think you are not looking. And everyone does this. Everywhere (not in Beijing). They bring their kids up and say hullo hullo hullo. they look at us as we sit in the train station, on a bus, at any point in the day, when i am out in public, i promise you there is SOMEONE staring at me. Its quite unnerving. But its still not such a bother cause they are just doing it cause they are curious... so it makes it ok, almost, you know?

Ok all this being said, I need to acknowledge the fact that I am a very spoiled north american brat. This is a beautiful country. Astonishingly beautiful. And as for the spitting, coughing, etc etc.. during the cultural revolution, no one wanted to stand out- they all wanted to be proletariats, blend in with the crowd- a no one, with nothing.. so some of these behaviors may stem from this- either way there is a plan to try and clean up this stuff- the olympics ARE coming in 2008! There was even a sign on the train- No Spitting, No Throwing litter on the ground, and No smoking. Perhaps, perhaps...

If I ever thought I was challenged in N.A., I was absolutely kidding myself. I am so happy I am doing this trip- along with learning about different cultures and people, I am learning so much about myself, and the limits I thought I had, have been pushed so much further. I can't explain this any more- I am just so thankful for this experience.

posted by jjoollee @ 12:47 AM