I love the Chinese people. Here are a few things that they love…..

–Anything really loud. This includes women screaming over a microphone at the grocery store promoting foods on special, music in any retail store, bars and clubs, when talking on the phone and I could go on and on. I’ll be lucky if I get to leave the country without a hearing aid.

–Umbrellas. Don’t leave home without it. We are in rainy season which means it could go from a beautiful polluted, blue sky to 2 feet of rain water on the ground in an hour. But, the even bigger reason to carry your umbrella with you everywhere is to block the sun. The Chinese, women especially, hate getting any sort of tan and go to extremes to prevent it (holding newspapers, books, purses over their heads).

–Heels. I have no idea how these women walk around the city in heels all day long. I can barely withstand them for a night. And forget trying to find a nice, flat sandal for summertime. Heels only.

–Stupid haircuts. The men here need some help. Remember when Posh Spice was doing the side angle thing? Well, it’s a combination of that along with the 80’s poof and dyed blonde. As Paris Hilton would say, ‘that’s hot’. The very moment we buy a new camera, I promise to post a few picks. .

–Stamps. It’s not a valid receipt unless it’s stamped. Try going through customs without 100 stamps on your passport. Everywhere we go, the Chinese are stamping everything they see. Even the entry tickets into our community pool have stamps.

–Man bags. Hell, I’m a call it like I see it kind of girl, so let’s just call it a purse. And they don’t even try to carry the inconspicuous black, leather one. If the man likes pink, he is secure with his manhood and get’s a pink pleather Gucci knock off.

–Bikes. With a city of 12 million, I think it’s great that you are using this green transportation vehicle. I appreciate it, the others on the planet appreciate it and my lungs (that breathe your polluted air) appreciate it. My only suggestion is that you might want to through a few Yuan at a bike that wasn’t made in 1945. I know it still works, but when the frame breaks while your crossing the highway one night, you’ll thank me.

–Badminton, Ping Pong and other stupid exercises. The badminton and ping pong is a little stereotypical but, they really do love it. The school across the street from us has a whole badminton facility and it’s not unusual to see people just playing on a city street. The stupid exercise part cracks us up. Whenever we are in the park for a run we pass people who are walking and swinging their arms from left to right, clapping their hands, holding their arms out in front of them or to the side as they walk, etc. But, I believe their life span is longer than that of Americans so maybe they know something we don’t.

–Squating. And I’m not just talking about when in the toliet (Refer back to my most popular post, It Could Happen to You). Someone told me that another common medical belief is that women shouldn’t sit on the ground. I’m not sure why. But, even the men don’t ever sit on the ground. It’s really funny to see a group of men, in a park, squatting and talking or playing cards. Every time we pass someone doing this, Fabien makes a fart noise. It’s immature, but it never fails to make me laugh.

–Babies. But who doesn’t love babies, right? Well, because they are only allowed one child per family, that baby is oh so precious to them. Every afternoon the grandmothers congrigate with their respective babies and coddle them like crazy.

It’s been a while, so let me give you a few Dollar DVD’s……

New Moon. I drank the Koolaid on the plane over here and bought the Twlight book. To be honest, when I was done, I wasn’t on board and even decided not to continue with the second book. So, when my DVD Dealer suggested Twlight and New Moon to me I bought them but only because there was nothing else I was interested in. I watched Twlight and my feelings were reenforced after it was finished. BUT THEN I watched New Moon and I get it. Team Jacob girls! The story line is so interesting with the wolves and vampires that I’ve watched it three times and decided to read the book. Fabien even said it was decent.

It’s Complicated. Fabien and I both thought this was really good. You probably know the story line, but basically it’s about an ex-husband and ex-wife who rekindle their broken romance. It’s just a really funny movie and Alec Baldwin and Meryl Streep are a great duo.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I know that I am probably the last one to see this film but it just hasn’t crossed my path since this week. I just thought Benjamin was so inspiring and I plan to rematch it to capture some of the great, inspiring quotes. It vaguely reminded me of Forest Gump, but I love that movie too. So, if you are one of the few people who haven’t seen it, watch it!

And lastly, I have a US number that you can contact us at from cell phones and landlines for no charge at all. It’s (248) 556-2826 just remember that we are 12 hours ahead of you.