THINGS I LIKE ABOUT CHINA

China isn't all bad. Perhaps my recent blog posts incorrectly give that impression. I like working with young people here. It is rewarding, fun, and pretty stress free. There are even a handful of things I like about China in general. In no particular order, and certainly not because this nice immigration officer is standing here making me: 

1. There is no tipping in China. I hate tipping. I've never understood why I have to pay the salary of someone else's employees. It used to be that you tipped for excellent service; now you just tip for any service. Thank you so much for pouring me a cup of coffee. Here's a dollar. I really appreciate you taking the top off my beer. Here's a buck. It's absurd. There is no tipping in any industry in China, and perhaps the service is a bit lackluster as a result, but it's not terrible either. If anyone in our lives deserved a tip it would be a doctor who successfully performed your surgery, or a teacher who helped you see the world in a new way, not someone who gave you a haircut. Other countries I've been to that don't tip are New Zealand and Japan, which coincidentally are the most enlightened places I'm aware of.

2. There is no sales tax in China. After living in two states with no sales tax (Oregon and Montana) I've really grown to resent this particular tax. My biggest problem with sales tax is that it takes a nice round number and makes it odd, which results in being handed a bunch of change. That being said, I would gladly pay 15% sales tax and walk around with pants loaded down with pennies if the government provided free health care. 

3. The Chinese love drinking tea. I started drinking tea a few years ago, and I swear by it. It is so good for you on so many levels. We have China to thank for introducing the world to this beverage. Here in China places that sell tea are a lot like bars, where people linger for hours talking and drinking. There are specific rituals invloved with drinking tea, all of which aid in relaxation. When you buy tea, it is usually followed by sitting with the store owner and drinking several cups. 

4. The Chinese exercise, dance, and sing in parks and public spaces. Usually these activities are done as part of a group in the early morning or in evening. I particularly like watching group ballroom dancing and group taekwondo.  Public parks also usually have some basic exercise equipment in addition to kids playground equipment.

5.  Grandparents play a large role in raising their grandkids. It's kind of nice to see an old man on a scooter with his granddaughter, or playing badminton with her. Families are very close here in general, and extended families usually live together. It is quite common for grandparents to take care of the kids while the parents are off at work.

6. There is a lack of enforcement of laws. Admittedly, this is a bad thing in most instances. But for a white guy without a drivers license and no vehicle registration for his scooter, it is quite nice. If there was any kind of traffic enforcement I would easily be caught. But the truth is, I drive my scooter 20 minutes each way to work on major roads, 4 times a day, and have never been stopped, and rarely see police. One massive problem associated with this is that the roads are insane and dangerous, but that is the subject for another, less positive blog.

7. There is very little crime in China and extremely limited violent crime. This is one of the nice bonuses of having a non-transparent, authoritarian government. People are too scarred to step out of line because they fear what amounts to unclear, but likely severe consequences. As a result China is a pretty safe place, more so than most of the United States. The same was true in Jordan.