Venting About China
What's that smell? (Reminds me of the neighbor who, when I was a kid, burned up her room by foolishly leaving a curling iron on. The whole area smelled of burnt plastic for days. Plus, she told me in exchange for my mattress that I would get her burnt one). Oh wait, it's just rubbish burning in the street! You know the usual, piles of leaves, Styrofoam, and plastic bags. Mmmmm! (Ya' know, I did have neighbors when i was little that did burn their garbage just like we're experiencing in China. Was cool to watch the plastic melt, but man it hurt to breath while too close to the fire. I kinda' looked down on them for it, 'cus I knew that it was really harming me and the environment. Thanks for teaching me that Ranger Rick Magazine).
(This next line must be sung while read)
Hot time summer in the city, smell of feces from the sewer making me sick and less witty. Another lovely smell found just around the corner.
OR
(Same thing applies here as did to the above line)
Stop now what's that smell everybody look at the nasty steam coming up from the sewer.
Toilets smell and there's no flush handle, instead a hose attached to a garden style faucet that one switches on and waits until their present disappears. Cleaning fluid in the washrooms, not called bathrooms or toilets, because no one will know what you mean using that kind of Standard English, in the form of a yellowish liquid, which is tactfully sealed in recycled 2L pop bottles (note my sarcasm). I'm all for recycling but you gotta have boundaries.
It's not a student constantly interrupting me during class, but an airplane, for the planes descent is directly over campus, specifically the teaching building. Waiting for an answer after posing a question has a whole new meaning here in Zhanjiang.
Hey, let's be crazy and wear shorts while it's hot out! You're just too wild for me! That's right it's generally culturally unacceptable to dawn those natural air-con clothing that the US considers yesterday's news. Though, I have to admit wearing pants will cut back on the number of insect bites. Boy did I think people starred at me before, and with the addition of sunglasses they go nuts giggling, pointing, and yakking away, not just in regards to me, Kim too. Only movie stars wear tinted glasses right, that's why I wear them, not because of the glaringly blinding sunlight in my eyes.
One thing that few people in the states ever have to deal with is when the language preference setting on Microsoft Word of your PC for example, or whatever other word processing program you utilize, has not been changed and you begin typing away and there is nothing appearing on the screen, unless of course you click the mouse over a Chinese character from a window that takes the place of what the computer thought was a word you were typing in pin yin (the Romanized form of Chinese words) or you realize that and then change the language preference to English.
Ever get the willies when a young teenage kid struts by in the latest T-shirts from Abercrombie & Fitch, which state:
"Don't Bother/I'm Not Drunk Yet.''
"Bad Girls Chug. Good Girls Drink Quickly.''
"If You Can Read This You Need Another Cocktail.''
"Sotally Tober.''
These T-shirts that glorify teen drunkenness, as a headline reads from a recent article off of www.sfgate.com (San Francisco Chronicle), are about as bad as what I see in China.
One shirt states "How to get lucky" and is worn by a non-fluent English Language Learner between the ages of 8 and 12. Below the statement it goes on to explain various ways to get lucky. Just a little sexist and inappropriate for someone that age. Then there is my personal favorite: "a.s.s. hole" which lists nothing else but that on the entire shirt. These kids and woman have no clue what they display to the world (note that guys were not included because they tend to wear NBA jerseys with matching knee length shorts or a white botton-down short sleeve shirt, black pants, belt with some Chinese brand name on the extra shiny buckle and black heeled shoes that have a point at the front that is typically reminiscent of a high heel). So sad...that's in reference to the English displayed on T-shirts! Also, there are quirky shirts of yesteryear displaying Betty Boop's plump face or some may simply state: "Betty Boop [heart]." Still more are jumbled words or phrases that make no sense and are bought only because they display Romanized letters and words. Of course you'll find knock offs and rejected items from factories, too. I personally own a pair of Sport Word sandals, yes that's spelt correctly Sport Word and not Sport World. Catchy isn't it? Nike spelt backwards is pretty common, or with the letters jumbled up Knie, Niek, or Nkie.
This sucks, hacking up crap outta my throat is not my idea of fun! The symptoms first appeared upon returning to Zhanjiang from our trip around Asia, then it spontaneously disappeared once we arrived in Hong Kong, and now it's back again with a vengeance. Long story short I know for sure that, like the rest of humanity, I too am allergic to mold. See earlier posts for further details if you dare. Wahahaha!
