Hardened street habits
After being in China (and other asian countries) for so long I've noticeably changed:
1. I no longer really look or flinch when I accidentally hit or tap people on the road or in stores or on the subway. I don't even think about saying sorry unless I hit them pretty hard or hit someone in the face.
2. I start crossing the street from wherever I am after I make sure there's no cars coming in the lanes adjacent to me. I'll cross 1 lane at a time until I make it across. I barely flinch when a bus goes by in front of me about 2 yards away. Crosswalks barely exist to me anymore. I only look for them as a possible safety net to make it easier to cross.
3. I don't say hi to anybody when I walk into a store anymore. I just walk in, find what I need, give them money, say thank you and walk out.
4. When I walk into a store or restaurant to strictly see what they're serving and someone says hello I don't even look at them. I just ignore them while I get the information that I came in for. If I need to see the menu then I will ask them for it.
5. If someone is trying to get my attention on my street I just ignore them. Even if I can tell they're trying to talk to me I don't look. Sometimes if I feel like it I'll wave my hand horizontally without looking as if to say "don't bother me".
6. If anybody says the word "special" to me I know it's a ripoff and immediately ignore them.
7. I'm more aggressive about everything in general, from talking to people to buying something to looking for something to eat to standing in line. I will take much less bullshit from general people and my patience has dropped a bit.
8. If I see somebody digging through trash I don't flinch anymore. I just offer them any recyclables I'm carrying.
9. When I see random chunks of flesh including heads of chickens, snakes, eel, crickets, pig heads, cow ears, chickens with their heads intact
staring at me I sort of chuckle and move on. I've seen a lady pull a fish out of a pail of water and slap it in the head with the flat side and descale it while it's still flipping around. Funny how I considered that "fun" when I was a kid but now it seems like it's torturous. I used to stare at these things for a while when I first saw them but now it's like, "oh look it's just another pig head chopped in half and you can see the brain" and I move on.
I still have a softer spot for foreigners though. I'm still more gentle with people whom I can tell are not from the area because I feel like they will treat me the same way.
Anybody hanging out with me after I get home in June is going to be in for a pleasant surprise (laughs) or a major public annoyance (anxiety). :)
1. I no longer really look or flinch when I accidentally hit or tap people on the road or in stores or on the subway. I don't even think about saying sorry unless I hit them pretty hard or hit someone in the face.
2. I start crossing the street from wherever I am after I make sure there's no cars coming in the lanes adjacent to me. I'll cross 1 lane at a time until I make it across. I barely flinch when a bus goes by in front of me about 2 yards away. Crosswalks barely exist to me anymore. I only look for them as a possible safety net to make it easier to cross.
3. I don't say hi to anybody when I walk into a store anymore. I just walk in, find what I need, give them money, say thank you and walk out.
4. When I walk into a store or restaurant to strictly see what they're serving and someone says hello I don't even look at them. I just ignore them while I get the information that I came in for. If I need to see the menu then I will ask them for it.
5. If someone is trying to get my attention on my street I just ignore them. Even if I can tell they're trying to talk to me I don't look. Sometimes if I feel like it I'll wave my hand horizontally without looking as if to say "don't bother me".
6. If anybody says the word "special" to me I know it's a ripoff and immediately ignore them.
7. I'm more aggressive about everything in general, from talking to people to buying something to looking for something to eat to standing in line. I will take much less bullshit from general people and my patience has dropped a bit.
8. If I see somebody digging through trash I don't flinch anymore. I just offer them any recyclables I'm carrying.
9. When I see random chunks of flesh including heads of chickens, snakes, eel, crickets, pig heads, cow ears, chickens with their heads intact
staring at me I sort of chuckle and move on. I've seen a lady pull a fish out of a pail of water and slap it in the head with the flat side and descale it while it's still flipping around. Funny how I considered that "fun" when I was a kid but now it seems like it's torturous. I used to stare at these things for a while when I first saw them but now it's like, "oh look it's just another pig head chopped in half and you can see the brain" and I move on.
I still have a softer spot for foreigners though. I'm still more gentle with people whom I can tell are not from the area because I feel like they will treat me the same way.
Anybody hanging out with me after I get home in June is going to be in for a pleasant surprise (laughs) or a major public annoyance (anxiety). :)
posted by Jimmy at
1:00 AM
1 Comments:
Haha. This is a funny post. I really look forward to meeting the "Chinanized" Jim.
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