When in Rome...

Well, things are starting to wrap up here in Zhuhai; we have finished our crash course in Chinese and the next two days are devoted to our TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) final projects. Soon we will head to Shenzhen, where we will leave the comfort of our huge group, start to settle into our new lives, and start to really learn what it's like to be a stranger in a strange land!
China is crazy. There, I said it, it's true. People sell freshly butchered animals (and I'm talking freshly...like right there in front of you) from carts on the street, little girls pee on the sidewalks (and I'm sure others do too...), crossing the street is to take your life into your own hands, and it is not uncommon to take a walk and have your senses suddenly assaulted by the smell of raw sewage for no reason whatsoever. I would say my favorite part so far is the sheer brazenness of Chinese people. People cut in line, walk right out into traffic, gawk at you, and spurt out random English phrases (my personal favorite is the guy who sells flowers by a bus stop who yells out "Hello! We friends now! I love you!" every time we walk by). These displays of chutzpah are quite intimidating at first, and the language barrier is (obviously) not helpful, but now that I'm starting to get the gist of how things work, it's kind of fun to join in!
On my first trip to the internet cafe, I stood on the side of a four-lane road and tried to wait for traffic to clear so I could cross. As it turns out, you can get old and die waiting for that, so instead you have to dart out into traffic. I'm sorry if the though of me darting into Chinese traffic makes those of you back home nervous, but let me explain: I'm really good at it. What you do is cross one lane at a time and NEVER run in front of a bus. Also, never just follow someone into the crosswalk (like we do at home), you have to pay attention for yourself or you will probably be hit by the car they are out-running. Another piece of traffic advice is to look both ways before getting off a bus. We were given this warning, but the other day I damn near got taken out by a motorcyclist who was zipping by between the curb and the bus...so I now consider this lesson well-learned!
Chinese love to gawk, and because we are very different we get stared at a lot...a lot. This was, admittedly, off-putting at first. However, now that I'm getting used to it, it's kind of nice that when I see something weird or interesting, I feel that I have every right to stare at it. I realize this is impolite and all, but it is very liberating to simply look at whatever is weird or different rather than doing as Miss Manners would do! The same goes for line-cutting; I personally do not like to cut in line, but it becomes a kind of game when someone is trying to do it to you. I have not yet been aggressively cut by someone, it's usually a much sneakier attack and mostly by old ladies at the grocery store.
At the grocery store I frequent, you have to have your fruit weighed at the fruit weigh-station, the candy weighed at the candy weigh-station, etc., rather than at the check-out. Now, the correct way to do this is to walk up and put your fruit on the scale yourself, and this is a prime line-cutting opportunity for the Chinese because of my American preference for personal space. You always know a cut is coming when you see them come up behind you slowly with their bag of stuff; your first instinct is the assume that they are joining into the awkward half-line that people in America will form when they don't know where to stand, but no. They are surveying the scene and seeing if they can get in. When they start to creep up to you, then in front of you, that's when the real game of jockeying for position begins. Luckily I have the weapon of physical size over them, so I can hold my own, but do not be fooled by these tiny women, they are tenacious!