6 Things you may or may not know about China/me

1. Dryers and China don't usually appear in the same sentence.
You can buy a dryer, but they are not commonly found, and most people don't use them. Instead, clothes are hung from clothes lines like this:
2. I read this story this week.

It's about Mid-Autumn Festival, when the family gets together, eats moon cakes and watch the moon together, according to the story. If you look closely, apparently, you can see a woman, as well as a little white hare (but no man on the moon)!

3. I very rarely eat jerky, but for some reason when he asked what I wanted him to bring, I was in the mood for jerky. And I was again this afternoon. I'm snacking on beef jerky right now, imported by my brother himself when he came to visit. Thanks Ray!
4. My new apartment is on the 23rd floor. If it's a clear day, I can see mountains. But if it's not, this is what I can see. This view is more common, it seems.

5. It took a month and 4 days for internet to be installed in my current apartment. After calling and promising that somebody would come four times in a row, the internet company told me that there was construction in my building, and they couldn't install it during construction. After the construction finished, I repeatedly called them until they finally came and set it up, a 5 minute process. I'm thankful for internet!

6. Chinese food in China is completely different than Chinese food in America, and authentic Chinese food, at least in my experience, is way better. Not even a comparison.

Normal?

Sometimes just driving down the road in China is an adventure. Last week as I was riding down a somewhat major road (4 lane highway), I saw this pile of rocks in the middle of the outside lane. It didn't phase me until I viewed it through non-Chinese eyes. I've gotten used to so many things here that many things don't seem out of the ordinary at all. But when I actually stop and think about things, I'm reminded that living in China really is an adventure, because I experience things on a daily basis that I never would if I didn't live here!
Here's another classic China picture: the school-aged boys with their arms around each other, the three-wheeled vehicles waiting to give people rides for a couple kuai, the driver with his pink bottle (pink is for guys, too!) of tea, people sitting in the background taking advantage of the shade during the afternoon break before going back to work, another guy in the background (right behind the three wheeled car) selling little trinkets, a little square in the sidewalk with a tree planted in it to add green to the city, the stares at the white foreigner on the bus - me.

And the next few pictures are a story for next time - I'm still waiting for a friend to get me the rest of the pictures.See the telephone pole right in the middle of the picture? Here's another angle (from the other side).

I jumped.