China was a country that really surprised me. I really didn’t think I would want to come back, but I actually really enjoyed it – Despite the fact that I froze my butt off. I saw the influence of the communist government, but not as much as I thought I would. It was all really subtle. Like how you can’t get on facebook or how the tour guides can’t talk about the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
The food was also different than Chinese food in the States. It was less fried, but more greasy. I must say that I mastered my chopstick skills. People are so happy in China, especially the elderly we saw at the Temple of Heaven. In the US, everyone has such a negative connotation with the word communism and assume that people are unhappy. But I found that most everyone was happy with their life and their government.
One thing that I really loved about China is how they pronounce words that end in the letter a. Like China or Panda. These words are pronounced “Chiner” and “Pander.” I think I would go back to China just so I could say that and people wouldn’t think I was crazy. All the people in China are just so nice.
I really would like to go back and spend more time in Hong Kong and Shanghai. One interesting thing is that the taxi drivers seemed to want nothing to do with us, which is a drastic change from the other ports we have been to. I don’t know if it was because we didn’t speak the language or what. In other ports, taxis, rickshaws, cyclos, tuk tuks or whatever are all hassling us.
Overall, I really enjoyed China and I really hope that I stay in contact with the university students that I met like Alice and Yolanda. I really liked how we were able to wonder around by ourselves, but yet still had some structure.