Getting by in China- 22 Things You Didn't Know Before You Visit

1.) Anyone (young and old) can go to the bathroom ANYPLACE, anytime.

2.) Get ready to see kids with slits in their pants, going from back to front.

3.) The Chinese are very modest when in the company of the opposite sex, but don't mind showing off their goodies with members of the same sex (i.e.- most college showers are much like locker room ones from high school).

4.) When you go to a restaurant, a fuwuyuan (waitress) will hover over you until you order. Sometimes they'll stand there for upwards of 15 minutes!

5.) The English menu and the Chinese menu do not have the same prices for the same dishes.

6.) An ice cream cone is about the equivalent of 18cents. Oatmeal ice cream... yummm.

7.) People only speak English when they try to sell you something.

8.) Shoes are a signal of status. This is why shoes are generally pretty expensive.

9.) Yao Min is their hero. Everyone wears Houston Rockets jerseys.

10.) Everyday old men flood the sidewalks to play cards. Generally speaking, there are 4 people playing and about 10 watching with about three or four of these huddels every few hundred yards.

11.) It's not very often you will see the sky, but when you do, everyone notices it.

12.) KFC>McDonalds

13.) They do not realize Pizza Hut is an American chain

14.) If you're in Beijing, do not compliment Shanghai. If you're in Shanghai, do not compliment Beijing.

15.) Mao can do no wrong. Deng Xiaoping who?

16.) There are no yellow lights on stop lights

17.) No one drinks the water. Everyone, with exception of the homeless, drinks bottled water.

18.) On that note, their recycling habits are IMPECCABLE. Thanks to the rebate for plastics and glass. Oh, and the fact that 3 empty beer bottles=1 ice cream cone.

19.) When it rains, it pours. (However, the temperature is comprable to DC)

20.) Men and women do not wear wedding bands.

21.) They are more capitalistic and opportunistic than Americans and American companies.

22.) On the other hand, the PLA (People's Libeartion Army) is the boss of just about every Chinese store. They are also in charge of all of the knock-off products.