Bri's little journal

101 Signs That You’ve Lived in China Too Long

Thanks to Storm (from Chinarant) for compiling this interesting list about living in china.
Be warned, most of them are true it’s scary

1.)   A few shots of Baijiu (a very strong chinese licqour) don’t even give you a buzz
2.)   You’re at an expensive western restaurant and don’t even notice the guy at the next table yelling into his cell phone
3.)   A June 2001 Great Wall Cabernet (mixed with Sprite) is your vintage of choice
4.)   When someone says ‘snack’, you think: salted cuttlefish.
5.)   You only drink beer from one litre bottles.
6.)   You (men) roll your shirt up to your nipples.
7.)   You get your haircut on the sidewalk.
8.)   You leave the ‘Garbano’ designer label conspicuously on the jacket sleeve.
9.)   You enjoy karaoke.
10.) You go to the local shop in pajamas

11.) The China Daily is your source for hard hitting, fast breaking, investigative journalism.
12.) You have grown used to the picture quality of pirated VCDs.
13.)  Badminton and ping pong are your main forms of exercise.
14.) You watch ‘xiaqi’ (Chinese chess) on TV religiously.
15.) You find yourself “getting back to nature” in a park that contains nothing but concrete and a giant revolutionary statue
16.) You smoke in crowded elevators
17.) All white people look the same to you
18.) You like the smell of the bus
19.) Open spaces make you nervous
20.) You find state-employed retail staff helpful, knowledgeable & friendly

21.) People with bright white teeth look frightening to you
22.) You no longer need tissues to blow your nose
23.) You find yourself exiting a major highway…..  on your bike or on foot!
24.) You find western toilets uncomfortable
25.) You throw your used toilet paper in the basket (as a courtesy to the next person)
26.) You think that the heavy air actually contains valuable nutrients that you need to stay healthy
27.) Your body no longer accepts dairy products
28.) You think you speak Chinese fluently
29.) Squatting becomes your favourite position, anytime, anywhere
30.) You think a 30 year old woman who carries a Hello Kitty lunch box is cute

31.)  You can’t put a proper sentence together in your native language
32.)  You developed an acquired taste for mooncakes
33.)  You have stopped noticing the grotesquely deformed leper on the Exchange Square flyover
34.) You think Pizza Hut is high-class and worth queueing for
35.) Your building’s security guard is 4 times older than the building itself
36.)  It’s OK to throw rubbish, including old fridges, from your 18th-floor window
37.) You believe that pressing the lift button 63 times will make it move faster
38.)  You learnt to recognise Andy Lau, Leon Lai, Aaron Kwok and Jacky Cheung
39.)  You aren’t aware that one is supposed to pay for software.
40.) Pink bathroom tiles can make any building or public garden beautiful

41.)  Your colleagues eat sun-dried cuttlefish coated in sugar & you don’t bat an eyelid
42.)  A PhD in Nuclear Physics fluent in 7 languages irons your socks for a pittance but she is from the Philippines so it’s all right
43.)  You are not surprised to see your tap water run dark brown
44.)  You tell your parents their house back in your home country has bad feng shui
45.)  You are not surprised to see 85-year old ladies pushing tons of garbage up the streets of the financial district
46.)  You use the word “Ayyiieeaaahh” every few sentences to convey surprise, pleasure, pain or anger
47.)  You believe you are really tall when you are only 5’8″.
48.)  You don’t recognize a bowl of chicken soup unless there are feet and a head in it
49.)  You eat a kebab on the street and call it “Cat on a stick” and keep eating
50.)  You find it acceptable that your taxi driver got directions from the concierge, asked about a hundred more people along the way, made hundred phone calls inquiring about the address and still took you to the wrong address

51.)  You think that a $7 shirt is a rip-off
52.)  You read shanghaiexpat.com and understand what people are talking about
53.)  You offer to sell your own watch to a $2 Rolex street vendor, to fend him off
54.)  You think you should wear nylon sox with your Nikes, stilettos or sandals in the summer, instead of a cotton one
55.)  You question the waitress who didn’t cut steak piece by piece, and ask for chopsticks

56.)  You always leave tray and trash on the table when you are in Starbucks
because you insisted it is the way to keep everyone employed
57.) You ask fellow foreigners the all-important question “How long have you been here?” in order to be able to properly categorize them
58.)  You are no longer flinching every few seconds in a Taxi ride.
59.) You can pinch off one nostril and let it rip
59.)  You chew on “Ducks blood” like a fatty piece of beef
60.)  You have no reservations about spitting sun flower seeds on the restaurant floor

61.)  You start reaching for a piece of fish with your chop sticks and not even notice the fish looking back at you.
62.)  Walking across the street, against the light, in and out of traffic is a piece of cake.
63.)  Your washing machine looks like it was made by Matell.
64.)  You have a pinky fingernail an inch long
65.)  You get your ears cleaned in a public square by a guy with a two foot long Q-Tip.
66.)  You think it’s okay that your girlfriend has a chinese boyfriend too, cause she doesn’t like him
67.)  You try to haggle over the rental price of a $110 a month apartment
68.)  You think it’s silly to buy a new bike when it’ll get stolen soon & stolen bikes are half the price.
69.)  You relish the thought of pizza hut, but only go when you want it to be a special occasion
70.)  You start recognising the chinese songs on the radio & sing along  with the taxi driver

71.) You (female) wear socks over your pantyhose in summer
72.) Ice cubes in beer actually make it cooler and more refreshing
73.)  You feel cheated if you don’t receive a full head and shoulder massage when getting a haircut
74.)  When you go to the toilet you start bringing your own toilet paper
75.)  You can pick up any type of food using just your chopsticks… even peanuts.
76.)  You blow your nose or spit on the restaurant floor (of course after making a loud hocking noise)
77.)  The footprints on the toilet seat are your own
78.)  You no longer wait in line, but go immediately to the head of the queue.
79.)  You stop at the top or bottom of an escalator to plan your day.
80.)  It becomes exciting to see if you can get on the lift before anyone can get off

81.)  It is no longer surprising that the only decision made at a meeting is the time & venue for the next meeting
82.)  You talk louder than is necessary.
83.)  You no longer wonder how someone who earns US$ 400.00 per month can drive a Mercedes.
84.)  You accept the fact that you have to queue to get a number for the next queue.
85.)  You get used to having a before dinner, during dinner, and after dinner cigarette
86.)  You find that it saves time to stand and retrieve your hand luggage while the plane is on final approach.
87.)  You think squat toilets are more sensible
88.)  A T-Bone steak with rice sounds just fine.
89.) You believe everything you read in the local newspaper.
90.) You regard traffic signals, stop signs, and copy watch peddlers with equal disdain

91.)  You have developed an uncontrollable urge to follow people carrying small flags
92.)  When listening to the pilot prove he cannot speak English, you no longer wonder if he can understand the air traffic controller.
93.) You regard it as part of the adventure when the waiter correctly repeats your order & the cook makes something completely different
94.)  You look over people’s shoulder to see what they are reading
95.) In the rain, you spot a vacant taxi which is 10 minutes away and you have already planned how you are going to jump out with great enthusiasm in the road, elbow everyone else trying to claim it, and wave your hands everywhere in a ‘look at me I’m a goal keeper’ kind of fashion
96.)  When you sit in the restaurant with your finger up your nose to your elbow and stare at the laowai (foreigners) Then you pull it out, inspect it, roll it into a ball,  casually flick it onto the wall or the closest person’s plate
97.)  You don’t answer your mobile so u can call back from your house/ public phone
98.)  You see some real cleavage and think WOW!
99.)  You honk your horn at people because they are in your way as you drive down the sidewalk
100.)  When car accidents become a source of heartwarming humour
101.)  When shopping at Carrefour some laowai stares you down for catching you looking into his basket while you wonder to yourself what laowai’s eat   (why, this happens to me ALL THE TIME!)

* Source from Chinarant (I think that website doesn’t exist any longer)

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3 Comments to 101 Signs That You’ve Lived in China Too Long

  1. hahahhahaha… udah sinting!! gue bacain dari atas sampe bawah :D D

  2. Dhi

    *nyengir* — sama aja ky yang posting, ga ada kerjaan :P

  3. mia

    huahaha… gelooooo… haha.. sampe guling2 bacanya nih.. kayaknya banyak tuh yg dibawa mereka sampai di sini juga kak.. mirip2 gelagatnya..haha..

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