May 29, 2005
Reasons telling you're already living in China for too long
Those of you who have already been to China might remember such situations. To some extent, they represent daily situations in China. If you encounter or live yourself these situations, this might give you an indicator that you're already living in China for (perhaps) too long. ;-)
Facts:
#1: You're pressing the "close the door" button of the elevator as soon as you enter it.
#2: You're drinking your beer with ice cubes in it.
#3: You go shopping dressed in your pyjama.
#4: You're arguing over 5 kuai with your taxi driver.
#5: You're the first person to stand up after the plane safely landed.
#6: You're showing the victory sign once someone is taking a picture of you.
#7: You're not anymore happy, if someone is bringing you some (relatively expensive) duty free cigarettes as you already adapted to (relatively cheap) local cigarettes.
#8: You're not lining up at the end of a queue. You prefer jumping the queue.
#9: You're entering the subway train before guests could leave the train.
#10: For you, a red traffic light makes no difference with a green one. You keep on moving.
#11: You let yourself thrive a long fingernail.
#12: You're using your umbrella as soon as the sun shines.
#13: You dislike eating with fork and knife.
#14: You're showing your business card as soon as your visits from home arrive in China.
These are based on my personal experience I have encountered in China. However, this list still needs to be improved and completed. If you are aware of any typical situations, please feel free to contact me or add a comment to this post.
Cheers,
Claudio