Things We've Learned in China

1. Want to use Facebook or Google or Twitter or YouTube or Dropbox or have a blog? Too bad. The Great Firewall of China has all of these blocked.

2. Bodily functions should be fully and loudly expressed. People here hock phlegm, spit, audibly fart and burp, pick their noses, pick their butts, etc. and they do it often and in public.

3. I've wondered how the big cigarette companies are still in business, since it seems like fewer and fewer people in America still smoke. Well, we figured it out. They moved their market to China.

4. In China, Pizza Hut is a fancy dining experience, including maître d's and linen table cloths.

5. Chicken feet. They eat them. They are everywhere.

6. There is no toilet paper, except in the hotel. You have to pack and carry your TP here.

7. Hard staring, especially at foreigners, seems to be completely acceptable. And should the foreigner decide to stare back and see how long the staring contest will go on, the Chinese person will win.

8. If two innocent looking girls approach you on the street and ask you to take their photo and then start chatting you up, they are not just being sweet. They are actually trying to get you to go to a tea shop where you get conned into footing a huge bill. We saw this happening over and over! It's pretty remarkable.

9. Before checking your luggages, you can pay $3 to have everything shrink wrapped! (this is all over Asia, not just China)