"This place would totally be shut down in the US?"

I find myself thinking that a lot, my other thought is “I don’t know if I will ever get used to this”.  Today I watched several babies wearing split bottom pants pee on the sidewalk (NEVER walk in a wet spot! and NEVER wear sandals without soaking your feet in soap and water).  I saw a lady scramble to get her blanket full of lettuce out of the way of a car (who was more annoyed then understanding…what do you expect when you drive through the wet market?) and ready to sell on the side of the road.  I saw a dentist office, chair almost on the street, drill blasting, people watching, elements entering.

When you go to restaurants the typical thing to do is wash your own dishes with the pot of tea.  Just soak them for a second, and pour the dirty tea into the bowl provided. 

Grocery stores with bins of open candies, dried fruit etc…just use your hands to scoop them out. 

At wal-mart I saw a lady opening boxes of tubes of toothpaste, squeezing it onto her hand and tasting it before putting it back to try another.  I looked around and the 5 workers in the beauty aisle just watched.   I am sooooo glad I insisted on buying bulk toothpaste before we left.  *Is it just me?  Is that something people do in the US too and I just haven’t noticed?  Is it totally disgusting or am I crazy?

I can’t believe I forgot to write about the coolest type of restaurant in China.  It involves raw meat and veggies of all kinds, a burner and a large pot of oil with a spicy side and a non spicy side.  We, consumers at the restaurant drop the meat into boiling oil allow it to cook a couple min. then pull it out of the oil with the provided straining ladle and eat it.  Dad…you would LOVE it!  I enjoyed the meal, however I think it was the most meat I have ever eaten at one time and I think I consumed more oil this one night then I have ever in my life.  Something to know about Chinese cooking…they use a ton of oil!  At the grocery store they have 5 boxes of cereal and an entire aisle of oil. 

Nothing surprises me or phases me…and it really never did (except for the toothpaste thing).  I still LOVE it here!