The grand finale, part 1: What I found to be UNUSUAL, plus some moments UNEXPECTED.

Yesterday I was asked this question about my trip: "What was your favorite?"

I came up with two answers.  One, you will find out about sometime later this week.

The other can be encompassed by this word: Unusual.  To me, anyway.

Being in a foreign place means experiencing some things that feel a little strange, maybe even bizarre, and yet are not all that uncommon to someone born and raised there.  It's one of the reasons why I've decided I need to go to some place really foreign every few years or so.  Just to get a dose of "what you think is normal might be strange to this person/situation you're thinking is a bit off kilter..."  

So here are some of my favorite "unusual" experiences, some things I will probably not encounter again now that I'm settled into my desk chair in the middle of Pennsylvania:

Thing #1:

The Squat Toilet.  

For your benefit, that's all I'm going to say about that....

Thing #2:

Extraordinarily strange food, like these chicken claws.  Say what you will about my courage, but these are on my "no." list.  


Thing #3:

Pushy people.  As I mentioned before, there is no word for "Please get into a polite and orderly line" in Chinese.  It took me awhile to figure out that "When in China, do what the Chinese do" applied to pushing my way [back] to the front when I'd been there first.  Hence, what you see here is me smiling in victory, after defeating the world's pushiest man at the first window on the left. [To be completely honest, however, he pushed me out of the way at the second window.  Still--it was a landslide victory for my first attempt.] 


[I got so good at the pushiness business that I had to remind myself I wasn't in China anymore when I got home--I have a feeling there are some people at Wegman's who are still a bit aghast at my attempts to get a loaf of bread on one of my first days back....]


Thing #4:

The Subway.  This picture was taken just moments before the storm hit, and we were surrounded by a crowd of people unlike any I'd ever seen.  We were packed into an already packed car [a situation which was to recur during our trip--in fact, there was one day where I'm not even sure that my feet were on the ground. I was simply jammed between the people around me...], and when we had to switch trains we merely shuffled along with the surge of people--out of the car, to the escalator, into the next train... [This certainly helped me to develop my pushiness skills, I'll tell you what...]  


Thing #5:

Religious ceremonies.  This event took place in the street outside of Yi-Ting's house.  These dancers were there to protect this god, 

who was being taken on a tour of the country starting at the temple on the other side of the street. 

There was quite a turn-out at 6 in the morning, and an overwhelming feeling of excitement permeated the air. 

I, for one, was glad to be surrounded by Yi-Ting's family because--gotta tell 'ya--those guys were scary.  As in, unusual.  [As in, the only feeling permeating from my direction was downright fear....]


But now for those unexpected moments.
Moment #1:

The presence of my ancestors in Tainan.  Apparently I don't need to go to Holland anymore.

[Here I am with a cannon of my heritage.  I now understand why Yi-Ting is so gracious to me--she's really just afraid.]


Moment #2:
[And this may be my favorite story of the whole trip...]

I was waiting on line at the ticket window of the Forbidden City, and noticed a pretty old man sitting on the ground near me.  He looked like he was just enjoying the view.  I lost sight of him, but about 10 minutes later I felt a tug on my arm, and there he was, asking me for something.  Yi-Ting looked at me and said "beggar".  I had an unopened bottle of water in my bag, so I took it out and gave it to him. He took one sip and made the most awful face I have possibly ever seen, saying "Bah!" as he nearly spit the water out on the ground. Then [and this is my favorite part], he handed the bottle back to me.  


[Apparently the proverb "Beggars can't be choosers" is not of Chinese origin...]


So there you have it--some unusual and unexpected tidbits that I will remember with warm smiles.  


Hopefully some of this has brought you some smiles as well, but if not you get another chance.  You have one more unusual (as in I'd never experienced it before), and unexpected (in that it was a surprise), and HEAVENLY thing in store before my Adventures in Asia are complete. Part 2 is on it's way!