10 Things I Love About Life in America

Three months in, a few things I love about being back in America:

1. Walking into a store that has clothes and shoes in my size, and no one telling me I am too big or fat for their store.
2. Buying produce without having to weigh it first at a chaotic produce counter where if you don't shove to the front, you never get your stuff weighed.
3. No one screaming "Hello!" in my face as I'm walking by.
4. Super clean public bathrooms!
5. Everything smells so good. (Americans are very particular about smells, aren't we?)
6. Indoor climate control everywhere you go.
7. People smile at you and hold the door*.
8. Target.
9. So much cheese!
10. No firewall, no need to censor what I'm Googling, and I can take pictures of whatever I want.**

*Stores in my part of China don't have doors, just an open wall, but no one smiles.

**In the video I posted recently of my neighborhood, you might not have noticed I was being very careful to keep the camera on my side of the street. That's because across the street was a large firehouse, which in China is a military installation. You're not allowed to photograph that kind of thing, and they had an armed military officer at all times outside the firehouse keeping guard. You always need to be careful in China where you're pointing your camera.

Tomorrow, 10 things I miss most about living in China.

Stuff I’ve Learned

1. Any food you eat in bed tastes exponentially better.

2. It’s okay to admit you hate camping. When I was younger, I sort of made myself believe I liked the outdoors because most of the guys I was interested in were mountain men on the side. The truth is, I like hot showers and seafood buffets and soft hotel beds, so sue me!  On the plus side, when you admit that out loud, you find the people who feel the same way. Amazing.

3. Something more expensive that will last over time is a much better deal than cheaper and easily broken. This is especially true of shoes and appliances.

4. The question is not “Are you single?” The question should be: “Are there any girls who you know think they’re your girlfriend?”

5. Sometimes what is holding us back is the fear of our own success, either because we don’t think we deserve it, or we don’t want the responsibility that comes with it.

6. A guy who wants to help you carry your bags or pay for things doesn’t necessarily think you’re incompetent or needy; it’s sometimes just how he learned to show he’s interested in you. It’s okay to accept these things graciously. And to give back. 

7. A man who makes you laugh is 90% of the way to smoochville.

8. We don’t always know what people have been through in their lives. It’s okay to feel forgiveness and compassion when they’ve let their past influence them to be someone who hurts you.  It’s also okay, if the situation warrants, to not let them have access to hurt you again.

9. First Class? Very often, worth the extra money.

10. Cheese is really, really, really, really good and eating it while you ponder can help you solve a lot of problems.

Popular/Unpopular

It's been interesting to me to see which things from my home culture are popular here and which are completely unknown, even though in my eyes, they are comparable products. These things listed as 'popular' are well-known to people in my city; that is the average Chinese person you meet here would know and like them. The 'unpopular' category are things I consider popular in the U.S., but are unknown here.

Popular TV: Prison Break (they LOVE it), Big Bang Theory (this one surprised me), Lost, Gossip Girl, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty
Unpopular TV: 30 Rock, The Office, The Daily Show, CSI-type shows, Reality TV

Popular Fast Food Chains: KFC, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Subway
Unpopular Fast Food Chains: Wendy's, Taco Bell, Carl's Junior, Quizno's

Popular Candy Bars: Snickers, M&Ms
Unpopular Candy Bars: Everything else

Popular Movies: Titanic (oh man, you have no idea), Forrest Gump, Gone With The Wind, recent action movies like Transformers
Unpopular Movies: Comedies, Indies

Popular Songs: My Heart Will Go On (it's the unofficial national anthem), Hotel California, Country Roads (Take Me Home),
Unpopular Songs: Just about everything else

Popular Singers: Celine Dion, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Avril Lavigne, Green Day
Unpopular singers: anyone country or alternative

Popular Junk Food: Oreos, Chips Ahoy, Cheetos (meat flavored), Lays potato chips (meat,veggie and fruit flavors like blueberry, cucumber, mango, tomato, chicken and beef), Coke/Coke Zero, Pepsi/Pepsi Max, Mountain Dew, Sprite
Unpopular Junk Food: Anything cheese flavored, crackers, anything not Oreo or Chips Ahoy, rootbeer, regular diet drinks, Dr. Pepper, doughnuts, anything maple flavored, any type of corn chips

Cheese and peanut butter are not popular here. (Although in my experience, peanut butter is not popular anywhere outside of NA.)

I wish I knew the reasoning behind why these particular products are so successful; I don't know who has failed, and who simply hasn't tried to market here. Pepsi and Coke are pretty much equal here, and my students are always surprised when I tell them Coke is more popular than Pepsi in the U.S. I also find it interesting to see glimpses of Chinese clothing, decorations or backgrounds in tv series such as Ugly Betty or Prison Break; a quiet nod to their overseas market, perhaps?

Random Things

I love that my laptop and iPod run on 100 - 240 voltage and I don't have to carry converters. 

I love that I can take antibiotics when I get sick. 

I love that I can download silly American tv shows and get a small respite from daily life here. 

I love that I can get dimsum 24 hours a day on the street near my apartment. 

I love that I have friends who know I am eccentric and have a hard time moving past my mistakes, and like me anyway. 

I love that I can still shop on Amazon, Target and iTunes because my credit card address is still U.S. based. 

I love cheese.