I Think I Might Want One of These Armies When I Die…

Today we had a wonderful day exploring Xi’an and visiting the Terra Cotta Warriors. Prior to going to see the actual warriors, we went to a factory that makes replicas and Luna got to make a mini warrior- so cool! Ivan, our amazing guide taught us all about the tomb and he’s been invaluable in helping us get around. We’d be lost without him.

and now, for some fun….You know you’re in China when….

Josh and I have been surprised at lots of things initially in China, but now some of them seem entirely normal. Here are some everyday things we deal with that we thought might be interesting to you.

You know you’re in China when:

when… people run up to your child, grab them and just take a picture with them, without asking permission.

when… you see people spitting everywhere and it’s considered normal.

when… it always looks like twilight because of the pollution and you get used to not being able to see past the next building.

when… there is tons of street food being cooked and it smells great, but you can’t eat it.  (Not that you really want to eat snake and worms.)

when… You wouldn’t dare brush your teeth with anything but bottled water.

when… You can’t read anything. Ever.

when… Luna pretends that she is now a factory worker, because she is so completely surrounded by them all of the time. (But- we were happy when she informed us that her factory makes chocolate cake.)

when… you don’t close your eyes anymore in 12 lanes of traffic and no one is abiding by lanes or traffic signals.

when… duck, goose head, turtle, hellbender, baby pigeon and chicken feet are a normal part of any menu.

when…  the menus are 50 pages long and it takes a guide to tell you what almost any of it is.  (see photo below)

when.. you get a massage and the therapist undresses you and then dresses you again after the massage.

when…  your daughter changes the words to Oh Susanna to “I come from out of Bamboo with a banjo on my knee”.  (And she’s adamant they’re the correct words.)

when… kids under 4 years old have slits in their pants and don’t wear underwear or diapers.