1. If you don't eat dumplings, your ears will fall off
2. Chinese food is so Chinese
3. Bras will (probably) not explode under X-rays
4. Travelling in China is fantastic
5. I'm just not cut out for turtles
6. Foreigners in China are instant celebrities
7. There's a certain poetry to the madness of life over here
8. I ain't 'alf bad like at teachin' Ingerlish. Innit.
9. Don't believe the hype: in China, construction takes forever
Everywhere you look, all along the horizon surrounding campus, you can see the impressive rate of construction in China. Towers and malls are going up in weeks, rather than months. The catch is that nothing is ever 'finished' - at least not what you'd expect 'finished' to look like - so the construction and repairs are ongoing.
Example thoughts I'm sure that the builder who 'did' our bedroom ceiling must have had: Light fitting's in. Light's on. Great. Next apartment. Never mind that the hole where my first attempt failed hasn't been filled in... Actually, he probably never even thought of the latter part, a subconscious doublethink because he takes no pride in his work. And when any efforts are made towards cleaning up? Well, remember the Disaster Toilet?
The Terracotta Army, and nearby Xi'an, is amazing, incidentally. If not at first sight - they're poorly lit and surrounded by German tourists - they're certainly a grower and one of my favourite sights in China. Although, if I'm up on my history, they weren't finished either...
10. A student's for life, not just a semester
11. Get out there
NO MOPED.