We’ve been in China for almost two weeks! And so far, we are loving our new city. I snapped these shots while walking around town this afternoon. Most of these were taken on the street behind our apartment. I wanted to write about the first 10 realizations I had after being here for just over a week!

1. VIEW. The living room in our apartment has an INSANE view of the city. I’m talking skyscrapers, a river, a park- this view is legit. If you’ve been keeping up with my Insta stories then I’m sure you’ve seen how amazing it looks first-hand! I had no idea what to expect when we got here- and let me tell ya- I was not expecting as nice of an apartment as we got.

2. FOOD. The food is unusual but good. I’ve had some weird things and some delicious things. The food is quite different from Pei Wei… not as much meat, lots of starch, but the seasoning is delicious. It’s also cheap! I can get a fresh made meal for $2. It’s going to be hard not to eat out every day!

3. POLLUTION. The pollution isn’t so bad. All this talk of smog… It looks sunny out most days!

4. JK. I thought it wasn’t so bad. At first. But then I started coughing. And I haven’t been able to stop. Time to buy a mask!

5. THEY DON’T EAT DOGS. At least not where I’m at. There’s lots of pet doggies everywhere! About a block away from our apartment is the nicest puppy store I’ve ever seen. They have so many cute pups with about every accessory available that you could ever want for your animal- including puppy strollers. And in front of the puppy store people hang out with their dogs and drink Starbucks (it’s right next door) and everyone plays together and it’s awesome. I WANT ONE!

6. SO. COLD. Like, so cold. My apartment feels like an igloo. We don’t have central heating here in China.. just space heaters.. so whenever I walk into a room I have to turn on the heater… walk back out.. and then in about 20 minutes that room will be suitable to actually go into. Heating is very expensive here else I would just heat the whole house. The floor is cold so I wear at least two pairs of socks whenever I walk around. And the bathrooms don’t have space heaters so they are FREEZING! I do my hair in the living room sometimes. I’m finding ways to work around the constant cold!

7. CHINESE BABIES. I can’t deal. They are so cute. The Chinese people believe that the cold is something you “catch”, like a sickness. So they bundle up their babies until they look like little eskimos and it’s so stinking adorable. I can’t handle it.

8. MODERN… OR ANCIENT? China has so many modern amenities mixed with old things. They have their own version of uber, a food delivery service for any restaurant in the city, maserati’s and BMW’s at every corner, they pay for everything using an app, and they have so many other modern conveniences that are not common in America. Yet, there are people walking around selling homemade candy out of wagons, they deliver packages on rickety scooters, and women sweep the street with literal straw brooms. One moment you feel like you’ve stepped into the future and the next you feel like you’re in the 1500’s. It’s weird!

9. THEY LOVE TO DANCE. The Chinese have dance practice in the park. And then every morning and afternoon they have big dance sessions at the square in the park. I can hear it from my living room and watch it from my balcony. I’ve thought about joining in, but most of them are old and I don’t want to scare them! Chinese people always look so terrified when I approach them…I am like a giant to them and I look so different!

10. NO ONE SPEAKS ENGLISH. Literally nobody. The guy who did my hair today tried to talk to me in English but our conversation went no where because he couldn’t understand a full sentence. Sometimes the Chinese will say “Hello!” and look all proud of themselves. But if I respond, “How are you?!” then they look freaked out. Also, I keep wanting to say “Hola!” but then I remember I’m not in South America. So there will be no getting out of learning this language!

That’s all for now! xx

Have you been somewhere where no one speaks English?! How did you survive?! Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

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I got a new camera so hopefully my photos will be looking better and better. xx

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