When I first moved to China, I had not the slightest idea what the King of fruits was or that there even was a King!  Here in Asia, Durian is considered the King of all fruits. Don't worry if you are saying "What in the world is Durian?!", I didn't know what it was before I came here either.  Durian is a large yellow green fruit, about the size of a large softball, with spikes all over it; it is appropriately named the King for it's powerful smell!  I'm going to be honest with you, it STINKS!  I can hardly fathom how anyone can come to eat this fruit or put this fruit anywhere near their mouth with such an overcoming stench!  It is a beloved fruit here and all over Asia, none-the-less.  I know many Asian friends that love this fruit!  (Though I have no idea how!  I think it tastes like it smells!)  For example, the mom of my Malaysian friend was telling me how much she loved to eat Durian and how she wished she could eat it all the time!  I have seen signs that say "Durian is prohibited in this area" (because of it's overcoming odor) in buses, hotels, restaurants, taxis, and even subways!  I laugh every time I see one at the thought of someone being turned away because they have a Durian fruit in their shopping bag!  Before I left my home in the USA I thought I knew all of the most popular fruits, at least, but I didn't even know the King of fruits and a favorite all over Asia.  I am amazed every day at the vastness and diversity of this world. 

At the beginning of our Chun Jie (Chinese New Year) vacation we stayed at a hotel for one night before catching our connecting flight to our vacation destination.  We slept in two shabby (but comfortable) rooms, amounting to a few beds and a bathroom.  As we were packing up, getting ready to leave for the airport, I noticed a A4 sized, yellow laminated, paper stuck to the back of our door.  As I read a few of the ridiculous rules, my family and I were soon in fits of laughter!   First, the rule on food, fruit and pets:  'Food, fruits, and pets are strictly prohibited'.  I can understand the pet part, but food and fruits?!  You might be thinking, "Last time I checked a fruit is a food!", I was too.  How on earth can a hotel regulate whether or not customers have food in the room?!  It's a completely ridiculous rule!  Then there is the rule on souvenirs: 'Please do not take away the room items as souvenirs'.  Okay, who, in their right mind, would want to take anything from the rag-tag hotel room as a souvenir?  Seriously.   Now, on top of that, it lists the expenses of practically ALL the items in the room (PS: In the picture underneath, the prices are in RM (Malaysian Ringgit). 3RM = $1.00).  So, of those insane people wanting to take the hotel room junk, who would pay the money for those things?!  If you have enough money to buy their scratchy wool blankets, which was 100RM (~$35), from the hotel for a souvenir  then I think you would have enough money to lodge at a nicer hotel!  For instance, "Honey, why don't you grab that tray for a souvenir from this hotel! I don't mind paying 20RM!"  Then come the more unusual but totally humorous rules:  'Turning TV channels are strictly prohibited'.  For a room with a tiny TV hanging from the ceiling the last thing I would want to do as a hotel manager is draw attention to it by making ridiculous rules!  How would they find out or "punish" the customer if the TV channel was changed?  "I'm sorry, but you changed the channel from National Geographic to HBO, you will have to pay an extra fee."  It makes me laugh just think about it!  In any country, that is not your own, you will find parts of the culture, language cross overs, or language barriers more humoring than you would ever imagine.

When I first moved to China, I had not the slightest idea what the King of fruits was or that there even was a King!  Here in Asia, Durian is considered the King of all fruits. Don’t worry if you are saying “What in the world is Durian?!”, I didn’t know what it was before I came here either.  Durian is a large yellow green fruit, about the size of a large softball, with spikes all over it; it is appropriately named the King for it’s powerful smell!  I’m going to be honest with you, it STINKS!  I can hardly fathom how anyone can come to eat this fruit or put this fruit anywhere near their mouth with such an overcoming stench!  It is a beloved fruit here and all over Asia, none-the-less.  I know many Asian friends that love this fruit!  (Though I have no idea how!  I think it tastes like it smells!)  For example, the mom of my Malaysian friend was telling me how much she loved to eat Durian and how she wished she could eat it all the time!  I have seen signs that say “Durian is prohibited in this area” (because of it’s overcoming odor) in buses, hotels, restaurants, taxis, and even subways!  I laugh every time I see one at the thought of someone being turned away because they have a Durian fruit in their shopping bag!  Before I left my home in the USA I thought I knew all of the most popular fruits, at least, but I didn’t even know the King of fruits and a favorite all over Asia.  I am amazed every day at the vastness and diversity of this world. 

At the beginning of our Chun Jie (Chinese New Year) vacation we stayed at a hotel for one night before catching our connecting flight to our vacation destination.  We slept in two shabby (but comfortable) rooms, amounting to a few beds and a bathroom.  As we were packing up, getting ready to leave for the airport, I noticed a A4 sized, yellow laminated, paper stuck to the back of our door.  As I read a few of the ridiculous rules, my family and I were soon in fits of laughter!   First, the rule on food, fruit and pets:  'Food, fruits, and pets are strictly prohibited'.  I can understand the pet part, but food and fruits?!  You might be thinking, "Last time I checked a fruit is a food!", I was too.  How on earth can a hotel regulate whether or not customers have food in the room?!  It's a completely ridiculous rule!  Then there is the rule on souvenirs: 'Please do not take away the room items as souvenirs'.  Okay, who, in their right mind, would want to take anything from the rag-tag hotel room as a souvenir?  Seriously.   Now, on top of that, it lists the expenses of practically ALL the items in the room (PS: In the picture underneath, the prices are in RM (Malaysian Ringgit). 3RM = $1.00).  So, of those insane people wanting to take the hotel room junk, who would pay the money for those things?!  If you have enough money to buy their scratchy wool blankets, which was 100RM (~$35), from the hotel for a souvenir  then I think you would have enough money to lodge at a nicer hotel!  For instance, "Honey, why don't you grab that tray for a souvenir from this hotel! I don't mind paying 20RM!"  Then come the more unusual but totally humorous rules:  'Turning TV channels are strictly prohibited'.  For a room with a tiny TV hanging from the ceiling the last thing I would want to do as a hotel manager is draw attention to it by making ridiculous rules!  How would they find out or "punish" the customer if the TV channel was changed?  "I'm sorry, but you changed the channel from National Geographic to HBO, you will have to pay an extra fee."  It makes me laugh just think about it!  In any country, that is not your own, you will find parts of the culture, language cross overs, or language barriers more humoring than you would ever imagine.

If you were born in the year of 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, or 1999, then you are a rabbit.  Well, according to the zodiac anyway.  Here in China the zodiac is a big part of the new year's celebration.   Funny fact:  If it is your zodiac year then you are supposed to wear red underwear for better "luck".  The Chinese new year (also known as Chun Jie) is like an American Christmas.  Its a BIG DEAL!  If you don't believe me just drop in to hear the fire works and fire crackers that will keep you up every night for the new years week.  The sky on Chun Jie night is equivalent to a battle scene, except that the jets would have to be dropping bombs that explode into a million different colors, if they were to completely identical.  Despite the noisiness it is extremely beautiful to watch all the fireworks exploding against a black night sky.  Chinese families gather for the holiday, and eat the famous Chun Jie food: jiao zi (or boiled dumplings as some would call it).  This whole holiday is almost like a summer vacation for the students who get six weeks off of school *gasp*.  Although I only get two, I am content and look forward to the vacation awaiting me!   

These are a few common posters and signs you'll see during this holiday:      

If you were born in the year of 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, or 1999, then you are a rabbit.  Well, according to the zodiac anyway.  Here in China the zodiac is a big part of the new year’s celebration.   Funny fact:  If it is your zodiac year then you are supposed to wear red underwear for better “luck”.  The Chinese new year (also known as Chun Jie) is like an American Christmas.  Its a BIG DEAL!  If you don’t believe me just drop in to hear the fire works and fire crackers that will keep you up every night for the new years week.  The sky on Chun Jie night is equivalent to a battle scene, except that the jets would have to be dropping bombs that explode into a million different colors, if they were to completely identical.  Despite the noisiness it is extremely beautiful to watch all the fireworks exploding against a black night sky.  Chinese families gather for the holiday, and eat the famous Chun Jie food: jiao zi (or boiled dumplings as some would call it).  This whole holiday is almost like a summer vacation for the students who get six weeks off of school *gasp*.  Although I only get two, I am content and look forward to the vacation awaiting me!   

These are a few common posters and signs you’ll see during this holiday:      

Yes, there are a lot of things that I took for granted when I lived in America.  Now living in China, I realize all the things I used to take for granted.  For one, sugar.  Yes, we do have sugar here.  Never the less, the only sugar you can buy at the grocery store is wet sugar (like brown sugar's consistency).  However this sugar is not like brown sugar in the way that this sugar dries out so hard that you have to chip at it with a spoon to put a some in you tea.  So, when we buy the small bag of granulated sugar at the near by import store, the Good Friend store,  I'm thrilled!  Of course it's not like I die eating wet sugar, but granulated sugar is such a treat that I would never imagine I would miss when I moved to China!  I guess the moral of the story is that no matter where you are, there is always something to be thankful for.

Yes, there are a lot of things that I took for granted when I lived in America.  Now living in China, I realize all the things I used to take for granted.  For one, sugar.  Yes, we do have sugar here.  Never the less, the only sugar you can buy at the grocery store is wet sugar (like brown sugar's consistency).  However this sugar is not like brown sugar in the way that this sugar dries out so hard that you have to chip at it with a spoon to put a some in you tea.  So, when we buy the small bag of granulated sugar at the near by import store, the Good Friend store,  I'm thrilled!  Of course it's not like I die eating wet sugar, but granulated sugar is such a treat that I would never imagine I would miss when I moved to China!  I guess the moral of the story is that no matter where you are, there is always something to be thankful for.

Isn't it refreshing and uplifting when on a hot summer day you walk into a convenient store and get your favorite mint chocolate chip ice cream bar?  Or maybe if you run into a bakery on a cold windy day to buy a chocolate filled pastry and coffee.  It brings a warm fuzzy feeling, or a refreshing cool sensation.  Now imagine if you bought that mint chocolate chip ice cream bar, bit into it and realized it was a green tea ice cream bar with red bean?!  Or if you took a big bite into that fluffy pastry to find out it is red bean filled, not chocolate!  This is a very common experience in China and we make sure it never happens twice.  Chinese people are not big fans of very sweet treats so a red bean substitute for chocolate, or green tea instead of mint are delicious alternatives… for them.  Here are a few pictures of common snacks you can find here.  

This winter break we went to Hong Kong for a few days before Christmas.  It was a warm relief from the frosty Tianjin.  Not only was it warm, green, and lush the shopping in Hong Kong was great!  While we were there we spent half a day at a mall in Kowloon, shopping for Christmas presents for each other.  The mall that we went to had these adorable Santa statues that all had differently patterned outfits.  There was about twenty of these cute fat little Santa Clauses; here are a few: