Don’t touch the ground! It’s dirty!
As a kid I remember playing games where we did not touch a certain place. We would jump around the furniture and on the counter tops avoiding the ground until we could not do it anymore. In my experiences in China I find that all Chinese people have a new spin on that old game. The ground is DIRTY. Don’t touch it with your bare feet and do not put any of your belongings on the ground. I am entertained by the game that occurs constantly. The same game occurs at the meal table. I used to play the 3 second rule when a piece of food hit the table. When I could not retrieve it in three seconds I would revert to the six second rule and so on. This game is unacceptable in China. When something hits the ground or table then it does not exist anymore. They mean business. I have come to accept the lost food rule although it still hurts a little when I watch perfectly good food go into no man’s land.
On the subway yesterday I watched as a mother held her infant child above the ground of the subway (five feet in front of me) while she urinated. She then got up and moved to a different place. Nobody around even flinched. I could not believe it. I have watched little boys pee in flowerbeds and I have seen poo piles but I had (before yesterday) never seen the urinating experience inside of a building/ subway. Wow! They call them ticks. I now am a little more of a believer in the “the ground is dirty” theory. Maybe one day I will see people cover their mouths when they cough or sneeze. I don’t think so but I can dream.
Saturday’s hike contained beautiful scenery and wonderful friends. Click this link to see many more photos from that day.
