Notes from Sunday in Beijing

Sunday, April 2, 2006, 8:01 p.m.
Less than a day until we get Cao Ai Hua

By Terry R. Cassreino

BEIJING - As Pam and I prepare to say goodbye to Beijing and prepare ourselves for several days in Nanchang, we offer these observations on life in China’s capital.

Exotic dishes

Yes, to answer a question left dangling from an earlier post: Chinese do eat scorpions, grasshoppers, starfish and sea horses impaled on wooden sticks and found throughout downtown.
But before people enjoy the crunchy treats, they are usually deep fried.
Besides that, some people also dine here on other foods that are considered exotic (and likely frowned upon by Westerners and United States residents).
Among the dishes you can buy in Beijing and other parts of China: cockroaches, small dogs, cats and just about any part of any other animal you can think of (such as duck tongue, pig intestines and turtle shells).
While it may sound strange to some people, keep in mind this fact: This is a foreign culture with different habits than we are used to back home. Plus, we probably eat food that seems strange to them (how about hog's head cheese?).

Public restrooms

Public restrooms across Beijing, and probably the rest of the country, feature the typical toilet: It sits flush with the floor, requiring you to squat to use it.
This is far from just a “hole in the floor.” They look almost like a regular toilet.
But instead of having a raised seat to sit on, the seat is flush with the floor and you simply squat (or stand if you are a man and have to relieve your bladder).
While most Americans probably look at them and run away, I bet they actually are a heck of a lot easier to keep clean.

Traffic lights

On our way to tour The Great Wall of China on Saturday, I noticed something that cities in the United States should consider: timers on stop lights.
As we approached traffic lights, a timer sat next to the light showing the driver how many seconds until the green light turned red. Now doesn’t that make sense?


Text and photos copyright 2006 by Terry R. Cassreino.