random observations

this is my first post and i don't really feel like recounting every thing that has happened in the past few days, so i'm just going to list a few funny things i've encountered:

when you go to the bathroom at a nice restaurant or a karaoke place there is often a man there who attempts to massage you while you pee. i really can't imagine who would find this pleasing. strangely, this is also one of the few times when you are expected to tip in china - needless to say, i have not tipped any bathroom masseuses.

chinese bar owners think that the best way to attract foreigners is to say that they have prostitutes at their bar. if a group of us walk down a street several people will grab hold of our arms and claim to have a "lady bar". the funniest part of these exchanges is that they usually say that the prostitutes only cost about 100 kuai, or less than 13 dollars. the fsp group has found this pretty funny, so we've taken to measuring the cost of random objects in terms of how many women they could buy.

for some reason, i get a really strange feeling whenever i see a fellow waiguoren (foreigner). it's really a novelty to see a person who looks like you - i definitely didn't expect this kind of strange nostalgia.

bargaining is a really funny staged practice. often both the buyer and seller will smile or laugh while they go through the motions of offering and counter offering prices. also, ANYTHING can be bargained for - from food to chairman mao watches.

just about everyone i've talked to in our group has "la duzi" or diarrhea. i think that might be a part of life for a while.