Mark's Top Ten Random Musings

Random musings:

1. You know how people complain about Michigan drivers? Here we have Zhangjiagang (ZJG) drivers. It is only 2.5 hours away by car, but you would think you were in a completely different country by the way they drive. It is so bad; the expatriate (expat) drivers from Shanghai do not like driving in ZJG. On the 35 minute ride to work there, accidents are such common sights that you don’t even notice them after awhile; you just assume they are part of the scenery. One of the problems up there is that at most 3-lane road intersections, there are no stoplights; just speed bumps. Invariably, the speed bump strips get ripped up on one side of each corner of the intersection. This allows drivers to go through without slowing down. Aside from the speed aspect, the other problem is that most of this time you have 3 different flows of traffic all trying to use one access point without having to slow down. Yes, head-on collisions are frequent! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the bicycles, motorcycles, and other modes of transportation are also trying to use the access points…
2. Best car accident I’ve seen so far…A bus (like a tour bus) and a car wedged into the toll booth together. Neither was willing to give-in at trying to be first and both got stuck in the concrete entrance. They could go neither forward, nor backward. I’m not quite sure how they got both vehicles out. Trying to cut 30 seconds off the drive time probably cost them each about 2 hours and everyone else another 5 minutes because that toll booth was closed. Moral of the story: all of those aggressive drivers who make you angry will eventually receive justice!
3. Lack of safety and a male-dominated society: saw a motorcycle with a sidecar (common occurrence). The husband was driving. He had a windshield, a helmet, and a visor on his helmet for protection. His wife was riding in the sidecar. She had nothing but the hair on her head to protect her…
4. There are no fat people here. As near as I can tell it is a combination of things: portion control (can’t afford to eat a lot); rice, vegetables, and fruit (plentiful and cheap); and exercise. Many people walk or ride everywhere. It is amazing the number of people out on the streets at 6:30 am going to work when nothing opens until 9:00 or 10:00.
5. There are street maps in clear domes on some of the garbage cans at street corners. It just struck me as funny that no space here is wasted. I am sure it will catch on in the States somewhere…
6. Today I saw 2 people playing string tennis for their morning exercise. This is where you have a tennis ball on a rubber string, and you take turns hitting it as it snaps back at you.
7. Pajamas are making a fashion comeback. For those of you looking to save some time in the morning, here’s your chance to just roll out of bed and go to work. The downside to this is I got to see a man in his 60’s(?) jogging in just his boxer shorts this morning. For those of you wondering, there was no athletic supporter…Yes, it was pretty gross!
8. We don’t have horses in town, but you still get to hear clip-clop, clip-clop a lot. It is the women in heels running down the street to make the next crosswalk light.
9. I saw my first fire truck this morning. No, they were not performing a Chinese fire drill, and no, traffic did not get out of their way…
10. White knee-highs are also in fashion. The problem with this is most women wear them around their ankles, and those who pull them up have skirts on that don’t reach down to their knees…Yeah, I’m thinking pajamas are looking better by the second…
    
    Take care, Mark