13 Lessons in China

The next morning, we slept in and decided to skip the gross hotel breakfast. We packed up and went to Mcdonald's for brunch. We wanted to eat a late breakfast/early lunch and it was in the metro station so we didn't need to walk around with our bags. After eating, we took the metro to the Maglev, which is a high speed train to the airport. It doesn't run on tracks, but on magnets! It went 302 km/hr but can go as fast as 431 km/hr! It was a bit nauseating actually, because it rocked back and forth.

We arrived at the airport almost 4 hours early. We checked in and I didn't have the seat I had booked. I was super annoyed since I booked my flights in June! They ended up putting me in 51C. I got the aisle. and the first seat in the section so I had like 1.5 metres in front of me. Plus, there was no washroom on my side (I told them I wouldn't sit near the bathroom). It was nice, since my foot was still sort of swollen.
We puttered around the airport,wasting time. I tried to spend my smaller bills by buying some water and other treats for some kiddos at home. Then it was time to board.

The flight was good. I was able to watch 3 movies and listen to my book. I was so tired but I managed to stay awake. The food was decent, except the breakfast. My eggs were green and tasted way overcooked.

The flight attendant was great and when we landed in Vancouver, he searched the earlier flights to Calgary to see if I'd be able to get on. He told me it was pretty packed all day. I had only carry on, but had to wait about 45 minutes for Sarah's bag. We finally got it and when through security into the domestic terminal. Sarah went a different way to check her bag again. Once in the terminal, I headed to the Air Canada counter to ask about getting stand by. Sarah was on the 2 pm flight, standby so she headed to her gate and I headed to the lounge to relax. They put me on standby for the 3 pm flight but it was packed and I didn't get in. I tried to stay asleep, dozing a few times. Scared of snoring, I kept waking myself up.

When I finally arrived in Calgary, it was snowing! So ridiculous. I had the best sleep that night though, after being awake for over 27 hours.

Things I learned in China:
-Way less people speak English than I expected.
-The subway systems are amazing!
-China has no road rules! You can drive in any lane in any direction.
-Spitting/Hoarking is acceptable in China, outdoors or indoors (even on a bus).
-The sites all had shiny newness at the entrances, surrounding areas...making them seem not very old.
-They use squatty toilets...and don't usually have toilet paper, or soap.
-Sometimes the air is brown.
-They treat each other like family (most of the time). So if someone needs help, or you need to make space, or even if you want to sit in their seat and send them to yours.
-A lot of them had really bad teeth, making me wonder about dental health.
-Almost everyone I saw had a re-usable bottle for water/tea.
-They drink a lot of tea.
-They dress just like us (I don't know what I was expecting!).
-You can't use google or facebook without a vpn...which is a shock to the system!
-They usually eat family style.
-When they are tired of talking to you, they just say they don't speak english, even if they just had a conversation with you.
-Old people gather to exercise by dancing, or some other movement, or to play cards or dominoes, or Majong.
-It wasn't nearly as busy as I thought it would be...until Shanghai.