10 After Effects of Living in China

After living in China for four years, I noticed some things about the way I interacted in American society that made me slightly different from the majority of people around me.

Here are 10 of those after effects from living in China:

10. You are amazed at how much some things everything costs.

9. You are frequently overwhelmed by seeing an entire aisle of cereal choices in the grocery store.

8. You ask your friends questions such as "How much money do you make?" and "How old are you?"

7. You tell people that you cannot make it to their place because "I have something to do."

6. You shower less than 3 times a week (in the winter.)

5. You wear layers of clothing (in the winter.)

4. You call your coworkers "colleagues."

3. You spit in public.

2.  You carry tissues and hand-sanitizer in your purse at all times.

1. You feel sentimental and home-sick whenever you hear Chinese being spoken around you.


(This blog is written with thoughts of my friends Genevieve and Kate who I met through living and working with them in China.  Right now, they are in Thailand lifting up overseas workers.)