Last weekend, we traveled to Taiwan for the first time to attend our friend Peter's wedding. It was awesome to catch up with college friends, and it was fun to experience a Taiwanese-style wedding.

Taiwan itself was really interesting. Local people were so nice that Matt and I kept thinking they were making fun of us because they would speak really slowly to us and be overly helpful. But our friend Ariel informed us, no, that's just how most Taiwanese people are to everyone all the time. Taiwan was also very very clean and orderly. Definitely a change of pace for us compared to living in Tianjin!

During the wedding festivities, we got to enjoy lots of delicious seafood. Matt was in love (and I'm not talking about with me...) 

We also experienced the Chinese tradition of the groom coming to "earn" the right to marry his wife. I had heard about this tradition from some of my Chinese students, but this was my first time to witness it. Peter brought his groomsmen to his fiancee, Harriet's apartment on the morning of the wedding, and the bridesmaids made them perform various challenges before Peter was allowed to see Harriet. It was a lot of fun and really interesting to see different wedding customs.

They finally passed the outdoor challenges and were allowed inside the apartment. But before Peter could actually see Harriet, they had to sing. Here's Peter singing a Taiwanese love song. Unfortunately, he didn't know the words and the bridesmaids weren't making it very easy for him.

Eventually, he passed the challenge to their satisfaction, and then we ate dumplings and red bean soup prepared by Harriet's mom to wish the couple happiness and good fortune. But Peter still couldn't see Harriet...

First, he had to answer some questions about how well he would take care of Harriet in various scenarios, like what he would do if his wife had to work late (wash all the laundry, clean everything, prepare dinner, call her to make sure she was okay, etc.) and what he would do if his wife was pregnant (massage her feet, have her rest, give her ice cream...wait, no, that got him in a lot of trouble! When one of the American groomsmen suggested ice cream, everyone gasped and said, "No! Pregnant women can't eat cold things!" so the groomsman had to do push-ups again. In Chinese culture, there are strict rules for pregnant women, including no eating cold food.) 

After Peter answered the questions to the bridesmaids' satisfaction, he still had to shout his love for Harriet as loudly as he could. Then, FINALLY, he was allowed to go in the room and see Harriet!

After the wedding ceremony, we went to a hotel for the wedding banquet. We were too busy talking with friends and eating delicious food to take many photos, but we did get one at the end with Peter and Harriet before we left.

After the wedding festivities were all over, we went back to the apartment we were all staying at together and played games. (Joseph, one of Peter's friends from DC, got the Zombie card and the This Hand is Dead card TWICE in The Totally Insane Card Game within a matter of like 30 minutes. Completely unheard of!)

The next day, we hung out with David and BG in downtown Taipei before we left to go back to Tianjin and they left to go back to Nairobi.

We tried to see Avengers 2, but the theater was almost sold out and we would have had to sit in the front row, so we decided to just sit outside near the Taipei 101 tower, chat, and eat Krispy Kreme donuts.

And yes, I did buy a dozen to bring back with us in a carry-on bag to Tianjin. Don't judge. Krispy Kremes are a totally legitimate treat every once in five years. Let's just say, I'm glad there are no Krispy Kremes in Tianjin...

We've been back in Tianjin for almost 2 weeks now, and we're over jet lag, celebrated our 4-year anniversary with some delicious Korean BBQ, and are now in the midst of celebrating Matt's birthday. Last night we went out for Malaysian food with some friends. Tonight it's just an us date with Chinese massages and some shopping at Galaxy Mall.

Awhile back, I wrote a post that turned out to basically be the top 10 reasons why China drives me crazy and the US is so much better. But whatever, I was jet lagged and missing US public bathrooms.

After that post, I was meaning to do a happier post about why we actually like living in China, but I've been too busy enjoying living in China since then that I didn't get around to it.

So like 6 months later, here it is: The Top 10 Reasons Why I Love Living in China

10. You can push people.

And it's not considered rude. Lunch time at our school cafeteria is seriously like a mosh pit. You just have to dive right in, otherwise you'll never get your food, and minor pushing is permitted and even expected. If you elbow someone in the gut, they will give you a dirty look, but non-painful squirming through a crowd is totally par for the course. You want to get somewhere? No polite waiting at a respectable distance. Just get there already! Once you get used to this different cultural way of moving through lines, it can be a lot faster than polite American lines.

9. You can cross the street whenever you feel like it.

Except when a bus is coming. Don't try that. Busses always win. But any other time, if you can make it, you can do it. Jay walking is allowed (and again, often expected). You don't have to wait at the red light for your little green guy to light up. If you see an opening, just go already!

8. You learn to be flexible.

When I first came to China to teach, I freaked out for the first two semesters because my teaching schedule was given to me about a week before I actually had to start teaching. For a naturally inclined advance planner like myself, this was horrifying. Now, here I am, three days before the next semester is supposed to begin, and I still have no idea when I'm teaching next week. But I'm actually emotionally fine with that. Living in China has moved me out of my control freak comfort zone. Now, I'm learning to see last-minute information as a fun surprise rather than crucial information I need ahead of time. The attitude here is: it will happen when it happens. No big deal. And I'm learning to relax into that philosophy.

7. You can (sort of) live naturally.

We live in a city of millions, but there are still chickens that wander around everywhere and probably end up in local dishes. Matt posted about the market where all the produce and meat is local and (usually) fresh. Our ground beef here tastes very different from American ground beef. It has a much more earthy taste, which I've read online probably means that it is grass-fed beef. So we get all these perks and we don't even have to pay for organic! On the other hand, a lot of favorite Chinese snacks are loaded with nasty preservatives and who knows what else. So it's not all good, but at least we know our meat is fresh and natural (because we just saw it wandering around outside).

6. Rules are ambiguous.

China is not only a flexible place when it comes to schedules; it's also flexible when it comes to rules. Relationships are more important than rules, so if you're a friend of someone who is supposed to enforce rules, this can be a good situation for you. Especially when said rules are needlessly complicated, confusing, and pointless. This aspect of China life can also lead to corruption, as most people and the media tend to focus on. But I for one am a fan of this part of Chinese culture. I find it much easier to cultivate good relationships than I do to follow all the rules. And I like knowing that if I think a rule is pointless, I can pretty easily get out of it by being friends with someone. The flexibility and freedom that provides is quite refreshing compared to the justice-oriented letter of the law that is common in the States.

5. Exercise.

Most people in China don't seem to "exercise" regularly, but they do get a lot of exercise. By this, I mean that you rarely see people out jogging, except for a few people from the community who come jog around the track at our school. People go to gyms, but the gyms aren't really busting at the seams considering how many people live here. However, everywhere you go, you'll see people of all ages walking and biking everywhere. That culture is unfortunately changing a little bit as electric bikes and cars get more popular here, but still, you can always see tons of people walking and biking on any street in Tianjin. We walk and bike so much more here than we ever did in the US, and my body feels much healthier for it.

4. You learn to live without "necessities."

Why do we bike and walk more here? We don't have a car! Most of our expat friends in China don't have cars, including our friends with kids (some of them even have 4 or more kids, and they manage to bike with all of them!) For people in the US, that would be insane. And it is more difficult. We had to adjust to the fact that we could not get everything we wanted at the supermarket. If it won't fit on your bike, you can't get it in that trip. But after awhile, we realize that it's really not that hard to get by without a car or a clothes dryer or a microwave or these other "necessities" that we would never have gone without in the US. You can get by with less, and that's a comforting thought in case the world ever ends and we have to figure out how to do things for ourselves again.

3. If you learn to communicate anything in Chinese, you feel like a superhero.

Chinese language is difficult. I've also studied Arabic, and I feel like Chinese is WAY harder to learn. So, although that can be a really frustrating part of living in China, it also makes you feel like Batman when you actually effectively communicate something in Chinese. Why, yes I did just order that bottle of water without using any English at all. Booya.

2. Food

Chinese food in China puts Chinese food in America to shame. The variety here is awesome (and I don't even like spicy food, so imagine how much Matt enjoys ALL of the food here.) And I have to say, I never really lived until I discovered Xinjiang food. (For those who don't know, Xinjiang food consists of a lot of lamb and other meat, often on skewers, round bread called nang, and delicious yogurt. At least those are my favorite dishes to get.)

1. Chinese people 

The number one reason I always give anyone who asks why we live in China is - Chinese people. We recently got back from Thailand, and Matt and I talked about how being in Thailand highlighted for us again why we love Chinese people so much. As a whole, we find Chinese people treat us with hospitality, kindness, curiosity, friendliness, and sincerity. (Not every expat in China feels like that...in fact, one of our co-workers always says, "Chinese people lie all the time!") But we feel like if you can understand the culture and the ideas of saving face and building guanxi, you can see past the apparent "lies" of people here and build really incredible relationships. For most Chinese people we know, if we treat them with kindness, respect, and dignity, they will reciprocate with fierce loyalty and sacrificial kindness. We love our Chinese friends, and we are so grateful that we get to be here, building relationships and learning about community from a whole new perspective.

A couple months ago, a friend told me about all of the different kinds of teas and occasions for drinking tea. It turns out that it's pretty dang complex, but I'll give you the rundown of the basics. BTW-I'm not a tea connoisseur, more of a tea noob. Most of what I know about tea comes from Chinese friends telling me about tea.

Green Tea

Oh, the standard at American Chinese restaurants. This kind is supposed to be the lightest in flavor and the "summer" tea. Summer tea, meaning that, if you drink it in the summer, it will cool you down (not quite sure how that works, but okay).

Flower Tea

Okay, so it is what it sounds like. They literally pick flowers (often chrysanthemums), dry them, and put them into hot water. It's actually quite good. Flower tea is a Springtime tea (makes sense), and it's also supposed to be good for women. I didn't ask why.

Black or "Oolong" Tea

Another American Chinese restaurant tea standard, this one is the Winter tea. It's supposed to have the highest caffeine content (though I don't think that most kinds are equal to a typical Starbucks drink). This kind's kind of bitter, and not exactly my fave.

Red Tea

This is (you guessed it!) supposed to be the Fall tea. I actually only have had this a couple times. I would liken it to Lipton's with a little bit of fresh soil mixed in. While that may sound a little gross, it's actually quite good.

So, that's my tea roundup. Of course, there are many other kinds of teas in China. Next time you go out for Chinese food, enjoy the tea!