Other habits...

My last post I forgot to mention that now I am just as likely to walk in the street as I am to walk on the sidewalk. Near my old school most places didn't have a sidewalk, so all traffic was on the road due to necessity. But even in the center of the city people will walk in the road, ignoring the perfectly safe and underused sidewalk. I should also mention that the people don't simply walk along the side of the road, but span the entire road including the lanes where the cars drive. In America there is a very defined area for cars, bicycles, and pedestrians. In China to make people stay in their designated area they have to put up small fences. They even put up fences in the middle of the road in the center of the city to keep the cars from driving on the wrong side (not that they seem to notice a "wrong" or "right" side of the road most times). Sometimes I try to subtly guide my Chinese friends onto the sidewalk, but it doesn't always work. Sometimes I say, "Hey, let's walk on the sidewalk," but they continue walking in the street. Usually, I just walk in the road. I really can't tell you why they walk in the road or why I walk in the road either, but when I go back to America I think I'll be able to stick to the sidewalks.
Also, I love slippers. When you go inside a home in China you immediately take off your shoes and put on slippers. I'm no stranger to taking off you shoes before you go inside, but the slippers were new. They wear slippers because the buildings are all concrete and tile so the floor is freezing, especially in winter. (During one of my nightmares last winter I jumped out of bed and ran into the living room and stood there for maybe two minutes, slowly waking up to realize there were no bad people in the apartment and my feet were so cold they hurt.) The Chinese also wear slippers because the floors are incredibly dirty, even if everyone always takes off their shoes. It is part of the Chinese dirt problem. When I went home to visit I still changed into slippers when I was in the house, and even though my new room has carpet I change into my slippers as soon as I walk in. This habit will probably stay with me. I'm quite fond of my slippers; it is an opportunity to express my inner senior citizen.