OK - So, we all know there are a lot of people in China, right? But how does that manifest itself in daily life and how does that make it different than the US, which has a lot of people too? Here are a few for instances:
1) I walked into a tasty frozen yogurt store last weekend. Very american, I know, but I was having a craving. Think of the Tasti-D on Union in Park Slope - maybe the guy who works there will acknowledge you, maybe not, maybe he will be on his cell phone or blasting hip hop or something. Hopefully you will get your yogurt and get out. Here, there were literally 3 people standing at the door, opening it for me. One of the them escorted me to the counter, where 3 more people awaited me. Each one took a step in the process from the cup to the yogurt to the cash register. Before I sat down, one of the 3 cleaning people wiped my table and all the other tables around me. All told, 11 people worked in this tiny yogurt store.
2) I have been looking around at schools this week since the British system is much more different than I thought (long story) and every class room has 1 Western teacher, 1 Chinese teacher and 1 cleaning person, whose job is cleaning up behind the kids all day.
3) Three people deliver our mail together every day.
The biggest manifestation of all the people in China, or here in Shanghai, is the traffic, which is a topic for another day, but lets just say the one lane=one car rule does not apply.
Hope everyone is doing well back home! We miss you all!
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