Two weeks into my fifth visit (a vacation), I find myself thinking back over what I have observed and wondering what I have learned about China. Relatively speaking, I’m a China newbie: I can barely speak the language and I have yet to take the plunge and work here, but already some things are starting to feel vaguely familiar. It doesn’t take long though before any illusion of familiarity is shattered in a way that is only possible in China.

Take subway etiquette for example, if you can call it that; you think you’ve mastered it when you find yourself asking, “下车吗？” and responding “下” or “不下” without when asked. You’re a master when you stop taking part in the ten second scrum that is opportunity for people to get on and off the trains during rush hour, and start leading it from the front. Just as all of this starts to become second nature, you arrive at 宣武门 to find your exit blocked by a mother and son. “下车吗？” you ask. “不下” comes the reply. When the mother is clearly going to make no attempt to let you out, you abandon all sense of politeness and push past. Turning round to glare in anger, it becomes clear why she wouldn’t move: she was holding her son so that he could urinate off the train and onto the platform. Only in China.

Whilst this somewhat comical episode has resulted in many a chuckle and much insistence that this isn’t common behaviour in Beijing, it would be wrong to ignore it. It is precisely because something seems odd or out of place, that we should look to understand and ask the question, “Why?”

In this series of posts, I will recount some of the observations I made during my recent trip to Beijing. I don’t profess to understand, or be able to explain them al, but the first step to both, is to observe. Titles in this series may or may not include the following:

1) Mobile is Everything
2) Youth Spending
4) 汉字 is a Must

So what of that mother and her son, why did she encourage her son to urinate through the train doors and onto a crowded platform? For me, it doesn’t matter. The far more intriguing question, is why everyone else looked on as if it were completely normal to do so.

So, if you thought you were studying alone, here is a selection of posts that might help, or cheer you up. By sharing our experiences, we can all make the journey to Mandarin fluency that little bit more exciting.

1. Simpson’s Paradox – Meg Stivison (Subscribe)
   • meg vs. mandarin, again.
   • undiscovered powers
   • Chinese Language Exercises
   • Remember that time?
2. Never Stop Moving – John Biesnecker (Subscribe)
   • Good Advice
3. City-State Life, Taylor: (Subscribe)
   • Language Post – Fen Ge: Measure Words
   • Learning Chinese, Part ?
   • My New Chinese Teacher or 新的中文老师
   • Using Chinese in Class – the New Strategy!
4. Learning Chinese… One Day at a Time, Mike Redus (Subscribe)
   • Learning Chinese: 5 Tips for Character Memorization
   • Learning Chinese: My Background
5. Will Buckingham
   • Writing, Liu Xie and Learning Chinese

[Update:] Updated links to Simpson’s Paradox following comment from Meg below.

For all those of you familiar with RSS, you can subscribe to all the blogs mentioned here by importing this OPML file: Learn Chinese

Are you learning Chinese and blogging about the experience? Or, have you come across any posts you found particularly helpful or inspiring? Leave a link in the comments and I’ll try and maintain a list of great blogs to subscribe to.