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Hullo Nibs!

Do you get sticky paws when you eat watermelon?

I would worry about getting sticky.

And some creepy foods including fish balls

I didn't know fish even had balls.

I can't believe Nibs is posting from China - how cool!

Hey Nibs - I've got a question for you. Do they show a lot of American movies in China? What about the radio? How much American culture is there in China? Do they have McDonalds? What are the bathrooms like? Do people have pets like dogs and stuff? Do people dress in a particular fashion? Oh man, sorry for all the questions but it's just so exciting!

Don't worry, you don't have to answer now. I can wait to hear about it when you get back home Nibs!

Oh wait, Duddles has a question too - he wants to know how deep... what is the deepest... no, wait... how deep is the deepest... no, sorry. He'll get back to you.

Hullo guys!

Woah somehow I didn't see this 2nd page of posts until now! Sorry about that.

Hey Muffins, did you know that every morning Prince Markian eats a muffin? In fact, he only says about 10 words and 'Muffin!' is one of them. The kid is super into muffins. I ate some muffins at the first two hotels but now I eat banana bread at this one.

Markian's other words include:
More!
Dummy (that's what he calls his pacifier)
Lift (elevator)
Airplane!
Dinosaur!
Cartoon?
Juice!

Today is the last and final day with the Prince, wonder what we will do with all the newfound time!

Miss you guys!

Thanks for all the great questions guys!

I'll try for some answers:

MiniNibs: Nope I was napping
Gulliver: She says hi back!
Duddles: I actually use a knife and fork, shhh don't tell the Chinese
Shnoodles: ok let me see...

I too wonder about American movies. On the plane there were 20 Chinese movies in each genre (action, romance, comedy, kids) and only 3 total American movies. I didn't realize China had such a big movie industry. Lee and I are hoping to go to an American movie in the big cities coming up next.

Everyone is really into American dress so fancy designer brands like Gucci and Versace are everywhere. But red is a really lucky color in China so almost every woman is wearing a bright red coat, makes it feel like Sneechmas, Hoo!

Bathrooms, Hoo boy! The hotels are nice but out and about the women's rooms are all squat toilets! And at the university the other day, there was just one giant trough and all the women squat over it, no doors even! Lee was amazed to watch all the elderly kiwi ladies squat and do it. She asked one of them what happens when you need to go #2 and the lady said 'it just goes into the trough!' Whoa! We have nothing like that!

I've been interested in pets too, Shnoods! In Chengdu we saw some dogs getting walked in a park. Maki is really into doggies and points then out any chance he gets. There are also wild street dogs here, like in most other non US countries, who scrounge. Lee asked if people had cats too and the guy looked at her like 'duh' so she stopped asking about pets.

Did I hit most of the questions? Keep asking!!

Hoo!

Wow thanks for answering all of my questions Nibs! I really appreciate it!

That is really interesting about the bright red. I wonder if it is also popular since it is still associated with the Communist Party?

I read online that China has a quota on importing movies, and only allows 34 movies a year. I wonder how they pick which movies?

Will you miss Maki?

Check this out Nibs:

Yellow, corresponding with earth, is considered the most beautiful and prestigious color. The Chinese saying, Yellow generates Yin and Yang, implies that yellow is the center of everything. Associated with but ranked above brown, yellow signifies neutrality and good luck.

Yellow is also symbolic of heroism, as opposed to the American association of the colour with cowardice.

I would be the emperor of China, all would bow down before me, I'd finally get some respect! I'm going to get on a plane this minute and - Oh wait, pooping in a trough, forget that!

Hey Nibs!

That's sweet you are answering questions from China!

I was wondering what the music scene is like there? What kind of songs are popular? Do you think they've heard the 'Thong Song'?

Rock on Nibs!

I can't believe Maki eats a muffin each morning! I hope I will get to meet him one day - we would have so much to talk about! Muffins... and dinosaurs!

Muffins, you do realize Maki is an infant? Frankly I'm not surprised he is into muffins. It's a common phase babies go through, before they graduate to pancakes - an elegant food for a more civilized age.

On the plus side, it's impressive to see Maki's vocabulary eclipses Schlops.

Hullo guys!

I'm still in China! Right now I'm in Shanghai. It is very futuristic, all the skyscrapers have animated images moving across them and up and down and around them. I've never seen anything like it.

Looks like Shanghai really got its start after the Opium Wars. I didn't know anything about the opium wars but Lee read me a bit about them and it sounds pretty crazy!

Thanks for all your support on the forums! I'm pretty lonely here cause my Chinese animal-friends don't speak English and Schlop isn't around so it's great to see you guys on this thread!

As for all your questions about music, I'm not quite sure. China Air had only Chinese stations, which was Chinese pop (not bad), and lots of traditional Chinese music (unlistenable to!). On the Great Wall bus they played Western pop music when we traveled, but maybe cause it was an English speaking group. I did see a Rhianna poster in Chinese- Peaches!Sneeches! Otherwise it seems like China is less influenced by American music than most other countries Lee has been to.

On the train yesterday the kiwi businessmen were playing songs off their schloppads which were mostly U2, Phil Collins, and the Lorde which is funny cause she is from NZ!

The amount of new and good foodstuffs on this trip is pretty astounding! That one bunny dumpling with red eyes had yummy sweet bean paste inside! I can't wait to see what a Shanghai breakfast is like!

Apparently bunnies are considered lucky in China and are also the symbol of Beijing, which is why we saw so many of them graffitied all over Beijing.

Looks rainy in Shanghai today so we might stay in and read and enjoy being in a fancy hotel.

Miss you guys!

DJ!

The Shanghai hotel finally has pancakes again! I hadn't seen a pancake since Wuhan and that was a lifetime (or at least 8 breakfasts) ago!

We can rest easy now knowing that I am back in the land of pancakes!

Hey guys!

Last night in China! I can't wait to return to a land of blue sky, Chipotle, and a pillow menu that consist of: Memory Foam, the blue flat one, and Sneeches! (Hoo! Just kidding, Peaches!!)

Today Lee and I took a relaxed approach and have been napping and chilling in the hotel lounge. She even got me some dumplings, truffles, and a soda with a bendy straw! For dinner we are having spaghetti. Sorry home of Cantonese food, we are all China-d out.

I'm hoping for some different airplane movies during our 16 hours of going backwards in time. But if not maybe I'll hang out with Hazel Grace and Gus again.

Ruth isn't hanging out even on the final night, so that's a shame, but all in all we have seen a lot and learned a lot about China! Did you know it's 4000 miles x 3000 miles, the whole US is 3000 miles long! I might have some kilometers mixed in there, no fact-checking, MiniNibs!

In a few weeks Lee is going to an event called Passover in the Desert which is maybe a Jewish version of BurningSchlop? I wonder how that will compare to China!

Anysneech, see you guys soon!!