Chaos, A.D.

In the land of the rice and tea, there is another mystical substance that is a daily observance; chaos.

From the moment, I walk out of my apartment, to the moment I walk back in, there is a petri dish (figuratively and literally) of commotion. Talking, honking, yelling, shuffling, staring, smoking, walking, fanning, squatting and about 1,000 other "ings".

From the child pooping on the sidewalk, to the old woman staring at the street, to the churning of the transit buses, life is chaotic. Yet, the Chinese don't seem to mind. They live day by day, in this shoulder to shoulder world.

For me, this all equals exhaustion but to the Chinese, it is just another day. They don't seem to mind getting jostled around the bus or the waiting or the pushing. They don't even blink an eye when pedaling down the street and up onto the sidewalk. They do tai chi with megaphones blaring in the background. The sounds alone are enough to make you go crazy, but the added sights and smells make it all the more lively.

So, another day comes to an end in the Middle Kingdom. Tomorrow, I will likely wake up to the sound of woman chattering in the garden, or a buzz saw whining on metal in the nearby construction or they myriad of other distractions and pleasantries that are China.