“if you’re paranoid, you won’t last one week in this country.’
How is that, Tex?
Well on Oct. 23, it will be my 4th year in China. I’m cured. Now if only I can stop those recurring nightmares of Chinese PLA troops invading my living room and ... (sar.)
One of my favorite China stories is about when I had just moved to China and the country was celebrating the Chinese New Year, two months ahead of schedule. I had a few beers at a Muslim restaurant where I was eating delicious Chinese pok BBQ. As I walked out, I see a group Chinese with Arabic features. They were holding sticks of dynamite, lit them and threw them in the air. This occurred during the beginning stages of the Arab Spring in the Middle East.
Well during that evening. Hordes of Chinese come out of their homes and they start throwing sticks of dynamite in the air. I’m thinking, OMG the revolution in China has not been televised and I’ll be lucky to live through the night.
Well I survived and the next morning I asked my coworkers about it and they just laughed and said, “Welcome to China and Happy Chinese New Years to you.” It turns out that the Chinese love firecrackers, and their favorite activity is to throw sticks of dynamite in the air. And each year, a few people die and some lose their hands due to dynamite explosion mishaps. They claim that dynamite brings good luck to the Chinese so that’s why they do it.