Chinese Habits, Part 1

I love China. The people are wonderful and kind and generous. BUT...there is this nasty habit of spitting in public places.

I noticed this immediately. It is difficult not to! Anywhere you go, there are people (usually middle aged to older men, but not exclusively) hawking lugies! They make this awful throat-clearing sound that is super loud, and then they proceed to just spit it anywhere and everywhere. It is one aspect of their culture I have not gotten used to.

The other day, I was in the ophthalmology department putting away my bag in a locker. I heard someone clear their throat and as I walked out, I witnessed him spit it into a nearby potted plant! I think my jaw dropped...

An American friend said that he was aware of this, because this was discussed back around the time of the Beijing Olympics. Apparently, the Olympic committee was worried about "bad habits" such as spitting/hawking lugies and people cutting in line (another common thing in China, which I have mentioned in prior posts). So, I guess they tried to wean the Chinese from these bad habits. A link to an article from the NY Times is below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/17/world/asia/17manners.html?pagewanted=all

I am not criticizing, just stating the facts. What is copasetic in one culture may be totally taboo in another.

I promise I won't come back having picked up this Chinese habit!