China is a country that destroys the minimums and maximums that we in the West are accustomed to. Whenever anyone asks what it’s like here, that’s usually what I say. Imagine our norms for rich and poor, then take those boundaries on either extreme, and push them out much further. That’s China. In many cases, these extremes contradict each other. That’s one reason why I still feel like I don’t know China very well. Every time I think I have a description or a generalization, I find numerous examples that contradict it. China is easily the most mysterious, the weirdest place I’ve ever been. South America now feels like just part of the neighborhood.

I compiled a short list of extremes in China that I see every day along with some commentary:

• Cleanliness vs. Filth – One of the first thing that struck me about Chinese people is that they are fastidious with their hands when eating.  I can relate to this; I’m very finicky about my hands and will use a fork and knife for foods such as pizza.  I almost never see Chinese people touch their food, though modern fast food is the exception.  I once garnered attention because of the way I ate French Fries in China.  Apparently, my fingers were humorously close to my mouth.  On the other hand, Chinese men have no problem with clearing their throats in the most foul way imaginable and spitting what comes out onto the ground.
• Cheap vs. Expensive – Every work day, some colleagues and I go out for “street food”.  There’s a row of dinky cheap and tasty restaurants just across the street from our office.  I often eat for less than a dollar a meal.  On the other hand, I’ve seen an large decorative bottle of Chinese “white wine” (more like moonshine) with a price tag equivalent of a brand new BMW.
• Lazy vs. Hard-working – It’s a rare day when I see a Chinese person walking up or down an escalator. No matter how slow or long an escalator is, I hardly ever see anyone try to make up time.  Chinese can also be very lazy in their language; parts of words are liberally omitted if the context can reveal what’s being discussed.  This makes it very hard for me to understand sometimes.  On the other hand, these folks generally work way harder than 99% of people in the US.  I’m certainly one of the “slackers” in my office.  Though, very few people know the difference between productivity and being busy.
• Humble vs. Ostenatious – Kowtowing has long been a part of Chinese culture.  I always assumed that China was a humble country.  This seems to be true, with different folks.  But then you can see frequent flagrant displays of wealth, often much worse than what we see in the US -  a bright yellow Lamborghini with the a license plate containing only the letter “8″, which resembles closely the pronunciation for “making money”.
• Private vs. Revealing – People on my team are loath to share the results of teamwork preferences and personality tests, even when the whole purpose is to learn more about each other.  But, go to the hospital and expect details about your so-called private medical records to be shouted across the waiting room in front of a hundred people.  And, one can even get details of his medical history over Hotmail.  Gossip flourishes in China.
• Skill vs. Incompetence – Once I witnessed a Chinese man cutting silhouettes of couples with unbelievable skill.  What’s more, he would do it in under a minute.  If I had not seen him do this, I would have sworn that this was impossible, that the resulting artwork had to have taken hours to complete.  No lie, this guy would produce an uncanny resemblance and detail (even thin individual hairs in places) in one minute or less.  On the other hand, you frequently come across products with such bad workmanship that they will literally fall to pieces after a few hours of use.  This past weekend, my apartment’s drainage system failed spectacularly, due to bad workmanship.