Minor differences: Beijing

It's pretty common to see people take a nap on their desk after work, and since there are no closed-door offices, they're just RIGHT THERE. No big deal, just different.

There's a lot more manual labor, it seems. For example, our meeting rooms are stocked with sharpened pencils. The pencils are sharpened by the custodial staff, using the old-school pencil sharpeners that you crank by hand. In the USA we'd probably just buy machine-sharpened pencils or something. Actually I think we mostly just use pens?

Traffic has the same rules, but red lights seem to be suggestions only. Pedestrians don't have unquestioned right-of-way, so cars will cut people off in crosswalks. However, it works because everyone expects it, and everyone pays attention. However, don't text while walking [across the street].

I asked a coworker what he felt were the differences between Chinese and Japanese food. "Japanese food is all undercooked, served cold and has no oil. So ... really it's all just rice".

While walking around the vibrant bar district, I get solicited. Except now I have no idea what I'm being offered. Hope it was only hookers and blow, not something I actually wanted.

The same downtown district has security staff like we'd expect to see in an upscale area in the USA as well. Except here, the staff are all busy watching the girl dancing in the plain-glass window of what I think is technically a club? She was on a stage, with a pole, with stripper moves, but her small amount of clothing stayed on.

I love when contractors call around noon. Not too early, I'm usually free. Except when I'm 16 hours ahead and finally getting a decent sleep through the night.

Who needs gloves?  A lot of people ride motorcycles. To keep their hands warm, they put a jacket around the front of the motorcycle, pulling the sleeves over the handles. Then they put their hands into sleeves to operate the bike. As a bonus, the jacket acts as a windbreaker for their legs. Also, they still wear gloves.

Walking around, I see all the same stuff I'm used to: bicycles, gyms with weights, etc. Just in most cases, the construction quality is lower. But all the stuff works. I wonder how much more we spend on a basic item just because we want it newer, shinier, nicer, etc.