Third Impression......Not So Great

So my third significant impressions wasn't a particularly good one. Unfortunately, I'm used to an extremely clean and fresh environment in the United Stated, and I wasn't aware of the lack of regulations, care, or awareness for cleanliness in other countries. The air is heavy and the sky is hazy with pollution. We have rarely seen blue skies since we have been here and it's rather depressing. The sun also shines clear enough where we can make it out, instead of just a mass of bright haze. Not seeing blue skies and making out the sun clearly is something that I'm not used to and it's not something that I want to get used to.

If you want to walk some of the streets in this city you need either a mask or the ability to get over very overpowering wafts of air. The scent on the streets change step to step, and there are a lot of unpleasant smells in between the delicious food vendors. Infants and babies use the streets as toilets because diapers are expensive. Little kids have the crotch and backside of their pants cut out for easy access. It's a rather difficult thing to get used to because the streets smell horrible.

Not everything in China is nice, but one cannot expect everything to be a positive experience. This is a cultural difference between the two countries and it's a difference that I'll have to get over.