Emoji

Recently I was part of a discussion about which three emoticons best represent me, since moving to China. I have to say it was a hard question to answer. But, as I was listening to the other responses, I really identified with one in particular...and that's [surprise]

Feel like we have experienced so many cultural differences already. Like, as simple as how we dry clothing in the States verses here in Kunming. In the States, we have a dryer that not only can dry clothing quickly, it can also santize; we can even add fresh scents to the dryer to make the laundry smell extra fresh and clean. Here in Kunming, there's really no such thing as having a dryer. In fact, to buy a decent, stand-alone dryer costs $700-1,000+ USD, and even then you may have to do some extra electrical work in order to plug that sucker in. No, here, we hang up our clothes...and sometimes, people dry clothes anywhere there's room. Like this nice little ally-way, next to a trash dump and some street vendors selling smokey BBQ all night long. I can only imagine what the "clean" laundry will smell like. I'm sure "street bbq mixed with dumpster" wouldn't be a scent Downy would ever have available! :)

Second observation, you can open a "restaurant" / be a street vendor anywhere here! Take a look at this photo. Behind Dan is a legitimate restaurant. Also, I should mention that vendors here do not usually have valid permits for the spaces they occupy...so in turn, there are a LOT of them!

My biggest realization was that I was not really relating to any other emoticons, especially the ones everyone else was sharing. Maybe because I'm still new here? Because, this emoticon is actually the one I would identify with the most [grin/happy] since being here!

I do have to admit, very rarely, I do feel this one too [frazzled]