Myth #6: Main form of transportation is Bicycle

A big MYTH! This was an initial culture shock for me after stepping outside of the Airport.  I was surprised at the vast variety of luxury cars that were cruising the streets of Beijing. I mean, it wasn't like I was expecting everyone to be riding bikes everywhere, but I sure wasn't expecting an entourage of Audis, Cadillac, Mercedes, BMWs and practically almost every luxury car model in just one city. But then again, when I found out that about 20% (200,000 people) of the country's millionaire live in Beijing alone, this quickly made sense.

A bike parking lot at a major shopping center in Northwestern Beijing

May be if I had gone to the country about 30 years ago, then this would have been a FACT. However, the country is changing at almost the speed of light which makes most of the stereotypes we have about the country to be nothing more but stereotypes.

Liangmaqiao, Chaoyang. An affluent part of the city

                                   
To emphasize this myth, my very close Chinese friend and her boyfriend can't even ride a bike! I was shocked when she told me, because I thought EVERY local can ride a bike, since that was the main form of transportation back in the day. She then told me that she didn't need a bike since she is from a small town where everything was within a walking distance. However, someone from a big city like Beijing might need a bike.

Xidan; a major shopping district in Beijing

To add, people of all ages ride bikes to get around, I mean I was always surprised each time I saw seniors riding bikes around the city, especially when they have an 80 pound or heavier grandson/daughter siting at the back! And sometimes my jaw drops when I see a "poor" senior with a tonne of stuff stacked sky high on his/her tricycle.

Talk about overload!

To conclude, I believe the major form of transportation in a big city like Beijing is the Subway!

Myth #5: Staple food in China is Rice

This is well, partially a MYTH!, Although if you live in a city where rice is consumed during practically every meal, you might be led to think this is true for everywhere else in the country. For some parts of the country, the staple food can be steamed buns, noodles or a flat bread (sort of like Indian Nan).

  *Source* 

Though i'll have to say that rice is eaten more frequently than other types of food since since it is consumed in many different forms and variations. And so it's not uncommon for an average Chinese to eat rice 3X a day, 7 days a week. For example, at a summer camp I worked at, we were served rice three times a day! Our typical meal schedule was something like this ...

Breakfast: Congee (rice porridge) with boiled eggs and toasted steamed buns

Lunch: A bowl of white rice with veggies and meat side dishes along with a bowl of soup

Dinner: A bowl of white rice with different varieties of veggies and meat combo, and a bowl of soup to drink

I believe this was my last bowl of rice noodles in the country. 

I for one like eating rice in any different form, color and preparation method. But when i'm constantly served the SAME thing three times a day, every single day, then it's easy to get bored of it.
I guess this is why many Chinese children don't consider rice to be their favorite food. Many often tell me their favorite food is noodles or dumplings.

Also, I've dined with many Chinese who never seemed to finish their small bowl of rice because rice isn't widely consumed in their hometown; and so, they're not used to eating it.


                                    *Source*

So in conclusion, not EVERY single Chinese likes to eat rice every single day and with practically every meal. And so for them, rice wouldn't be considered a staple, perhaps, another type of food would. 

New name for the blog

As you might have noticed, Curious kinks has now changed it's name to...http://www.afrosista-in-china.com Which means the previous URL is now non-existent and will automatically be redirected to this website. So, please make sure to update the new address on your computer, phone, address book and other devices you may use.

A group of elementary school students I often take the bus with after school  at  around 5pm

In other news, you can expect my other blog to be launched by the end of this week. I was contemplating whether to go with Wordpress or just keep everything in Blogspot. But I think Blogspot takes the cake for now.

Also, my fact or myth series will be resumed shortly, though I might have to hold off on some controversial topics until after the Weeklong National Congress which is currently taking place in Beijing.

Blog you later!
再见 （Zai Jian)
Bye

A new blog is conceived!

Lately, I've been having a very STRONG desire to start a Black Hair/African hair/Black people empowerment blog. Like most people, it just ends there; a strong desire with endless research and planning but absolutely no action. So now i'm saying enough wishing and thinking, it's time to start DOING.

I know what you're thinking, "another natural hair blog, as if we don't have enough of those already". Well, first of all, I mentioned earlier that my blog will be about African hair, which covers all cohorts of African hair, whether it be virgin/natural hair, relaxed, weave, corn row, locs and everything under the umbrella of black hair.
One of my sisters who has Relaxed hair and whom I've educated about black hair care will be covering the relaxed hair part and since I've been relaxed more than I've been natural, I guess I can also throw in my two cents once in a while.
Also, I feel there aren't enough Canadian hair blogs for us Canucks to read, and so I've decided to create one. Besides, there is power in numbers, we have to be loud and be up in people's faces to effectively create a movement on black hair. We can already see gradual changes in Hollywood with celebrities coming out of the closet. So yay to us :)

And so what about the Black Empowerment part? I'll be sneaking in some posts on common Black issues. And hopefully provoke a reader or two or ten to do something out of the ordinary.

I'm just tired of black people limiting themselves because oh, "that's so white" and then we wonder why there aren't enough black people in leadership position. See, I'm usually the only black person in every organization I've been a part of, including many events I've attended. I'd like to see more black men and women in organized sports, organizations, leadership position, and be CEOs of multinational companies.

Mission: To educate readers of all ethnicity about black hair and motivate Black Men, Women, Youth and Children to strive for the best in all they do.

Plain and simple for now.

See you over at my second blog soon :)

Notice: Upcoming Renovation

Curious Kinks will be undergoing some renovations in the next couple days, so please bear with me while I change up some things. I've been meaning to pretty up the website since I started it, but each time I tried to do this, I just get so overwhelmed by the task that I often give up. So now I'm saying NOW is the time!

                                                                          *Source*

So, why the change? Well, here are a few reasons
1. To fully reflect the content of the blog. My original intention was to blog about my experiences in China and everything else I happen to be curious about. But I've realized that I've only been blogging about China even 3 months after departing from the country.
2. To generate more traffic. I will also be changing the name of the blog to something like "black sista in china" or "Afro Gurl in China"? lol, any suggestions? I often get emails from new readers who happen to "stumble" upon my site, which have led me to think may be my website just isn't OUT THERE enough for people to be stumbling on it instead of easily finding it in their searches.
3. Pretty it up and make it competitive with other travel blogs out there :)
4. Go start another blog for my ramblings! I've had so many ideas for things to write about, but I've decided to strictly stay to the content of the blog.
5. And just because it needs a change!

So, what should we expect?
This blog will be mostly about Life in China from a black woman's perspective, its culture and other randomness. It will also cover topics on expat living, travelling and related topics.
Mission: To inspire more Black people to travel and possibly live in a foreign country. By foreign, I mean a country which is very different from the one you're currently living in, in terms of language, food and culture. Travelling and expat living isn't just for White people, students or the rich. Anyone can do it, because I did it and I don't even fit into any of these groups.
And oh by live in a foreign country, I mean as an expat, not as an immigrant or permanent resident ;)