The Little Creatures That Could

It's no secret that animals, and cats in particular, tend to pay most attention to the people who pay absolutely no attention to them. And, to my utter delight, this has happened over and over again on our trip when random animals who either belong to a hostel, a restaurant, or just themselves, make their way over to Micha, a notorious non-animal lover (*cough cough* understatement of the year), to spend some good quality time with him.

Santiago hostel kitten

Random dog on Pinchincha volcano in Quito

Ranch puppy in the Elqui Valley, Chile

And even more fun than observing this hilarious phenomenon and photographing it, is getting to see Micha's expression become more and more exasperated each time a new kitten or dog sidles its way over to him and plops itself down right under or next to his chair.

Bar puppy in San Pedro, Chile

Oh how he hated this ballsy little fluffy hostel kitty in San Pedro

Of course, my favorite little creature of all was the one who had the nerve to decide that Micha's lap would make a great cushion for him. But luckily, he's related so he's allowed. Natalie's sweet (and crazy and a little dim) kitten Zuma clearly takes the Micha-love cake.

Zuma found his new best friend in Miami

Here's hoping we make friends with a few more little creatures as we go!

The Belly-Baring Men of China in Summer

Hi! We're alive! Oh, we have quite the plethora of updates about what's been going on with us since we left Hong Kong (many many flights, buses, temple visits, mosquito bites, and a couple of unavoidable doctor visits, just to mention a few) and we're trying our darndest to keep up writing and posting despite the overabundance of terribly slow internet in the places we visit. True story.

But as a result, I've decided two things. 1) I won't be rewriting in English about the same places that Micha's already written about in German. Or else I won't even likely be done with China before 2014. Maybe one day... but for now, English-speaking friends, I will leave you in the trusty hands of Google Translate (which is bound to provide some extra entertainment)! There's even a button on the right side column of this here blog, right under the new Instagram map I added - to keep you at least updated through those pictures on where we currently are! And 2) I will leave you with one last hilarious post about China before moving on. That's not to say I won't come back and write more about some places Micha's already written about one day, but this will be easiest for keeping up with where we actually are, I believe. Fingers crossed!

So, my absolute favorite thing about China, hands down, was the following of a trend that oh-so-thankfully ended for most of us in the early to mid-2000s: belly baring. Now I know you're now picturing teenage girls in flared jeans with shirts that ended 2 inches above their pants à la Britney Spears, and that would be the normal group of people one would expect to bare their bellies. But not in China, my friends. Oh no, in China, when the temperatures get sizzling, it is the menfolk who, apparently completely unable to bear the heat on their midsections, hike up their shirts in reckless abandon and strut around as if they'd just won either a beauty pageant...

...or just finished their cupping beauty routine (much like a Hollywood starlet)...

 ...or, you know, just won a hot dog eating contest, depending on the dude

And now you know the true key to beating the heat and humidity during the summer. (Could have come in handy for that recent heatwave in Germany, no?) You can thank me later!

Hilariously Large Items Being Transported on Entirely Too Small Vehicles

As I continue to organize my impressions of China (I know, I'm painfully slow) while simultaneously recovering from what I am convinced is a combination of an X-Files-style parasite and malaria (though what is more likely a combination of too much spicy food and a too-much-air-conditioning-induced cold), I thought I'd at least share with you some of the most entertaining parts of the country, according to us.

As a first in this series, here are quite a few hilarious moments in which we witnessed very large things or groups of things being transported by entirely too tiny vehicles.

Office chairs and boxes in Shanghai

Sacks of vegetables in Ningbo

Plastic crates in Beijing

Kind of small, but hugely smelly trash in Xi'an

Broken furniture in Chengdu

A mysterious, long package in Chengdu

More trash (I think?) in Chengdu

And my all-time favorite:

So. Many. Chairs. In Ningbo

I'd say it was my favorite trend in China, but you'll have to see the next one of these posts to understand my hesitation...