Remember when your parents told you to look twice before crossing a road? Well, in China, you have an option. Either, you run for it and hope that that car speeding towards you doesn’t nick you at the last minute or, you check about five times each way. In any case, you have to be an opportunist if you ever want to get to the other side of the road.

Unlike in New England, drivers don’t stop for pedestrians. They don’t really care if you stand in the middle of the road, that is, with a whole row of other people. Cars will back up into a sidewalk, about a foot from where you’re sitting eating lunch, taxis will barely slow down if someone runs in front of them, and not to mention buses. Those buses, packed to the doorway with people, won’t break for anything. Everyone’s responsible for themselves and that goes for just about everything else you do in China. Certainly cuts down on the number of people suing each other.