Similarities and Differences between China and the US

Similarities:

Every party will have alcohol

• Education is Important (This is very important to the Chinese people, although I believe it is even more important for them than for us in the US as they take a final exam during their senior year which tells them which Universities they are allowed to apply to).
• Drinking and Smoking (These two things are the same everywhere I believe, but it brings people together here as it does in the US. The Chinese, especially the men, love to drink and to smoke while drinking.  Chain smoking is also very common here).
• Everyone's in a Hurry (Everyday it's a fight to get anywhere, like survival of the fittest).
• Dressing Up Pets (Little doggie sweaters and boots... Why?)
• Fashion (Even here you sense the need for both men and women to show off the amount of money they have by wearing some really cool and stylish outfits or carrying the latest designer purse, whereas I and wearing comfortable pants and worn sneakers that are very comfortable to teach in).
• Music (Most kids listen to western music because they think Chinese music is horrible).
• Fast Food (It's nice to have these familiar things available to me such as: McDonalds, KFC,Pizza Hut, Dunking Donuts, Papa Johns, Burger King and Starbucks).
• Driving on the Left (For some reason I thought China was going to be the opposite, but I guess that's only in Korea, Japan and Europe).

Differences: (from what I have observed, although not every Chinese person applies to this)

A good way to let off some stress!

• Cheaper (For all of China's differences listed below there is an upside, which is it is very cheap to live here.  Electronics, clothes, food, transportation, rent and even medication is all a lot less here.  Most Chinese live on 1500 RMB (650 USD) a month).

• KTV (Karaoke bars are very popular here, but in the US they don't seem to be very many.  These karaoke bars are cool because they are fancy, have their own little shopping mart inside and you get your own private room to sing in with friends).
• Spitting Everywhere (sidewalk, bus, store and even on the toilet floor; they don't seem to believe in tissue).
• Peeing/Pooping in Public (this can also occur anywhere, but usually pooping only happens outside by babies who aren't wearing diapers, so watch your step! Peeing sadly happens everywhere, especially by babies). 
• No Diapers! (Most babies here don't wear diapers or undies while they are small, so there is a big slit near the crotch so that when they squat, which all Chinese people are masters at, they can go about their business.  Seeing baby genitalia is an everyday occurrence whether you were expecting it or not. Although, I have always wondered if the babies get cold down there?).
• Littering (This is a good difference.  At night, everyone is on the street buying food from street vendors, so naturally people throw their trash everywhere; its very similar to a circus or amusement park.  The cool thing is that at night it's filthy, but by morning it's almost spotless.  China has people whose jobs are to clean up the streets and most stores want the front of their business clean so they mop and collect the trash, sometimes you can see them lighting the trash on fire).

A little girl gave me these Chinese cough drops for Xmas

• Hot Water Cures Everything (I don't particularly like hot drinks, but here they love anything hot, especially plain scorching hot water. They even believe that if you bump your head you should put a hot cloth on it to reduce the swelling, but I believe it would be better to put something cold).
• Kindness to Foreigners (Most of the Chinese I have encountered are rather friendly, excluding most transportation drivers and the Chinese when they are trying to get somewhere.  Most want to talk to you and try very hard to help you, even when there is an obvious language barrier.  It's nice to have that feeling of kindness).
• Staring (This one is good and bad.  Being noticed is kind of cool because you feel like a rock star or a celebrity at times.  You are noticed because you are different, most times because you are lighter skinned, have lighter hair and different colored eyes.  A lot of Chinese, especially in the smaller cities, have never seen a foreigner in person, so your immediately seen as intriguing.  Other times the staring is hard to deal with because it's not nice to be stared at for a long period of time or whispered about in a language you can't understand.  It's really hard to deal with when your shopping or eating).
• Electrical Plugs (Do not leave the US till you have a 2 pronged converter plug for your laptop, they have strange plugs here!)
• Toilets (It's a hole in the ground and it always smells horrible. Do some squatting exercises before you leave the US so you can properly use the toilet in China.  Always carry tissue/napkins with you, it's not given freely in China even at restaurants.  You cannot flush the toilet paper or else your toilet will clog.  When you have a western toilet in your apartment it's nice until you realize the big pipe next to you that's making all the waterfall sounds is actually someone else flushing their business down the pipes.  Just be aware).
• Showering/Water (It's usually an open shower, so that means you and the toilet are side by side, no door and the water just spills everywhere.  It works, although if you don't have an overhead heating light it tends to get cold quickly. Don't drink the water, it smells funky).
• Laundry Room (Every apartment has a side room that faces outside where you hang up your wet clothes to dry.  Usually you don't get decent dryers here).
• Escalators in Grocery Stores (This is one of my favorites! The grocery stores here are multiple levels first you can shop for electronics then you can get on the escalator with your cart, it's magnetized so it stays put, and then you can shop in the produce section.  It's genius and it saves space!).
• No Courtesy (Pushing is acceptable in China, especially when getting on a bus or waiting in line.  I think it's expected because no one gets angry at the person who cuts in front.  I get angry, I have even gotten used to pushing my way in front of people because if I don't they will never let me on.  But the funny thing is when an old person gets on the bus they give up their seat for them even though they cut them).

China believes what it's government tells them and they don't ask why!

• No Why's? (A lot of Chinese never ask "Why?" it's a hard concept for them to understand as China itself is one large community that thinks together.  I ask my Chinese friends why they think the way they do, especially about Japan or medicine, but most don't have answers to my questions.  It seems that most don't think for themselves, particularly about other countries and their beliefs).
• No Fun for Children (School runs most of the kids lives, they go to school at 7am and don't get out till 5:30pm, sometimes even 6:30pm.  Then the kids take some classes on the weekends as well, they never have time to enjoy being young.  Summer is also full of work and classes. Some of my kids in class have gray hair and they are only 14 years old).
• Smoking (This is allowed almost everywhere, buses, schools, stores and even in restaurants).
• Uniforms (All school levels wear uniforms, they are like jumpers, but wind proof.  They look cool, but it makes every child look the same, instead of letting them be individuals).

My first lantern lighting! China does have some cool traditions!

There are many more differences and I'm sure many more similarities, but I am tired now, so I will say one last thing; China is very different from the US, but I don't believe being different is a bad thing, I believe it shows us the differences in which other people live and they ways in which people were raised. 
 I have an open mind, so most of these things don't bother me too strongly, but if you weren't open minded I think China would be hard for you to live in.  Having an open mind is good for everything because you may discover some things you never knew before.