Eating in China, health standards and a western immune system

It's not as scary as the title suggests, but there is a difference. The health standards in china are very low. I often see bugs crawling on the walls of restaurants, dirty tables, dirty chairs, dirty floors, dirty walls and I don't want to know how dirty the kitchen is. I've seen some kitchens and every place that I've seen I can never eat at again. The standards just aren't here yet.

I absolutely love Chinese food, but I should be more careful with where I go to eat. While the locals have built up an immune system used to eating dirty food, I haven't and for those of you out there who plan on coming - neither have you. I can get away with eating almost anywhere much of the time, but it's like gambling - sometimes it hits you and sometimes it doesn't.

My stomach has been killing me for the past 2 days. I had a cold the other day due to the weather change, and then I went to eat at a place I know is dirty but I like the food. It got the best of me and now I'll be in the bathroom every 30 minutes for the next 2 days. Not very good planning.

Just to throw it out there, health standards in China are not up to western standards in other things as well. Other than cooking, some other mentionable things:

Hand Washing: Parents still don't teach their kids to wash their hands before they eat, after they sneeze, or after they go to the bathroom. There was no soap or paper towels next to our sinks for the longest time here at work.

Smoking: You can smoke anywhere. I was at break dance class yesterday and the dancers smoked during their breaks. At my soccer tournament players on the sidelines smoke while they wait. Our smoke break places at work include the bathroom and the stairwell, unless you're a manager then you can just smoke at your desk.

Showering / Deodorant: Some people are OK with this, but most aren't. No one wears deodorant. It's summer now.. People don't shower everyday. Sometimes I question if they ever shower. This isn't everyone though, as I know some people that shower daily.

Changing clothes: You can see a person wear the same shirt / pants / (presumably underwear) day-in and day-out. I guess this saves money (and yet they smoke, hmm).

Spitting: People spit everywhere, even on the floor at work next to my desk once in a while. Walk in the bathroom and you have to maneuver around gobs of saliva. Yum Yum.

Nose picking: This one is funny. I see so many people just picking their nose happily around me, at work, on the train or wherever, then just shoot it wherever they feel. Beats trying to hide it.

Nail cutting/ cleaning: People will do this ANYWHERE. Some days it gets really annoying hearing the guy behind me cutting his nails. On the train I saw a guy cleaning his toenails with his keys.

Crowding: This is hard for an individual person to change, but people crowd together everywhere which makes it really easy for these dirty habits to affect other people.

Coughing / sneezing: Absolutely no care for others around. Just pick a random direction and go.

Throwing up: In the middle of the street or on the floor of the train, anything goes. Usually when I need to throw up (not that it's usual) I hold it as long as possible until I find a decently OK place to throw up that won't affect others. People here don't waste the time.

Kids: Kids pee on the train and poop by trees next to outdoor restaurants. Kids don't wear diapers here, they have a hole cut in their pants so if they have to go they can do it on the spot. The funniest things I ever saw was a kid pissing on the train and a mom holding her kid over a trash can (thank god for this parent) so he could go poo-poo (at Tienanmen square).

I'm sure I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. If you have any pet-peeves that have to do with being clean, this is NOT the place for you. Visit a clean country. Not much of this bothers me if I don't think about it too much, although sometimes I get the occasional upset stomach / diarrhea and I can't help but notice how different our societies really are.