1) So yesterday, Andrew calls me from his cell phone on his way to work:

    “You’re not going to believe what I just saw,” he says.

    “What?” I say.

    “A guy in a diving suit, complete with a diving helmet in the middle of the street.”
    “No way,” I say.

    “Yes, he was working with a municipal crew. He’d just crawled up out of a manhole.”

    “What the hell is down there that he has to wear a diving suit?”
    “Dunno,” Andrew says. “Water? Sewage?”

    “A complete diving suit?” I ask.

    “A complete diving suit,” he says, “but no flippers.”

2) Later in the day, I head to the hospital to have my stomach issue checked out...yes, finally. I happily discover that healthcare in China is much better than we were initially told. (More on that later.) When I’m finished, Mr. Chen retrieves me and we drive down Xianxia Lu. About three blocks from the hospital, I see two women crossing the street. One of them has an IV in her arm. Yes, it is hooked to an IV bag full of clear liquid. The other woman carries the bag. She holds it high above her head. They are out for an afternoon stroll.

The Big Question: Why are we still surprised?