I think it's important to show a certain kind of politeness when asking for something, both when asking for it and when receiving it. The first things I will teach my child is that he/she can't have everything and that he/she can ask for it but that the other person may also refuse. But when it is given he/she should always thank the person who gave it.

I'm not sure if it's the one-child policy but I do notice that kids here throw tantrums a lot more than I'm used to back home. My cousin's kid for example is taught to address everyone properly and specifically but the other manners seem to be overlooked. And when he goes against what his mother says he's not punished for it. Seems odd, but I guess there's stuff back home that is considered impolite here. 

Yell and hold my ankle, whilst looking at the referee. If he doesn't give a free kick I will promptly get up and yell insults in his general direction.

As for the video; adrenaline. She fell and it unleashed a massive amount of adrenaline. She'll feel it later on in her muscles.

hole*

As for the most interesting thing, it's also the most mundane and banal thing. I was on a Chinese train heading for the south when nature called. Making my way to the bathroom I noticed the door was already open. Glancing in I noticed that the whole in the ground was already filled and the previous user hadn't flushed. However, it seemed that the person before him/her hadn't either, nor had the person before. So what I was in fact looking at was a literal pile of shit. It's been six years but I will never forget...

Rome. Been there a few times now and it never ceases to amaze. I studied Latin in high school and I'm a sucker for ancient history, I suppose Greece is on my wishlist too although it doesn't seem too stable these days so I'm not sure about that. Rome however is absolutely wonderful. If you've read the stories beforehand, you can just stroll along the buildings and wonder about all the great figures that must have walked there, the decision that were taken, the empire that was built. The same goes for Greece of course in a way, having laid the foundation for later European powers. Especially if you believe the story of Aeneas of Troy.

I guess similarly I really enjoy old Chinese sites but unfortunately they don't have that ability to transport you because of the city sprawl around and through it. I think Rome manages to keep that charm more because the city itself just evolved differently. Walking through Beijing it is hard to forget the modern world around you, even if you are in the Temple of Heaven, Forbidden City. I think the Summer Palace works in a way, because you can find a spot to be alone for a bit and think about it. Of course I can also attribute this to the fact that I know considerably more about Roman history than Chinese history. Personally I enjoy knowing certain small specific things, such as the emperor hanging himself from a tree on Coal Hill and then sitting around the place and wondering about it.

Perhaps as an extension to this I would really love to visit the archeological site of Troy, but the way I've built it up in my head it would probably be disappointing. Especially given the way they excavated the area with Schliemann messing some stuff up early on. I don't know, perhaps I should leave it to the imagination.

You know this is one of those annoying things that'll keep bugging you no matter what. Mentally I just can't accept the idea of "half two" meaning 2:30. It just...it doesn't compute. But I suppose going from Dutch to English we're kinda lucky since "half past two" or "two thirty" are used more often. The other way round...we only use "half drie" to mean "half past two". Now that I think about it, I don't think we ever say the minutes just as they are. "Twee uur dertig" sounds plain weird to me. But even stuff like "two twenty-eight" (2:28) I would probably say as "twee minuten voor half drie." and never as "twee uur en 28 minuten" because that sounds more like a duration than a specific time. As in: "This movie is two hours and 28 minutes long." --> "Deze film duurt twee uur en 28 minuten." "The movie starts at 4:50."--> "De film begint om tien voor vijf." --> "We'll first meet around 3:00 and the three of us will eat something." --> "We gaan eerst rond drieën (threes) met z'n drieën (threes) wat eten."

:P

It's comparable to American English and British English. There are few if any problems when communicating but certain phrases, slang or word use may be used by one but not the other. There's also a slight difference in the pronunciation of certain consonants and the general flow of sentences. As someone from the Netherlands Belgian (Flemish) sounds a bit "weak" to my ears. Conversely I suppose Dutch as spoken in Holland (the two provinces North-Holland and South-Holland) sounds quite harsh to people from Flanders. But even in the Netherlands we have several quite distinct accents. In any case, the more local you go, the more local the language becomes. I think if we want, we can all be mutually intelligble. But if you're talking to people from your city/town and social class you just don't consider that. Add to that mixed influences from English, the internet, immigration, etc. and you'll end up with stuff like:

"Ik trek deze shit niet meer. Zitten we hier nog te kanen ga je die tent al dichtgooien, mafklapper. En dan kom je ook nog zitten zuigen, joh. Ga fietsen, man."

Roughly: "I can't take (lit: pull) this shit anymore. We're still eating (dialect: kanen) here and then you're closing the place (lit: tent) already, weirdo. And then you're still coming over here to annoy (lit: suck). Piss off, dude. (lit: go ride your bike)"

I suppose most of this is understandable to people from Belgium but they just wouldn't use the same language to say the same thing.