Three weeks of vacationing in Tamaqua after an 18-month work stint in Beijing allowed me to get back into an American swing of things. It also had me missing certain aspects of life in Beijing and made me realize there were just some things I could live without, no matter what continent I'm on.

MISSED ABOUTBEIJINGPublic TransportationMy commute to work in the morning is made easy by Beijing's public transportation network. After leaving my apartment, I walk about a half football field's distance before arriving at my nearest subway entrance, take the train for 15 minutes, then jump on a bus which drops me off right in front of my office. In all, it takes about 40 minutes, most of which is spent waiting for the train or bus. A one-way subway ticket costs about 30 cents; bus fares are 15 cents.BargainingNothing beats naming your own price. When shopping in Beijing's many street markets, where knock-off products are aplenty, you can basically do just that, but not without a fight. The basic assumption among local vendors is that all foreigners are "rich." As such, they'll do anything and everything they can to squeeze as much money out of you as possible. Prices are usually inflated 500 to 700 percent of what they are worth, so verbally arguing about the cost and quality or showing a sudden disinterest can usually get the price bargained down to something more reasonable.Tailor-made ClothesI've never been a big fan of clothes shopping. The crowds, lack of desired sizes and time commitment has always been a deterrent to venturing to any mall. The same is true in China, except here those three factors are compounded by the fact that my Mandarin is far below par.My solution: have most of my clothes tailor made. Tailors are numerous in Beijing, so I can have dress shirts made for the perfect fit at the perfect price, about $14. Tailor-made suits cost around $90, depending on the fabric.COULD LIVE WITHOUTSpittingMany a time I've been walking along the streets of Beijing admiring the buildings, people watching and enjoying the weather only to have the moment shattered by a loud ackkkk-tooof as someone gurgles up something from their throat and hawks it to the ground. Yes, I've almost been spit on.Apparently, it's very therapeutic and good for your health, but it's also downright disgusting. Spitting is common among older Chinese; the younger, Western-minded generations see spitting for what it is and really have no time to glance away from their fancy iPads or iPhone 4s to clear their throats.Cranky cab driversI won't go as far as calling Beijing cab drivers racist, but from time to time they definitely discriminate against foreigners. Too often, open cabs have driven right past me or friends only to stop a few yards away to pick up Chinese passengers. I've actually run up to taxis in the process of dropping passengers off and had the driver wave his hand, give me the stink face and then drive down the street to pick up other nonforeign passengers.From time to time, cab drivers will tell me to get out of their cab after I tell them my desired destination because traffic in that area will be too heavy or they simply don't want to go to that part of town.Rush hour trafficGrowing up in the calm hills of northeast Pennsylvania, I was never able to experience the chaotic-yet-comfortable big city life. Now I get to feel it every day. The only downside is that come rush hour all 13 million Beijing residents seem to be going exactly where I want to go, which delays me anywhere from 10 minutes to over an hour.I've spent the better part of two years standing while taking the subway in the morning to work, although I've started coming in later to avoid the morning rush. And buses feel more like sardine cans on wheels with people smooshed up against the large glass windows.GRAY AREABlocked InternetI'm up in the air about not having unlimited access to the Internet. Most American social networking sites Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the like are blocked for a variety of political reasons I won't get into.But as inconvenient as it's been, I feel like I have much more control over my life. Not being able to check Facebook, without the use of certain Great-Firewall-of-China- bypassing software, means I don't spend hours on end checking up on friends' profiles. And the friends that really matter have made it a point to keep in touch with me through this old thing called e-mail.I will say that I miss YouTube, because watching Charlie bite fingers or anesthesia-induced David after the dentist never gets old.Brandon Taylor is a language consultant/foreign expert for the Beijing Review, an English language weekly newsmagazine in Beijing, China. He is a former correspondent for the TIMES NEWS. Read Brandon's blog at

http://www.btay200.blogspot.com/. He can be reached at

btay200@gmail.com.