Voice of Will: Pets in China

2004-09-23 - 7:58 p.m.
So having looked over the rules for the foreign teachers flat, we discovered we can only have pets that live in an aquarium. Ok. So we have the fish, and they have babies... And I decided to get the turtles (their names are pokey and speedy).

Now since it has to live an aquarium, we have made our aquarium a terrarium (half water and half land), and the turtles are terribly happy. We are currently looking for several types of frogs (they run wild around here, so we just might find one and stick him in. But we mostly want a snake.

Now in china, the people seem to have a love hate relationship with the snake (I personally don't think it is too healthy, but they seem to like the dichotomy). On one hand they detest snakes, even seeing one can bring bad luck, and hearing the screams from a simple gardner snake is rather funny. And snakes blood is considered so powerful it is used as an aphordisac and is supposed to cure impotancy. OK. Maybe all they really need to see is one well done snake dance... but I digress.

But I want a nice boa constrictor. A python of somesort, but apparently they are not pets here. I'll just have to look harder... after all the rules state whatever pet you get has to live in an aquarium.

They should be glad I'm not sticking a puppy/kitten in an empty aquarium (that is just the wannabe lawyer in me)

Will

2011 Note-  We discovered later that part of the reason people in China are predisposed against snake is that it is widely believed (albeit incorrectly) that snake was the reason for SARS.