So, as a wrap up of sorts (with an added nostalgia factor, since it's been about a month since I landed in the US), I wanted to highlight some of the differences between Chinese culture to American culture.
1. Chinese New Year: This may seem self explanatory, but Chinese New Year is a much bigger deal than you may realize. They don't really have another winter holiday, so the university takes the whole month off from about January 21st to about February 20th each year. This was the period in which we did most of our traveling. Right now, chickens everywhere are symbolic, as it is the zodiac year of the rooster.
2. Cartoon characters everywhere: I would often see characters such as Totoro and Digimon in random places, such as stickers on the street, or in some of the multitudes of themed merchandise. You may have heard of the Japanese obsession with cuteness, and the Chinese have a diluted version of this themselves. (Not much anime besides the classics like Naruto and Inuyasha, but a far amount of cute products, such as cat ears to wear, or baby chick headbands.)
3. Street lights: There are countdowns for how long pedestrians have to cross the street. I actually liked this system better, as one was much less likely to be caught unawares by a changing light. However, where there aren't lights, traffic is horrendous. In order to cross the street at crosswalks without lights, you either have to wait for absolutely no traffic, run for your life, or cross with a group. The messed up thing about Chinese traffic is that if they run over you and you're alive, they will have to pay your medical bills forever, so they will back over you to make sure you're dead and face the relatively minimal punishment. And as they don't slow down for individuals (but they do for groups), it's better safe than sorry.
4. Very few homeless people: Wei Wei explained to me that the "homeless" tend to be a scam more than anything, begging for money to line their pockets (or even worse, using injured kids to elicit sympathy from others). So there are very few legitimate homeless people. (Some of us thought that possibly the people who were sweeping the streets would have been homeless if they hadn't been given government jobs.) There was two people I saw throughout my time that were without legs and on carts that people were literally stepping over (which broke my heart, but it's better than stepping on them......). Those were probably the only legitimate homeless people I saw during my whole time there.
5. More officers everywhere/communist posters: There is a LOT of government propanganda, from the tons of soldiers in Beijing, the student military group on campus (which, to be fair, the US has too), and the tons of communist posters both on campus and in public places, like movie theatres (one of which was right next to a cut out of Jackie Chan, you could tell that China does indeed take its government allegiance seriously.
6. Written English everywhere, but very little spoken English: there were signs in English oftentimes, but very few people were fluent in it. High school students, starting about 20 years ago, had to know it to pass their college entrance exam, but most of them promptly forget most of it afterwards. So, it was a hit or miss sometimes in asking for things in English (so the translator app came in handy lots of times....when it didn't mistranslate as well)
7. the food, self explanatory- Chinese food is different than the Americanized version of it. There is a lot more oil used, and a lot more white rice as a side. The city I was in, Chong Qing, is also known for spice, so more often than not, the food would be spicy or close to it. But overall, there aren't too many restaurants who have authentic Chinese food in the US (so you may want to ask for the real Chinese menu if they have one).
8. Three wheeled taxis- The worst things an engineer could lay eyes on. These contraptions are highly unstable, smell like the exhaust is being pumped straight into the back seat, have no shock absorbers (read: pot holes are AWFUL!), and are one of the most dangerous things you could do without anyone questioning it. But they get you from A to B for a pretty cheap price, which is why they flourish.
9. Unclean water, leads into other sanitary issues- With over 1 billion people, it's pretty hard to keep a sanitary water system. So, it is not safe to drink from the faucets in China, and consequently, the bottled water industry booms there. I accidentally rinsed my mouth out with faucet water while brushing my teeth, and although I rinsed my mouth out with boiled water afterwards (which is safe), I was still sick later that day. Compounded with the uncleanliness of many of the restrooms, China can be a bad place for someone with a weak immune system.
10. food is much sweeter in general- The Chinese have a very big sweet tooth as a whole. From juices to breads to cheeses, and even meat floss (just google it) and pizza sauce, lots of foods are much more sweet in China than in America. While the American culture values a mix of sweet and savory, savory isn't much of a concept in China (making for some interesting pizza at times.....)
11. very little dairy products- Cheese is virtually nonexistent, for starters. There is a bit at the grocery store, but it's pretty expensive compared to normal Chinese prices. Milk is bought in quart, rather than gallon containers, and yogurt is considered a dessert. That may be because of lactose intolerance that is fairly prevalent in Asia, or just that the Chinese traditional dishes lack dairy in general.
12. less protein than in America- The servings of meat weren't as big as in the US, but I've been told that most countries are this way by many of my international friends.....
13. air pollution/nighttime reflection of light- The air is very polluted in most areas, but it does depend on what area of China you are in, as well as the time of year. When we went through Beijing flying into China, the air was like smoke coming into the airport doors, but when traveling later, it had partly cleared up. In Chong Qing, the air wasn't bad, but the sky was almost always cloudy. In other rural places in China though, the air quality is practically perfect, so it really does depend on where you go in China.
14. lots more trusting/bike locks, lack of (lots more bikes as well): The Chinese are a lot more trusting of each other, compared to Americans. One example of this are the ubiquitous bikes on campus. There aren't enough areas to lock bikes up, but the Chinese get around this by just putting the lock on the wheel, so it can't be rolled away. Unlike the US, where someone would just pick it up if they wanted, no one does that in China. People also leave bags in classrooms to claim their seat, while back home, people take stuff that is left unattended. So overall, people are less likely to steal, leading to more trust.
15. more international stuff at the grocery store: The dedicated international food section is much larger than the international food section in the US. It may be because of the larger novelty that international products are in China, than they are in the US.
16. less items in bulk: Items tend to be bought individually, rather than in bulk. Places such as Sam's Club, where items are bought in huge packages, are nonexistent. This is probably because almost everyone lives in apartments without room for lots of extra packages.
17. laundry/dryers: Each apartment had its own washer, which was great, but dryers are nonexistent. We used a drying rack to dry out our clothes, although lots of people hang their clothes from the balcony. (We never did because we thought our clothes would blow away.....)
18. lots more green space (fragrances, gardens): This is part of the traditional Chinese culture. There is a great emphasis on nature (including in their artwork), as shown by many of the ponds and green areas on campus. Many times, people even set up an easel to draw or paint on beautiful sunny days.
Goldfish pond in the middle of campus
19. lots more skyscrapers for apartment buildings: When you have a lot more people, you need lots more places to put people! So the concept of owning a house is practically nonexistent in China.
21. rain/weather: There are not many serious rain showers in winter and the weather is always relatively mild, with the coldest being 40 degrees Fahrenheit (about 10 degrees Celsius). However, when I was leaving, it was transitioning into summer (it is said that Chong Qing only has two seasons- summer and winter), and it was quickly becoming unbearably hot, and raining quite a lot more.
22. vehicles on sidewalks: I heard that this was just a Chong Qing thing, but we saw it in Hangzhou, as well as another city we were in. But motorbikes and sometimes even small cars drive on sidewalks, convincing me that at one point I was going to get run over while just walking down the street. There is even special motorbike parking on the sidewalks, which I'm not sure is entirely a good thing.
23. The toilets (and just restrooms in general): The toilets were pretty much glorified holes in the ground (they don't call it the Chinese squat for nothing!). If you go to the restroom as well, make sure to bring tissues. Tissue packs were commonly sold for the reason that restrooms don't have toilet paper or paper towels! The sinks were often automatic, but there was rarely soap.
24. mirrors in showers: I'm not sure if this was just the apartment complex we were in, but there was a mirror in the bathroom above the sink, directly across from the "shower", and the shower was basically a shower head with a curtain to separate it from the rest of the bathroom.
25. pictures, spectacle of foreigners: Oftentimes, people will take pictures with foreigners to show their friends, putting their arms around them like they're best friends. We had several people fangirl over us (including a group of grown men), and do this, as well as people taking pictures "slyly" (although they failed, since I could see them). It makes sense, because foreigners, especially those with blonde, curly hair, such as myself, are somewhat rare, but all the same, it did get a bit annoying, as I felt like a zoo animal at times.
26. more welcoming towards foreigners than most Americans: Although the foreigners are a spectacle, this also means that the Chinese are more open towards foreigners oftentimes than Americans are. I had several students come up to me, just wanting to hear a new perspective, make a new friend, or practice English, which may or may not have happened in America, simply because we are used to having all different cultures.
27. more caring about family, part of their culture: The family ties are very strong, which I observed just from talking about my lack of strong family ties, and the strong surprise I got as a reaction more often than not. From reading some Chinese materials, I was actually expecting this to be intertwined with their culture.
28. garbage cans/recycling cans together: Over one billion people create a lot of waste, so I very much appreciated the effort to be eco-friendly by having ubiquitous two in one combos of recycling bins and trash cans. Although it isn't 100% effective, it shows that the country as a whole is making a good effort to be green.
29. lots of contraptions to carry/transport goods, esp fruit: There are lots of baskets, doohickeys, and other engineering marvels that you'll only see in China. Even on busy sidewalks, you'll often see old woman with fruit balanced on contraptions that resemble the scales of justice.
The Wednesday rug and negative numbers
32. Ping-pong really is a national fever (although they refer to it as table tennis): There were several areas, both inside and outside for people to play table tennis with each other. And one of the most famous US presidents in China is Richard Nixon, due to his famous table tennis matches with some of China's politically elite, essentially welcoming China back into the global political arena.
Outside table tennis area
33. college system/bureaucracy: Unlike the US, if students manage to pass the college entrance exams in China and get into a university, they are almost guaranteed to graduate. These made for some interesting conversations with JCI staff where we had to prove with excessive documentation of homework and tests that this was a legitimate program to both the Chinese government and to ABET (an international engineering acreditation organization), while still trying to pass everyone. A bit contradictory....
34. Lines: As evidenced by many attractions (read: the Forbidden city), the Chinese culture does not really incorporate standing in orderly lines. "Lines" often become lumps of people crowding into a common gate, which can cause some confusion when it is time to go through these common gates individually.
35. Dogs everywhere!: Lots of people let their dogs and cats out during the day, and compared to most countries, these pets are relatively mild. There are no animal control officers as well, so people don't have to worry about their animals going to the pound (or the Chinese equivalent.)
But to you, my loyal readers, thank you for sticking with me through thick and thin, through exciting times and not-so-exciting ones! It's been a true adventure, and I'm glad that I got to live abroad for an extended period of time so early in life.
I will be visiting a few other countries in the next few years if all goes well, including another co-op in Japan (at a company this time, not another university), and I may do another blog for that one as well, so stay connected if you wish to hear more!
Best of luck on your own travels and may you enjoy wherever life takes you!
-Zoe
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