The China difference
Some cultural differences and observations recently:
-In America, you have baking, broiling, grilling (not barbecuing all y'all SoCal people), frying, and smoking. In China, an acceptable way to cook things is steaming. In the morning I had steamed jaio zi with rice in the middle. It is a little dumpling made out of thin dough that is then steamed to cook it. I have also had a dish at a fancy restaurant that featured fried Chinese rolls that I am used to, but also steamed rolls.
-Same sex interdigitation. In America, you will only see a boyfriend and a girlfriend holding hands with interlocked fingers. In China, it is nothing for two girl freinds to hold each others hands. It is not shocking, but it is very different.
-My personal space issue was abolished a few nights ago when I was on the bus. There is only one bus that will take us off campus, because Jianghan is at the edge of town. So, when the 208 finally arrives at Jan Da (Jianghang Da Xue), the bus is pack with people. I needed to get into town, and I wanted to take the bus, so I shoved my way onto the bus. It was great because I was so close to the people on the bus that I did not even have to hang on to the rails because I could just lean against the people. It really helped that I did not get frustrated with everyone; instead, I just laughed the whole time, and people were eased by my goofy American laughter.
-My bike was recently stolen while I was teaching class. Again, nothing to be too concerned about because-- TIC, That Is China. It was a great lesson of when and where not to ride my bike and that a bike is just a thing that will either rust, break, or eventually get stolen. The solution is just to let it go, and to buy a cheaper bike next time, or not ride it to class. And yes Mom, it was locked up.
-I went for a walk this morning around the lake, and I passed several students that were working on their oral English. In the States, I remembered that I wanted to be as far away from people as possible when I studied, and especially when I was working on my French. I guess those students did not really care about what people thought, I guess they just wanted to improve their oral English. Novel idea.
-In America, you have baking, broiling, grilling (not barbecuing all y'all SoCal people), frying, and smoking. In China, an acceptable way to cook things is steaming. In the morning I had steamed jaio zi with rice in the middle. It is a little dumpling made out of thin dough that is then steamed to cook it. I have also had a dish at a fancy restaurant that featured fried Chinese rolls that I am used to, but also steamed rolls.
-Same sex interdigitation. In America, you will only see a boyfriend and a girlfriend holding hands with interlocked fingers. In China, it is nothing for two girl freinds to hold each others hands. It is not shocking, but it is very different.
-My personal space issue was abolished a few nights ago when I was on the bus. There is only one bus that will take us off campus, because Jianghan is at the edge of town. So, when the 208 finally arrives at Jan Da (Jianghang Da Xue), the bus is pack with people. I needed to get into town, and I wanted to take the bus, so I shoved my way onto the bus. It was great because I was so close to the people on the bus that I did not even have to hang on to the rails because I could just lean against the people. It really helped that I did not get frustrated with everyone; instead, I just laughed the whole time, and people were eased by my goofy American laughter.
-My bike was recently stolen while I was teaching class. Again, nothing to be too concerned about because-- TIC, That Is China. It was a great lesson of when and where not to ride my bike and that a bike is just a thing that will either rust, break, or eventually get stolen. The solution is just to let it go, and to buy a cheaper bike next time, or not ride it to class. And yes Mom, it was locked up.
-I went for a walk this morning around the lake, and I passed several students that were working on their oral English. In the States, I remembered that I wanted to be as far away from people as possible when I studied, and especially when I was working on my French. I guess those students did not really care about what people thought, I guess they just wanted to improve their oral English. Novel idea.
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