Life in China

What can I say about living in China after almost 9 months? I am not sure. It is so very different, and I quickly found that people simply do not think in the same way as I do. I remember thinking when I was still in America, that if ever a misunderstanding should occur, then I could simply explain it away. What I have found is that it is not always that simple. Sometimes, people believe things, and they will not easily be swayed by an explanation. All people believe certain things about life and human nature, and Chinese people are no different. I am quite sure that my behavior in China is quite puzzling to Chinese people, as their behavior sometimes is for me.

Sorry, the above paragraph may seem a bit like rambling, but it is just something that weighs heavy on my heart, and causes much of the hardships that I face in China.

In many ways, I have a very easy life in China. What makes things difficult is getting involved with the community. This is difficult for me to do sometimes. My Chinese is improving, but the accent that I am learning is best understood by people living in large cities such as Beijing or Shanghai. I have great difficulty understanding the local people. I am conflicted with the understanding that, many times, I am the only foreigner that they see on a daily basis. In some cases, I am the only foreigner they have ever met. Because of this, what I say and do will have a lasting impact upon how they may see foreigners in the future. I understand this responsibility, and try to act generously and kindly. At times, this is difficult because the behavior of the Chinese people can be difficult to tolerate. It is not so much that the behavior is bad, but it is just that it is very repetitive. They ask the same questions, and say the same things. After 80 times of hearing the same thing over and over, it is difficult for me to appear genuinely interested in what they have to say.

The English language has a huge influence on the culture in China. It is interesting to observe how Chinese people have attempted to adapt English into traditional Chinese culture. Often, the result is strange. Sometimes, it is quite funny. There are the signs written in Chinese, with the English translations underneath. The problem is that the translations are not very precise, and in some cases, I cannot understand what is being said. For example 'Keep near, settling the civilization' is intended to mean to keep near the urinal when using them in the restroom. Sometimes, Chinese building will have Chinese writing and also pinyin. Pinyin is the Chinese sounds spelled out using Roman letters. The result is often a really long word that looks, perhaps, something like this; 'baodaoshifeihongdengzailuobingguan' no spaces or capital letters. When I first saw this, it looked quite strange to me.

There is so much to say, but I am too tired. I will write another blog someday. I am not going to make promises or anything. I now know I should not do that. If I do, I may end up not keeping my word. Anyhow, good night.

trip to china and first impressions

September 29, 2009,
I have been in country for four days now. I no longer think of the types of things I did before I arrived and during my trip. During that period of time, my thoughts were focused on the fact that I was really going to China, and that it was about as real as it was going to get. One of the first surprises I encountered was the fact that we flew northeast to get to China. This means that we went over the North Pole. My first night was a blur. I know that some of the other teachers brought me to a restaurant, and treated me to Tomato fried egg, but I cannot tell you how to get to that restaurant if you paid me. People have been most friendly, for the most part.
Before I left, I was told to expect the unexpected when I arrived to China. It has been the case that I have seen many things that I found worthwhile to note. The three observations I would like to focus on in today’s blog are Chinese nationalism, American influence, and the mannerisms of the Chinese people.
I have found that Chinese people are very nationalistic. This is evidenced by the fact that there are Chinese flags everywhere. I do not feel this is too different than what is found in the US. I think it is similar. I met two young men selling Chinese flags in downtown Baoding, and they seemed thrilled to interact with me. One of the men had his photo taken with me, and they gave me a Chinese flag. Chinese flags are found in the street, and in many of the buildings.
I have found a great deal of American influence in China as well. Many street signs are written in English, which is handy as my Chinese is not that good. I also notice that Chinese clothing resembles American clothing, and many shirts that Chinese people wear have English writing on them. I was surprised when I walked into what would be the equivalent of an army store in the US, and found the vendor selling US Army class A style jackets with 82nd Airborne division patches on its sleeves. I could not imagine an American Army store selling Chinese Army jackets. Much of the music that I hear on the streets resembles American, or western European style music, often having Chinese singers. Because I am a foreigner, most Chinese people are eager to be around me. For the most part, Chinese people seem to like Americans. Chinese people do not like all foreigners; there is a Japanese teacher here that is not as well liked.
Chinese people behave in ways that I sometimes find strange. The streets are madness; there are pedestrians, cars, motorcycles, and bikes going everywhere at once. This makes for a very noisy street. In addition to all these people trying to move from one place to another, there are many vendors in the street. It is not like the US where there is order with the traffic, and most people follow the rules of the road. One of the first things that I saw was a woman wearing a dress and high heels riding a bike. This is commonplace in China. Most people here own bikes that look like they came from a movie filmed during the 1950’s. Sanitation in China is not the same as I have come to expect from living in America. Young Children run around with slits in their pants, so they can go without wearing diapers. People spit and smoke everywhere, and they seem not to care much about keeping their lawns mowed, and trash off the street. I took a stroll through my university, and it looked like the campus grounds have not been tended to in years. It is not like the college where I graduated from, where things are kept well maintained. Sometimes people want to say hello to me, but what I find strange is that they wait until I have nearly passed them before doing so. For example, if I am walking down a street and I pass someone, they will wait until I have walked several yards ahead of them, then they will say hello. Nearly every small child I have seen is shy, this observation brings to mind one of my nieces who was absolutely not shy about meeting new people.
The descriptions I have offered are not intended to be statements of the entire country of China; I have only been in a few neighborhoods of one Chinese city. It is quite likely that other parts of China are not like what I have observed in my short time here in Baoding City. I offer these observations to offer a perspective of what I have experienced in my short time in China.