China IV

Living the Life (Day 16) 
 

Living the life of a university student here in China is both similar and dissimilar to that of American college students. One of the biggest differences I feel comes from their dorm life. Chinese students don’t just move into an off-campus apartment or house after their freshmen year. Instead, they live on campus with many other students. The typical dorm room houses 4-6 students and contains beds, desks, and a closet/drawer type area for each student. Other than that, there isn’t much space. If you’re lucky as a graduate student, you can get “better” housing and room with only 1 other student. To make matters less appealing, students not only don’t have shower capabilities in their rooms, but they don’t even have them on their floors or in their buildings. Instead, students must walk to shower houses –carrying their shampoo and soap with them down the street.

I knew previously that males and females were not allowed into each other’s housing units, but what I did not know is that no one is allowed inside the apartment complex buildings unless they live there; that means that friends cannot visit each other in their rooms if they live in separate locations. That was quite shocking to me coming from a culture that doesn’t even segregate males and females too readily in housing units.

Just like Americans, Chinese students pass the time by reading and engaging in sport activities. Chinese sport activities tend to be slightly different as mentioned in a previous post. Female students are really into swimming here along with ping-pong and badminton. The male students enjoy ping-pong and badminton too, as well as basketball and sometimes soccer (of football here). Aside from these activities though, studying is the number one most important thing to Chinese students and they spend much of their time doing so. That for sure is not comparable to the U.S. where students, at best, balance studying with other entertainment.

Class appears to be similar to that in America in the sense that student listen to lectures and receive PowerPoint’s covering the material. Unlike in America though, professors have the liberty to run past a class’s ending time; in fact it happened to our group 2 times. Further, classes tend to break midday for a couple hours to allow students to nap.

Aside from walking, the students use bikes as a main means of transportation. The campus is so large, that bikes are needed to get around efficiently. There will literally be hundreds of bikes lined up outside dorms and the cafeteria; it’s a wonder how they ever find their own bike.

 

 

Never Again… (Day 17) 

 

With only a week and half left of our trip, I’ve already started to do some self-reflection around my time here in China. They always say “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.” It’s true. I feel like although I try not to take things for granted being so well off in America, it’s nearly impossible not to do so; especially given the vast amount of luxuries we have back home which we’ve grown up with all our lives. It’s not even necessarily American food or being able to speak English that I miss the most (although I do miss both of those things, particularly the later). During my time here I have learned not to take a few things for granted; the first of those being tap water. Being able to turn on a facet or get a glass of water at a restaurant is a huge blessing and convenience that I won’t overlook anymore. It’s a nuisance buying bottled water at the market (even though it’s extremely cheap), paying an arm and a leg at a restaurant for it, or having to choose soda when water isn’t even option (I don’t drink soda, so not having access to water when going out is hard for me). Another thing I will not take for granted is having access to toilet paper in public restrooms. I don’t even mind the squatty potties here anymore. Do I prefer Western toilets? Well, sure, but I’m over that now. What is annoying is having to carry toilet paper around in my backpack or purse. It’s just one more thing to remember. Thirdly, I will no longer take my washer and dryer for granted either. Sure I could pay the hotel to take care of my laundry, or even carry it all down to a local drycleaner or laundry mat, but that just seems like an inconvenience and waste of money. Instead I’ve been washing my clothes in the shower and bathroom sink. I feel like this process is slightly time consuming and bothersome when I’m so use to throwing it in a machine located in my apartment. All in all it’s true. Even if you try not to take things for granted, I feel like you cannot fully appreciate them until you must go without them. 


Cross-Cultural Communication (Day 18) 
 

Communication within the U.S. and within China varies from another. One major dichotomy relates to Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. According to Hofstede, America is an individualistic culture that is centered on the individual; people do things for their own personal benefit 1^st. As a result of this, Americans tend to use pronouns such as “I,” “me,” and “my” when conversing. They use talk as a means to affirm their personal identity and express their personal selves. Due to the Chinese way of communicating, Americans tend to wrongly view the Chinese as lacking personal opinions and not having much self-assurance. In contrast to the U.S. China is a collectivistic culture that is focused on the group. Chinese will express both personal and group opinion using pronouns such as “we,” “our,” and “us.” Based upon the way Americans think, the Chinese tend to view them as being slightly self-centered and always trying to draw attention to themselves.

Another aspect of cross-cultural communication is the direct vs. indirect means of communicating. Americans tend to be more of a direct culture. They speak in a way that is straightforward and more authoritative. Americans also tend to be outspoken, prefer honesty, and have the speaker take responsibility. In contrast, Chinese culture is more indirect and is high-context based. Chinese tend to be less authoritative, emphasize nonverbal behavior (the majority of a conversation’s meaning will come from what is not actually verbally said), and like to maintain harmony by being polite. While direct communication can save time and give tangible information, it can also cause discord by being offensive and requires higher-lever officials to take on more responsibility. By contrast, indirect communication can build better relationships and leads to less rash decision-making, but it can also lead to miscommunication (since it might be difficult to “read between the lines”) and takes more time. 


Commercialized Shopping (Day 19) 
 

While in Tianjin I’ve been to Carrefour a couple of times as well as Walmart once. The first thing I noticed when walking through both stores is the slightly unusual layout. Both stores were two stories and required you to wind through. What I mean by that is that you enter on the first floor, but rather than being able to go where you please, you must first take the moving flat walkway escalator up to the 2^nd floor. The 2^nd floor (in Carrefour) houses clothing, electronics, toys, and miscellaneous household products. Once you cart through this entire floor to the opposite side of the store, you are then able to take the downward moving walkway to get to the beauty products and all the food and drink items. From a business standpoint, this strategy is brilliant. It requires customers to walk through the entire store, which more often than not will inevitably lead to additional spur of the moment, unplanned purchases. From a shopper’s stand point though; it’s just plane annoying and time consuming.

Another difference in these stores is the way meat is sold. In America you will have meat and fish cases from which you can buy if you don’t want packaged items, but here in China the stores take it a little further. The meat and fish (not necessarily cut or processed yet) it literally displayed out in the open, not behind cases and not always in refrigerated units. Personally I think this is a little sketch and I wonder how people don’t get sick from it. Another interesting difference that highlights Americans large consumerism is the size of the shopping carts. The shopping carts here are much smaller than of those found in America. Further, shoppers must purchase grocery bags here –I’ve noticed that many Chinese bring their own (and we have learned to do so as well). 


Being Rude (Day 20)
 

I feel like there are a number of differences between American and Chinese culture when it comes to behaviors that are considered rude or not. One main difference I’ve noticed, and am still trying to get use to, is the notion of queuing. In America, people typically line up and politely wait one by one for their turn. People who cut the line or push ahead are considered rude. Here in China, that concept doesn’t seem to apply (except for at stores such as Carrefour). The Chinese way comes across as more of a free-for-all. When ordering food at the campus food court or the market, one doesn’t wait for others ahead of them to finish. If they do, other individuals will come up from behind and go ahead of them. Instead, you must be aggressive and bold by stepping to the ‘front’ to get what you want. The same goes for using public restrooms and getting on trains. Don’t wait for your turn or it’ll never come. I still catch myself forgetting this cultural difference when using restrooms. I’ll stand nearer to the entrance waiting for a stall only to have the open stalls snagged by Chinese ladies if I don’t make a quick move.

Another difference is the use of vehicle horns. In America car horns typically aren’t used very often; they are considered slightly rude and are often used when someone is upset/angry. The opposite is true in China. Car horns are a frequent sound and are used liberally. In contrast to the U.S., horns are used for the purpose of letting other vehicles know you’re there or to signify that you’re coming through so they should beware or yield. I hear horns so often now that I barely bat an eyelash or turn my head when I hear one; this could be problematic when returning to the states.

Another difference is personal space. There’s really no such thing as the ‘personal bubble’ here; there are just plain too many people for that. As such, you’re always being bumped into. People don’t say sorry or excuse me either, they just push on past and keep going. In America this would be considered rude, even more so when an apology isn’t offered.