Chinese Couples (Day 6)
Before we flew over to China, we were
told that Chinese couples would be different from American ones. Now that I’m
here and have had the opportunity to observe them for a couple of days I have
noticed differences, but I don’t feel their behavior is as different as it was
made out to be (although perhaps I just haven’t been here long enough to
witness or learn yet). Despite having a
more reserved culture, Chinese couples don’t seem to have issues with publically
displaying their affection for their partner. On campus you will often see
couples walking around and holding holds or girls riding around on the back of
their boyfriend’s bikes. These displays seem innocent enough though and don’t
really count as PDA (public displays of affection). Further, I feel these behaviors
are similar to those of couples in the U.S. Thus far, I feel like the main
difference I have observed is that the males seem to be more doting than the
females (a phenomenon that seems almost reversed to American norms). I have
seen a number of males “hanging” on their girls. For instance, in the food
court yesterday I watched a guy play with his girlfriend’s braid. When talking
to Jane, one of the Chinese students she said that she and her boyfriend will
often go dutch on meals and split the cost. She also explained the concept of ‘face’
(reputation/image) when it comes to dating. The guys will often take their
girls out to special places (such as McDonald’s when it 1st opened
or Haagen-Dazs nowadays). Since these special plans tend to cost more, it
brings the girls good face. Overall, Chinese couples seem to really enjoy each
other’s company (at least in public) and affectionately display this without
going overboard with the PDA (I have only seen 2 couples kissing thus far).
Getting Around (Day 7)
Like I mentioned in a previous post,
the traffic in China (especially in Beijing, and now very evident in Tianjin as
well) is nuts. There’s a lot more to travel in China aside from just the crazy
drivers though. In addition to the cars, buses, and bikes on the roads (no
pick-up tricks were seen anywhere inside the city), people also get around by
using subways and trains. Surprisingly the Beijing subway was very clean and
well up-kept. I will say that we only rode for a few minutes and viewed 2
stations, but if those were that nice, then more of the line must be the same
way (although, given the rest of the city and the clash of clean/dirty, I
pretty much guarantee that not all of the subway system is that well
maintained). The bullet train was a very efficient way to travel from Beijing
to Tianjin. Travelling at a speed of 186 mph we made the journey in 30 minutes.
The ride was very smooth, had snack carts, and even play Alice in Wonderland on
onboard TVs. Another means of travel are rickshaws (that is a “phonetic”
spelling of the word). Rickshaws are 2 person bike carts. When we traveled as a
group, there was a lead biker who directed all the other carts by choosing
which streets to navigate down. Taking taxis is another interesting experience
here. Compared to Duluth, it is so much easier to get a cab here. Having never
been to a big city such as New York though, I’m unable to make a comparison
there. There are literally hundreds of ‘legal’ (B license plate cars in Beijing
and E in Tianjin) and ‘less legit’ cabs driving by all the time. One simply
needs to stand on the edge of the street and stick out their arm to hail one.
The difficultly arrives in finding a cab to accept you. In Beijing we
experienced rejection many times by cab drivers because they were unwilling to
go the shorter distance to take us back to our hotel; that process became
slightly frustrating when you’d have to sit and hail 10 cabs before finding
one. That being said, cabs are a really inexpensive form of travel. Our cab
ride to TGIFridays the other evening was only $2 after gas tax…that’s less than
the drop fair for an American cab.
“On Our Own” (Day 8)
Since our group left Beijing for
Tianjin we have had more free time and opportunities to go out and explore on
our own. These occasions have allowed me to better step out of my comfort zone
and go “exploring” around town just a little bit (of course, generally with at
least a small group of us). I feel like I’m able to see more of the true
culture of the Chinese through observation while walking around, as opposed to
visiting companies or anything. Out on the street, the Chinese are more
themselves and are more natural and I feel like there’s less “face” maintenance
going on (all the business tours have felt false and showy to me and have
seemed less educational/informative than I would like). You can definitely tell
which Chinese have dealt with foreigners before and which have not. I feel like
those who have are more patient and more willing to try and communicate…and by
communicate I mean lots of head shaking and hand signals mostly. It’s
definitely quite debilitating not being able to speak the local language. Sure
we’ve picked up some phrases and proper hand gestures, but I definitely took
for granted being able to walk up to a restaurant window and directly say “I
would like 6 pork dumplings please plus a bottle of water.” Instead of that
now, you hope there are pictures or displays to give you some sense of what you’re
buying or to assist in ordering. Yesterday in the market I walked up to a
noodle stand, pointed to a row of pictures, spoke the Chinese word for “2” (signaling
I wanted the 2nd picture), than signaled the number 1 with my hand
(to translate that I wanted one order). After receiving my order, I asked in
Chinese “How much?” When I could understand I shook my head and got the lady to
hold up fingers -5 yuan (so less than $1). Overall it’s a very humbling
experience and it has definitely opened my eyes to being an outsider and/or empathizing
with someone who has a disability.
Female Image (Day 9)
The perception of female beauty here in
China is nearly opposite of that in America. Back home in the states, girls
attempt to darken their skin by tanning and using products such as bronzer.
Here in China, the reverse is true. Chinese girls try to remain and become as
white as possible because it is a color of purity. Chinese girls will carry
umbrellas around more so in the sun than in the rain to block themselves from
the tanning rays. The girls will also wear more clothing to protect themselves,
despite the hot temperatures. Further, Chinese women use skin whitening
products (which are actually banned in the U.S.) to help lighten the color of
their skin.
Similar to American girls, the Chinese
also want to be skinny. Contraire to the U.S. though, Chinese girls do not want
to be tone or have muscles. In addition, most Chinese girls wear heels and
wedges all the time. The way I understand this, after talking with a few of the
local students, is that they’re not necessarily all trying to be taller per
say, they’re more like trying to match heights (one of the taller Chinese girls
says she never wears heels because she already is taller). Another difference
about females here that I like is the fact that many of them seem to be always
dressed up. They wear outfits I would consider wearing to work or to a party,
rather than as my everyday wear. Another interesting thing is that the girls
seem to love our blonde hair (and hate their dark hair –which is quite
beautiful in my opinion), but I don’t think I’ve seen a single Chinese girl
with died hair. All the “bleached” girls happen to be Japanese (which could be
the reason why the Chinese girls don’t).
Saving Face (Day 10)
A few days ago we learned about the
significance of ‘face’ in Chinese culture. I’ve waited until now to write about
it in an attempt to better observe this aspect of their culture. Face is
essentially a concept about image and reputation. A person (company, etc.)
wants to ensure they have a good face in order to impress and look good in
other’s eyes. For such a reserved culture, this notion is interesting because
the Chinese are so concerned about how they appear to others. While Americans
are also concerned about their outward appearance and how they come across to
others, it appears that the Chinese are much more concerned about this matter.
One great example of face is the Nankai University business building. The
building is huge and gorgeous. Our orientation room was like a business
executive boardroom, and even our classroom is quite nice. That being said, the
building (and especially the rooms we use) are more or less just for show. They
don’t seem to be used often, and in fact the business school always seems just
about deserted. Many of the Chinese businesses we have visited have also
employed similar tactics. Our tours of the facilities often seem quite limited
(especially at Airbus). I feel like the companies are just showing us the
“best” parts of their business and not giving us a true picture or feel for
their companies –it all feels a little fake and less educational to me. In
Chinese culture making mistakes and failing is not good; it causes you to lose
face. Contrary to U.S. culture of course, we’re encouraged to make mistakes because
they’re a great way to learn. Further, unlike U.S. culture, you never call
someone out or criticize them in public because it’ll cause them to lose face.
Instead, you always have those sorts of discussions 1-on-1.