Life in China
on Tina's Journal (China), 05/May/2009 14:51, 34 days ago
How am I finding life in this part of China? I really am truthfully enjoying the whole experience despite the imperfections! Everyday I learn or discover something new or different. How is it different here? Well, to give you an idea the first thing is that when I am out and about I get stared at because there aren’t many non Chinese people in this area, so obviously you stand out in a crowd. Even walking around the supermarket you are sometimes followed by the shop assistants. This happens in most shops and some people’s perception of personal space here is different to what I am used to. It would be nice just to be able to stroll around and browse, but it can seem uncomfortable to do that, especially in the smaller shops as you are observed and followed quite indiscreetly. Notwithstanding this intrusive behaviour, the assistants are also very helpful and if you need help you get it there and then,so customer service is usually excellent. In a restaurant you are given a menu while the waiter/waitress stands and waits for your order, rather than leaving you to peruse and decide what you would like. I actually have got used to this and because I am always with other people who have been in China longer than me or with Chinese people when I order, it’s never a problem because I rely on them to order some good food. This is cheating I know, but it makes life a bit easier for me. A wonderful aspect of eating out in restaurants is that you often get to choose from a display of fresh vegetables, the ones you’d like to eat, so you really do get to see exactly what you’ll be eating.People tend to clear their throats and spit a lot here. This can be annoying but again it’s one of those things you get used to. It can be a bit worrying though when you are walking down the street and walk past a man who is clearing his throat and you’re hoping and praying he’s seen you before he spits in your direction. Many people also spit bits of their food out onto the floorif it’s inedible such as chicken bones. This means you can be at a banquet or just out with acquaintances and the guy sitting next to you is quite comfortably eliminating his unwanted food onto the floor next to you. In most restaurants there is so much waste and rubbish on the floors. Surprisingly though, there doesn’t seem to be horrendous amounts of rubbish on the streets, probably because of the road sweepers. I recall Beijing being particularly clean. Noise is another aspect of Chinese life. On the campus where I live there’s always something going on. There’s the ringing bell for start and end of lessons. The first bell goes off at 06.30, the last 21.30. Being near the students’ dormitories doesn’t help either as there’s always some noise coming from that direction. For instance, the other night at 01:00, I was woken by a young guy banging on one of the girls doors shouting something, I have no idea what; my Chinese is not that good yet! but it sounded quite aggressive. Maybe he was a jilted lover? however, no-one came out and said anything to this guy, so in the end I wearily made my way to the front of the campus and asked one of the security guards to do something. Once the guard had arrived and shone his touch in the guy’s direction he scarped. I couldn’t believe no-one actually came out and spoke to him. I do get the impression ‘one doesn’t interfere in other peoples business here’! Traffic noise, shops blaring music are all part of daily life. Even when we were visiting the schools in the countryside there always seemed to be a lot of noise including KTV (Karaoke) in remote places. Actually, even though I am telling you all of this the noise doesn’t seem as bad as when I first arrived. Gosh, I must be getting used to that too.Public loos are not very private. They are all open with just a small wall dividing each pit. Occasionally you come across more private ones; these tend to be in the bigger cities.I guess much of this sounds quite negative, but the aspects I have just described are all things you can just take in your stride and deal with quite easily, it’s all about your attitude and we have the choice about what things we let bother us. I am getting so much personally from learning about a different culture to my own, meeting people that you can share so much with, they learn from me I learn from them. Seeing a country with beautiful scenery, learning a new language so VERY different to any language I have studied before. I am also beginning to appreciate much more the things that I have always taken for granted in my own life such as freedom of speech, an inclusive education system, and the right to be who I want to be and do want I wantto do.