Losing My Dignity?

Sometimes, if you're going to be stared at anyway...you might as well give people an added reason to stare. And a smile too. On a side note, it's nice to have local friends that I feel comfortable doing this with. :-)

Things That Don't Transition

I've talked about a few of the ways that I have adapted to my life in China...but there are a few things I haven't mentioned....most of these are things that won't transition well back into life in America. Awareness is a good step for me, I suppose, since I will be spending a few weeks in the States this summer. Some of the ways I've adapted "too much" to the culture:

• Pushing people out of the way in line. We don't form lines here. We shove. Old people, children...everyone is equal in this regard. Because many of those old people are stronger than me.



• Yelling for the waiter when I want something. That doesn't go over well in America. Neither does not leaving a tip (we don't tip here).



• Giving unsolicited opinions/advice constantly. Or even just remarking on things in an annoying fashion. I used to hate it when people did things like that...now I do it all the time. Case in point, last night: "Did you eat enough? Are you really full?" "Oh, 你吃很小! (You eat so little!) Eat more!" "Are you still sick? Are you taking medicine?" Yep....all things that I said last night. Just call me Grandma.

All that to say, I beg advance forgiveness from those people that I may annoy with nagging, or shove, while I am at home this summer.

For any other expats out there, in what ways have you noticed you're adapted to the culture in what might be perceived as negative by your fellow countrymen?

Changing Society

I am not entirely sure if this sign is a joke or not, but it does indicate some of the changes happening in Chinese society. It reads:

:

"Friends wanted. Me, boy, senior 3. Want nothing but a elegant-style friend. Men's only. Maybe I'm homosexual, but I ain't sure. If you're the one, contact me."

Smiles

I have a 人人网 account (the Chinese version of facebook...in fact it is almost exactly the same...just in Mandarin of course). Anyhow, I recently left a comment on a friend's photo saying "真好看啊” (rough translation: it looks pretty) and that she and her boyfriend looked like models. She responded with this comment: "Thank you~~You always behave like a gentle princess, and you are the model for me." Oh man....seriously, my friends here know how to bestow a compliment.

A Great Moment for Progress

China is an interesting country. It is said that visiting Shanghai is like seeing the future, visiting Beijing is being in the present, modern age....and everywhere else is like stepping back in time. That's definitely accurate to my area....we're a few years behind on, well, almost everything. But, I was very excited to discover that frozen yogurt is no longer something that I am missing out on here. Another exciting addition to this fact is that the frozen yogurt is even more like frozen yogurt than it is in the states....less sweet, more sour....still delicious (and more friendly to those of us that don't eat sugar!). This will definitely become a post-class tradition....

Tell It Like It Is

Many people are familiar with the supposedly Asian concept of "saving face". The way this plays out is quite interesting. For example, if I ask someone for directions and they don't know where the place that I am asking about is...they may give me random directions rather than just say that they don't know to "save face". It is interesting to note that what differs cross-culturally is not so much the concept itself (we are just as familiar with saving face in America), but rather, what constitutes something that would cause one to lose face.

One way this is noticeable is in the bluntness with which some subjects are addressed in China. In America, we don't talk about someone's weight, the giant zit on their face, etc. In China, it is simply making an observation to say something like, "Oh, you look very tired" "You were fatter in this photo" or "drink more tea for your skin"...or a personal favorite, "Your eyes look like a vampire". It takes some adjusting to not take things personally, and I am amazed when I watch a friend call another friend fat and they won't get horribly offended and burst into tears. I have had a friend's father tell me I was more beautiful than his daughter...right in front of her. I have watched another friend's mother call her fat. And I have seen multiple instances of people publicly comparing people. It definitely takes adjusting to, and it's rather heartbreaking to see that most girls here don't see how beautiful they really are (and the girls here are, in my opinion, gorgeous!). Although at times it's annoying, and wrong, some of the honesty does become sort of endearing...

A Taste of China?

If you have never experienced Chinese cuisine in China...you are missing out! And yes, Chinese food here is very different from what you find in most Chinese restaurants in the U.S....most of the food served there is more similiar to food found in the south of China (also, you don't see fortune cookies here...shocking, I know). In fact, China has a lot of diverse flavors to sample from!

One of my favorite types of food to be found in my area is Mongolian food. Hearty and delicious...Mongolians eat a lot of carbs, dairy products, and mutton.

Pictured above is my favorite thing ever: Mongolian milk tea. It's really more like a soup than tea, because it is salty and thick. It is made by boiling black tea leaves, then adding milk, and, depending on your tastes, butter, oil, or salt. No, it is not very healthy...but it is amazing!

My friend allowed me to taste a new food at dinner last week....Suan Nai Mian (literally translates: sour milk noodles). Yep. You add some fermented milk to hot water with some green onion and salt to make a noodle broth. The noodles absorb some of the yeasty taste of the fermented milk...it's an interesting flavor. But delicious. And reminds me of the time that I drank several shots of fermented horse milk in a yurt (Mongolian house) in the grasslands....fun for the tastebuds, not for the stomach. :-)

(Does it look appetizing? Maybe not...but it was!)