Culture (just a few things)
When in China, do as the Chinese Do
We found out a lot from the little research we did before we went, but what we found out about the culture while we there was much more insightful. This page really just goes over a few of the many things we found interesting about the differences in culture.
Here are some of the things we found out:
•Never point with one finger
•Never touch an older person’s head, kids are ok.
•Bring a gift when you go over for dinner, or when visiting an older person.
•You must try all of the food at least once to be polite and be paciente, things take time and there is an order to how things are suppost to be done.
The cheapest things we found were anything on the streets and big like swap meets, but these typically aren't the cleanest places, but they really are where the deals are and where you can do some serious bargaining. The other department stores might let you bargain a little, but it’s really not to much to make a difference. They use wipes for their faces mostly like a tissue. Also, make sure the diapers you get are the ones with the straps that hold the diaper there, the ones without straps are very interesting to figure out.
Most of the things in China break, so get use to that happening, things are only meant to last so long, and the quality is not great. Building and structures are put up so fast that many times things are done incorrectly, like peep holes may be backward or handles to lock windows maybe on the outside and not on the inside. They do things very fast that they don’t pay attention to quality very much.
Here are some of the things we found out:
•Never point with one finger
•Never touch an older person’s head, kids are ok.
•Bring a gift when you go over for dinner, or when visiting an older person.
•You must try all of the food at least once to be polite and be paciente, things take time and there is an order to how things are suppost to be done.
The cheapest things we found were anything on the streets and big like swap meets, but these typically aren't the cleanest places, but they really are where the deals are and where you can do some serious bargaining. The other department stores might let you bargain a little, but it’s really not to much to make a difference. They use wipes for their faces mostly like a tissue. Also, make sure the diapers you get are the ones with the straps that hold the diaper there, the ones without straps are very interesting to figure out.
Most of the things in China break, so get use to that happening, things are only meant to last so long, and the quality is not great. Building and structures are put up so fast that many times things are done incorrectly, like peep holes may be backward or handles to lock windows maybe on the outside and not on the inside. They do things very fast that they don’t pay attention to quality very much.
Split Crotch Pants...WHAT?
china-mike.com
This was one of the hardest things for us to understand. So the Chinese parents would bundle their kids up (just look at the picture to the left, this one has like 5 layers on), but their little bum would always be hanging out. I'm guessing the fact that it would be a bit drafty isn't considered. Also some mothers would tell us about how they had trained their child to go the bathroom when they whistled (which our question to them was, "Does the kid ever go on your arm?"). So in a sense, they never worry about the baby ever going when they don't want, it's definitely interesting enough.
They do have diapers, can't find them everywhere, but it's believed that they are becoming more and more popular. We would have to travel to the bigger city, Changsha, to get some diapers for our child. It's easiest to bring a diaper with you to show them what you are looking for, rather than trying to explain what you need (wipes was very hard).
Holding Hands
http://labs.com.miami.edu
There are some interesting social and cultural things we came across while in China. One was a very common sight to see among girls. Often we'd see two females holding hands, regardless of age, just walking hand in hand and no one seemed to care or notice. Very different from United States, this would easily send a different message. But for the Chinese girls holding hands, fingers interlaced, isn't something unusual.
Also, another different sight, not as odd as the first but still noticable was we would see the boyfriend holding his girlfriends purse. This didn't seem to be at all awkward for him or even cause other people in the area to stare, but seemed very socially acceptable. For so many of them it becomes this nonchalant notion to place it right on your shoulder when given your girlfriends purse or bag.
Where's the Line?
Social norms like waiting in lines, not butting ahead and taking turns for the most part are non-existent. This doesn't mean they are rude, infact they are so helpful to even go out of their way to asist. Once while on walk it started to rain, and two young Chinese boys came up to us and gave us their umbrella, we were taken back.
We were also taken back by how much they like to squat, basicly crouch down for whatever length of time. Waiting for a bus, just hanging around or whatever it really doesn't matter, that is a past time that almost sickens any American. To us it would look like an exercise, but to them its just your everyday outside waiting position. You know, when you don't see a chair or a bench, you just squat.
We were also taken back by how much they like to squat, basicly crouch down for whatever length of time. Waiting for a bus, just hanging around or whatever it really doesn't matter, that is a past time that almost sickens any American. To us it would look like an exercise, but to them its just your everyday outside waiting position. You know, when you don't see a chair or a bench, you just squat.
Common Positions aren't Sitting...but Squating.
http://labs.com.miami.edu
This was very common, people would be squating like this all over the areas we visited, just waiting for one thing or the other. What would appear to be the most awkward position for any American, was the position of choice for most Chinese.
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Chinese Servers Fúwùqì (服务器)
"Fu Wu Yuan," is what you use to get your waitresses attention, except you almost yell this at them to get their attention...no wait a minute, you REALLY do yell this at them. We were very surprised at first how rude we thought this was, people just yelling at these servers just to get their attention, we thought it was a bit much. It didn't seem like they get treated very well, which is to bad. We believe this is mainly just common in Hunan, but again, most of our experience is from this area. We don't believe this is found all over China.
Also, eating out we usually didn't leave a tip. Meals would be paid for when you left your table on your way out of the restaurant. The messes that would be left behind some of these tables would be appalling, and it was really to bad to see people spiti
Also, eating out we usually didn't leave a tip. Meals would be paid for when you left your table on your way out of the restaurant. The messes that would be left behind some of these tables would be appalling, and it was really to bad to see people spiti
Beds in China, How soft are you used to?
Our first impression of what was going to be our beds for 6 months was.... well.... HARD, VERY HARD. It was still a mattress, but unlike our Sealy Posturepedic®, it didn't quite conform to our backs the way we would have hoped. It took some adjusting, and eventually we ended up getting some extra padding to help pick up the slack in the serious lack of comfort.
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Ducks and Chickens in Shopping Centers
When was the last time you saw someone bringing ducks into a shoe store to barter? We'll it happens here. This man is holding a scale, and has brought in two ducks into this shoe store to weigh out a good deal (hehe). Bringing chicks or ducks into shops was seen more than you would expect.
This became a very common site, which completely shocked us at first, and still does as we think back on our trips in China. Whether walking down main street after a good bargain at the meat market or a motorcyclist buying 10 and putting them in this bike cage to bring to the family restaurant, having the food fresh and still alive right before cooking was the way its done here.
It was very common to see a lady walking down the street holding a chicken upside down holding it by its feet. I mean, you have all of your Christmas gifts under one arm and the dinner in the other hand, but its still alive, staring all of your neighbors in the eye all the way to the boiling pot. Even more common was to see this motorcycles ride out town with these little cages on the back seat of the bike, packed full of chickens. They really know how to bring their animals around.
Bathrooms with a Toilet, whats that?
Squat Toilet, know as the squatter. First thing, exhaust all other possibilities before using one, isn't the most comfortable if you are accustomed to a western toilet. These have been quite the interesting topic for many that have gone to China and those who say they would never go because of them.
True to their name, you don't sit on anything at all, but you actually just squat, placing your feet on the foot grinds while maintaining your balance and getting down to business. Most stalls don't have toilet paper, hopefully you've read this before finding yourself in that position.
What we found is that they prefer these toilets to western toilets for two reasons. First you don't have to sit directly on the seat because they think if they do they'll catch a disease. Second, people say that it's more healthy to squat because it helps get everything out due to the pressure of the position with the thighs on the abdomen.
Monks
Here monks atop one of the mountains are selling different items to sell to those visiting the monasteries. Located at South Mountain or Mount Heng is in province of Hunan. Heng Shan is a mountain range of about 93 miles long and 72 peaks. At the bottom of the mountain stands the largest temple in southern China, called the Grand Temple of Mount Heng, which happens to be the largest group of ancient buildings in Hunan.
As you can tell, the color red is very popular, you will see lots of RED. They told us that red to them meant more of a sense of luck and good fortune. Many people would have red ribbons tied to their steering wheels or tires, to help them travel safe or drive better.
As you can tell, the color red is very popular, you will see lots of RED. They told us that red to them meant more of a sense of luck and good fortune. Many people would have red ribbons tied to their steering wheels or tires, to help them travel safe or drive better.
Temples
People come to these monasteries to burn incense type sticks, they start out about the size of your finger and they go on up to height of a full grown man. Of course the bigger the more costly they are. Along with these many items, people buy a type of fireworks here that they can throw into a big furnace like thing that will allow all of the many fireworks and incense to be burned safely.
They also sell many other things like neclaces, jade items and little statues that you can take home with you as a souvener or a relious item. You can see these here behind the two monks, these gold and red doll statues.
They also sell many other things like neclaces, jade items and little statues that you can take home with you as a souvener or a relious item. You can see these here behind the two monks, these gold and red doll statues.
Bundled up Babies
On a mildly cold day, you know when its usually time to start bringing out a light jacket or hoodie, here in China they REALLY dress up their babies, infants or kids under a young age. We were told on numerous occasions by older women that knew NO English (only understanding what they said due to the fact that is was always the same message, motherly tone of voice and commanding wrinkled scowl) that our child was WAY to UNDER-DRESSED for the 45-50 degree (Fahrenheit) weather that they thought was a chilling snow storm.
Basically all these children have been covered from head to toe in somewhere around six layers of clothing, to keep them from freezing (and practically moving). Whats even funnier is that fact that they pounded on these layers, but then they still have this hole in the back of their pants, exposing this little bare bump to the "freezing" weather. Don't get us wrong, we believe its good to bundle up, but we just found it to be a little excessive and so early on before we thought it even got cold.
Basically all these children have been covered from head to toe in somewhere around six layers of clothing, to keep them from freezing (and practically moving). Whats even funnier is that fact that they pounded on these layers, but then they still have this hole in the back of their pants, exposing this little bare bump to the "freezing" weather. Don't get us wrong, we believe its good to bundle up, but we just found it to be a little excessive and so early on before we thought it even got cold.
"No Touchy"
" No Touchy," is pretty much what we had to tell almost every Chinese person that would see Brayden and think he was a touch and feel toy doll. So having a baby in China can be a pretty popular thing, but as you can tell (from the photo here) it's not much fun for the baby. We did worry about him getting sick with all of this touchy touchy stuff, so we did have to lay down the law.
We almost just had to be rude because some people don't want to listen. But everywhere we went, they all wanted to touch our little guy and almost always, always, get a photo with him. He really was the celebrity, mostly due to the fact that so many of them never see foreigners, let alone a foreigner baby!!
We did start to enjoy the many people that would want to hold him when we would eat dinner. We would go out to eat and all the waitresses would want to hold him (dinner and a babysitter all at the same stop, what luck). We did like that, that really never got old.
Get a Workout at the Park.
This photo was taken at one of the many "mini" parks found at the university. They were almost like a little work out center, on our way to our classes we would see many old Chinese out working out on some of the devices.
We use to joke around that they had created an outside workout center, disguised as a local park, to help everyone stay in shape. Anyhow, these places really got a lot of use. Between the morning Tai Chi class and the elementary students in the afternoon, these parks where always in use.
This photo here is a type of treadmill that they would walk or run on, you can see all the use this thing has gotten over the years.
We use to joke around that they had created an outside workout center, disguised as a local park, to help everyone stay in shape. Anyhow, these places really got a lot of use. Between the morning Tai Chi class and the elementary students in the afternoon, these parks where always in use.
This photo here is a type of treadmill that they would walk or run on, you can see all the use this thing has gotten over the years.
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Make Due, really a new meaning.
Students would invite us to play sports with them, and we really weren't sure what the game would be like. First of all they were always friendly and nice to us, almost to nice, like they wanted us to win. But what we found was they didn't always have all of the equipment to play, that really would stop them from having a good 'ol game.
For example, in this photo, not having a ping pong net doesn't mean you can't play the game, just means you need to find something else. These students found some old bricks outside of their building to help act as a separation for each side. Its funny because in America, we really wouldn't even think about playing this game with out the net, but here didn't seem like it was a problem.
Another time we were invited to watch some students play a rivalry class basketball game (they would play other classes in different sports), and during the game one students glasses got knocked off his face (why they were playing basketball with glasses was a good question to me) and were stepped on breaking the glass out of the lenses all over the floor of the outdoor court.
Now at this point you would think, "Oh shoot, I'm done for the game, I'll just sit out till the next time when I can get my glasses fixed," oh no that doesn't work here. This student must of been one of their best students because the looks to the rest of his classmates for help and one of them actually offers their glasses to him to help him keep playing. So we've got a student that has broken his glasses while playing basketball and now he is jumping back in the game wearing someone else's glasses!!! Wow, I'm assuming they had a pretty close prescription (go figure right?) or I'm still just so confused as how this could possibly work, him playing basketball with glasses that he really can't see. So he just jumped right into the game as if he had his own glasses back, STRANGE. The funny part about all of this, no one thought this was weird, it just goes to show...you never know what to expect in CHINA.
For example, in this photo, not having a ping pong net doesn't mean you can't play the game, just means you need to find something else. These students found some old bricks outside of their building to help act as a separation for each side. Its funny because in America, we really wouldn't even think about playing this game with out the net, but here didn't seem like it was a problem.
Another time we were invited to watch some students play a rivalry class basketball game (they would play other classes in different sports), and during the game one students glasses got knocked off his face (why they were playing basketball with glasses was a good question to me) and were stepped on breaking the glass out of the lenses all over the floor of the outdoor court.
Now at this point you would think, "Oh shoot, I'm done for the game, I'll just sit out till the next time when I can get my glasses fixed," oh no that doesn't work here. This student must of been one of their best students because the looks to the rest of his classmates for help and one of them actually offers their glasses to him to help him keep playing. So we've got a student that has broken his glasses while playing basketball and now he is jumping back in the game wearing someone else's glasses!!! Wow, I'm assuming they had a pretty close prescription (go figure right?) or I'm still just so confused as how this could possibly work, him playing basketball with glasses that he really can't see. So he just jumped right into the game as if he had his own glasses back, STRANGE. The funny part about all of this, no one thought this was weird, it just goes to show...you never know what to expect in CHINA.
A little Fame..for NORMAL Americans
Plays, musical events, modeling shows and even basketball games would all get lots of advertising, some of which would have posters made of those performing. This is a post they made for us as candidates for one of the competitions on Xiangtan University.
NAB or NBA..I forget Which is it?
You will see this a lot all over China, BAD ENGLISH. We play basketball, so naturally we'd recognize when the symbol for the National Basketball Association (NBA), has been duplicated incorrectly. These people are some of our good friends, so we are not making fun of them in anyway, but we are just pointing out that what you would think would be an easy fix in English, isn't always. Many signs, directions, instructions, etc will have some of the funnest English you will ever read.
