China culture clash, My first trip to China - part two
I am here in China for technical negotiations with a client on a large project. I have been
assigned an interpreter, named Jack, who is a bright, energetic young man. He is very intent on telling me how nurturing
the Chinese people are. Jack says in
China, the people will go out of their way to serve guests and make sure we are
cared for. Jack used the example that
they took me to dinner and made sure I was served first. He knows
that in America, we would be nice to visitors, but would let them fend for
themselves for dinner. I am amazed he knows what happens in America,
especially since he has never been there.
In China, there is an internet block on all social media so he would not
be able to communicate with Americans casually.
He can’t use Facebook or go to my Intrepid Traveler blog. (very sad). Yet he knows how we are. He is only 23 and is excellent with languages, but he does not even know what he pays in taxes, so I really can’t expect him to know much about
us. How many others, like him, don’t know
Jack about the U.S.? This is something
to consider when we are dealing with other nations.
I am doing my best to absorb the Chinese culture. I am trying to fit in. But I find it difficult to handle a cup of
coffee with chop sticks. Perhaps if I
attached suction cups to the end of each stick.
I may be on to something. I could
patent it. But someone here would just
copy it and cheat me out of the profits. I am trying to get familiar with what is
happening here. I am curious about stuff
like where they stash their Political Dissidents, and who gets their stuff when
the government imprisons them. Also,
I’ve asked the locals for the best place to buy tainted dog food. I know that they are always sending tainted
dog food to the U.S., so it must be a very popular item here. And I’ve asked where I could pick up the
bestselling Chinese cookbook: “101 ways
to Wok your dog”, but I just got a blank stare.
When I ask these questions I don’t really get the warm, caring responses
that I was led to believe I would get from these Chinese. Hmmm.
One thing that the Chinese are doing well is land transportation. In this city, and other cities too, the roads
and highways are very wide. In the
downtown, area where I have been taking walks the street intersections flair
out to make room for turning lanes. The
pedestrian crosswalks are back away from the intersections and away from the
turn lanes, which makes them safer to use.
And ALL of the thousands of motorcycles that I have seen are battery
powered. They are completely silent
as they coast by. All you hear is the
tire noise. It is eerie. And the busses that I have seen run on CNG. (Compressed
Natural Gas) and there seems to be thousands of them too. They travel in caravans throughout the city,
like unconnected train cars. This makes
much more sense than hard rail lines that are fixed in one location. If the demand for bus service shifts, they
just add or take away a bus from the route.
I am not sure about the one child policy that we, in the
west, hear of. One of my hosts here has
two kids and I think is expecting another child. (Not him, his wife. China has not that advanced yet). As I
walk thru the city, I am the only “westerner” that I see. It seems like everyone is smiling at me. Maybe I have food left on my face from my last
chopsticks meal. Or is it they know the U.S.
has joined China on the dark side when we elected President Obama?
There is a lot that the Eastern and Western cultures could learn
from the other. Like the importance of
freedom. The Chinese don’t remember it
and many in the U.S. we take it for granted.
The U.S. population has the right to bear arms. The Chinese do not. So, which of these two nations has free and
regular elections? Which nation has
successfully eliminated diseases, like Polio, from humanity? Which country has given the world Pee-Wee
Herman and Vice-President Joe Binden? Hint: It wasn’t China. But if they want Joe Biden, I think he will
be available after the Nov. elections.
