I call myself a 'wanderer-in-training' simply because I really haven't been to that many places throughout the world. I want to be a certified wanderer, but I haven't had the means or drive to do it. And although I was born in the Philippines and lived in different parts of the West Coast, I can't really say that I've experienced what you would call a real "culture shock". That is, until I went to China.
In the months before I departed for Shanghai with ten other folks from Pacific University, I was figuratively pulling my hair out from excitement. My friends would ask me, "Matt, aren't you nervous?" or "Do you even speak Chinese?" and although I thought I had friends who knew me well enough to know how much I don't speak Chinese, I would answer "Not at all!" to the former simply because I wasn't completely aware of what I was getting myself into.
Now, after having spent just a few days in China, I realize that I should have done a little bit of prep work. With that said, here's what I think everyone seriously needs to know before they make plans to visit this beautiful country.
有谁可以说英语？ Does anyone speak English?
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| Uh... I'll have that one. No, THAT one. No, THAT ONE. |
When you arrive in China, the first thing that smacks you right in the face as soon as you land is the language barrier. To put it simply, not everyone speaks English (and by that I mean no one). The farther away you are from a place where several dozen foreigners transit through (like airports), the less likely there are people you can talk to.
Actually, even at the airport when I went into a mini-mart to purchase a bottle of water, the shopkeeper gave me the price in Chinese, which, in itself, is nothing like how we use dollars back home. (See Surviving China: Money)
Nanjing, a city of 8 million, is by Chinese standards a medium-sized city. Other than the international students that study in schools like Southeast University, not many foreigners actually come to this city.
But despite being one of China's former capitals and the site of many tourist attractions like the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, you will find that the city is still NOT very English-friendly. Signs in most restaurants and stores are exclusively in Chinese. Service workers can only speak to you in Mandarin, and as a foreigner, you will end up standing there all awkward and confused (and holding up the line at the cafeteria).
So, if you go to most parts of China without knowing some essential phrases, then good luck trying to find a place to eat. Even just learning how to count in Chinese will spare you a lot of trouble (and money).
As an aside, in 2014, Nanjing will play host to the Youth Olympic Games. It'll be fun to see how much Nanjing will become more foreigner-friendly in the next year and/or how much fun outsiders will be having getting around with the non-English-speaking taxis. Speaking of outsiders...
我是留学生。 I am a foreigner. (Sort of)
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| Nicole and Maria attracting a lot of locals with cosplay. |
That phrase above, "Wǒ shì liú xué shēng," I said to a lady store owner today and she sneered while repeating it as if to say she didn't believe me. I guess you can add Chinese to my list of mistaken identities now.
Nonetheless, I am still a foreigner in this country. Being a foreigner here is not the same as being a foreigner in America. As a country of immigrants, we are pretty much used to them—tourists, I should say. In fact, the only way I can spot a tourist is when they dress the part. Otherwise, they totally blend in. Also, we treat them like normal people.
I say that because this is far from the case in Nanjing. Over here, you are a spectacle. Wherever you go, the locals stare at you with curious eyes that seem to say "What the hell are you doing here?" On our trip to the mausoleum, rather than us taking photos of the crowds of people, the crowds of people took photos of us!
But being a blatant foreigner comes with its benefits. From our group's experience thus far, everyone has been nice to us, even people from Shanghai (who according to the non-Shanghainese are the most selfish people in all of China). We've received acts of kindness such as getting help with directions or a car letting us cross the road. You know, the kind of stuff that you should already expect from people. Right?
Wrong. Actually, this isn't the typical behavior of the locals. Which brings us to the final topic:
无礼的。 Rudeness.
This is perhaps the hardest but most important thing to get used to while you're in China. The local people are kind of rude. People don't say "excuse me" or "sorry" when they cut you in line or bump into you on the sidewalk, or say words of gratitude like "thanks"—you know, things we are just accustomed to hearing, at times excessively. Now, I am in no way generalizing every single Chinese person nor am I talking smack about an entire culture like a racist a**hole. There's actually a good reason for this, so hear me out.
Our business professor explained to us the other day why the people tend not to be very considerate of the other people around them. And that reason is: culture. Perhaps one of the most dominant ideas of East Asian philosophy is the concept of yin-yang. For every light, there is dark. For every good, there is evil. That is, if you show kindness to someone even something so small as saying "Hello," they will often think you want something from them. Essentially, cynicism is ingrained deep in people's attitudes, and it's something foreigners should not take personally.
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| "Ladies first" doesn't apply here. (Shanghai-Hongqiao Railway Station) |
At the same time, the reason why people openly cut you in line at the train station is the result of China's biggest social problem: overpopulation. It doesn't get more apparent how little the Earth's resources are than when you're in China. With over one billion people, you simply cannot high five every single hand (this phrase will catch on, trust me). So, if you don't jump for an opportunity, you will lose it.
And so, when you're in China, know that it's perfectly acceptable to be a little rude. And by rude, I don't mean be a jerk. Act how you would normally act, but try to hold back on opening doors for other people. Also, don't get easily offended when someone on their moped honks at you for trying to cross the road. As they say, just keep calm and don't get arrested.
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