The following is a list of the interesting things I have noticed, experiences, and struggled with in China that differ from in America:
1) The streets of China are a dangerous place to be, beware!
Their entire idea of driving is so different than in America. In America, all street laws revolve around pedestrians, but in China, pedestrians are at the bottom of the road totem poll. In China, if a pedestrian is hit, it is considered their wrong doing because they did not move out of the way of a the car. Sidewalks in China have no significance at all. Cars do not slow down at them, and people do not walk on them. Here are the two main things you must know in order to survive on the streets of China:
- Pedestrians do not care where they walk, as long as they get to their destination on time, and have in mind that Asians are ALWAYS on time. So if they will run through you, if that means they will not be late.
- Cars do not care what they hit, what light they run through, who they cut off, as long as they a) do not get stopped by a cop b) if they do not kill anyone/themselves c) make it to their destination quickly.
The streets of China is like Mario Karts. Not only do their street lights count down before they change, but everyone seems as if they are racing each other and if they hit a pedestrian, it is an extra 20 points. Bicyclists act the same as cars, except they are a level before on the totem poll. But before bicyclists are motorcyclists because they have the power to speed past all the cars and weave in between them. Lastly, seat belts. It is as if they do not exist in China. Only if you have a fancy car that beeps at you, do you put on your seat belt. And even sometimes people will ignore the annoying alert and leave their seat belt off the entire trip. If you're in the backseat, don't even try putting on your seat belt. Evening reaching towards the belt will attract the stares from everyone around you. They will even tell you not to buckle up and un-buckle your seat belt for you.
2) Wanted: Ice water.
In China, you will never find ice water. If you do, please let me know of this miracle you have stumbled upon. Ice water is non-existent in China, mainly because their water system is not as clean as our. Therefore, cold water is equivalent to unsafe water/ dirty water. Most everyone in China prefers to drink 开水 which is boiled/ boiling water. Most of the homes in China always have hot water at hand, unlike in America, where every house has bottled water in their fridge.This is another difference in China; their refrigerators are just glorified food holders. After struggling with the hot water situation, I kept my mug of water in the fridge over night excepting it to be nice and refreshing the next morning. To my surprise, the next morning when I went to drink it with breakfast, it was barely room temperature. Then, in shock, I stuck my hand in their "fridge" to find it barely cooler than the non- AC room I was standing in.
Even their pools are hot. Today, I went to a country club with my host sister and Skylar and his host brother. The club was beautiful and very western, so I was extra excited about the pool, thinking it would be cool and refreshing. But as we walked down the steps (they wouldn't let me jump in because apparently Chinese people don't do that) I didn't get that chill of cold water like I usually do. To my surprise, the water is a little warm, around room temperature. It was like taking a bath, in a giant tub, filled with other people.
3) Please, someone buy these Chinese people air conditioning!
If I could go back in time and ask anyone any question, I would ask the person who designed the homes in 厦门 why on earth they did not install air conditioning units into the homes. You would think that in a place this hot, where you have to employ someone to drive along the roads spraying them with water to cool them down so they won't melt, someone would install AC into the homes. At least they have AC units in the bedrooms. Therefore, I keep my AC set at 25 degrees Celsius so whenever I walk into my room it's the perfect temperature; not too cold that I'd a drastic change walking from the hot house into my room but also not too hot that it seems the AC is not even on.
4) Slippers, slippers, slippers!
I'm sure you all already knew that Chinese people love clean things (which I find ironic since they do some gross things in public). But when it comes to their homes, they despise any and all dirt. Even my 1 1/2 year old host brother knows how to say slippers in English and Chinese, so whenever I forget to wear the slippers they gave me, he points at my feet and says, slippers. This, of course, brings on the attention of everyone in the room who then makes me walk all the way back upstairs to get my slippers (which are just beach flipflops).
But as I spend more time with my host family, wearing slippers, I have become accustom to it. The other day I forgot to wear mine, and surprisingly no one noticed, but my feet felt weird hitting the floor, as if I needed that extra layer. I think going back to America and not wearing slippers will be a little confusing at first.
*also I just realized that I haven't stood on carpet since we were in Shanghai about a month ago!
5) Why do all the beds in China feel like rocks?
Chinese are strong advocates for the "harder beds are more healthy for your back" campaign. Every house I have been to, every hotel I've stayed, and every dorm room I've been to in China has had hard beds. I cannot wait to run into my room back home and jump into bed!
6) Their impeccable work ethic
To this date, I have yet to meet a lazy native Chinese person. All the people I meet on the street or even see around campus, are working their hardest. For example, the convenience store inside our dorm building is very popular and most kids go their during our class breaks to get snacks. The lady who runs the store is tiny, probably 5'4 and weights no more than 110 pounds. Therefore, generally speaking, you would think she would be weaker than the average person. But when Sydney and I bought a big jug of water, she carried it up to the 5th floor for us, even though we insist that she not. Even the tutors that are required to do volunteer hours, act as if they are being paid. Chinese people have a great appreciation for education, unlike in America where going to school seems like a chore.
7) Breakfast food, wya?
For breakfast in China, you eat very flavorful, non-breakfast like food. It is very common to eat pork, potatoes, noodles, and dumplings for breakfast. In America, breakfast is usually whatever you can grab on your way out the door. Generally we eat fruit, cereal, waffles, or granola. But in China, you always sit together, as a family, and eat breakfast. And the parent, or whoever cooks for the family, wants up earlier and prepares a fresh meal.
8) 谢谢， 对不起
In America, you cannot go 30 minutes without hearing or saying "thank you" or "I'm sorry". But in China, you will barely hear anyone saying these phrases. In America, people will overuse "sorry" even for the smallest of mistakes. For example, it is common to hear Americans saying, "I'm sorry for getting upset". In China, they reserve "sorry" exclusively for actions that cause other people pain/ suffering. The same thing goes for saying "thank you". Many Chinese students I have meet have told me that I say "thank you" too often. In America, we are raised to be grateful for other people's actions. In China, it is no that they are ungrateful, but they show their gratitude in different ways. I'm sure you all have encountered or at least heard that Asians are known for bringing gifts when they are invited to someone's house. This is one of their deep traditions that they use to show their thanks. Another example, is when I tried translating a sentence into Chinese and found that there was no way to say it. I was writing a letter to one of my tutors and wanted to say, "thank you for being my tutor". After asking Sydney, who is in advanced Chinese, she said she could not figure out a way to translated it. Then we asked our teacher who told us Chinese people simply do not say stuff like that and that I should instead write, "谢谢。你射非常好的辅导老师" which means, "thanks you. You are a fantastic tutor".
9）"___姐姐”
In America we simply call our driver or maid by their name, but in China they will call them 阿姨 (aunt) or 依附 (uncle) even though they are not related at all. They do this to eliminate distance between them. Chinese people believe that calling each other by their names will create a barrier between them causing them to feel less close to each other. Calling someone 阿姨 or 依附 shows them that you respect them as if they were you blood related relative.
10) 外国人 privilege
In China everyone looks similar, with the same facial features, hair color, and general body structure; therefore, tourists stand out a lot. I, being half Chinese, do not have it has bad as my red-haired and blue-eyed friends. Not only will people stop us on the street for pictures, but they will touch our hair, hug us, and act like we are old friends. Even in a more formal setting, foreigners are treated differently. And by "treated differently" I mean treated better. For example, a couple of us NSLI-Y students along with 厦门外国语学校 students went to a restaurant on campus together last week. Since we had a fairly big party, 8 people, they gave us a private room even though we did not request one nor pay for one. They also did not charge us for the sanitized silverware like usual. The Chinese students were in shock and said that they had "never been treated so well in a restaurant" before.
11) Affection
Generally speaking, most Americas are very affections, even in public. But in China, any form of affection is frowned upon, especially between opposite genders. Their culture also creates a very professional-like atmosphere at home. Because of their deep and old culture, Chinese children have a very different relationship with their parents than I do. They never say "I love you" or even hug each other. When my host sister leaves for school, she simply says "goodbye" but at home, when I leave for school, I usually hug my parents and say, "have a nice day". This also reflects different parenting styles. At home, most parents focus on giving their children more freedom and responsibilities. This contracts Chinese homes where parents want to protect and watch their children more closely. This is where the term, "tiger mom" or "helicopter parent" comes from.
12) Dinner table conversations
When it comes time for a meal, we all eat together at the table. That is it, just eat. There is usually little to no conversing between my host family. At home, there is never silence when we have family meals. My parents view meal times as a time to talk about each other's day. In addition. when someone is done eating they simply say “我吃完了" which means, "I am done eating". Then they get up and return to their room or go to the living area. Most of the time, my host sister doesn't even say anything and just dramatically puts down her spoon/ chopsticks to tell her parents she is done eating. She then gets up and goes back to her room. Seeing this on the first few days in my host family was shocking. At my home in America, no one leaves the table until the entire family is done eating. Then, as a family, we clean up. Before coming to China, I assumed the people would have more rich views on these types of things.
On one of the first days on the trip, our chaperone, 伊芬, told us about her experience on NSLI-Y. After her summer program, she continued her study in Chinese language and culture at the University of Delaware. She said that without this program, she would never have created such an interest in the Chinese world. I remember her telling us about how she is still in touch with people from her 2012 NISL-Y trip. When she said this to me 6 weeks ago, I never imagined becoming so close to the other program members. I thought that I would never become so close to someone I only knew for 6 weeks. But now that the program is over, all I can think and wish about is seeing them all again.
Once the plane landed we filed off and went through security before arriving at baggage claim. Our director, 陈老师, had told us that baggage claim would be the time for last goodbyes, so when our luggage started falling onto the round-about everyone started saying goodbye. Merrick was one of the first people to get his luggage and since he lives in New York, his parents were already waiting for him at the airport exit. He made his rounds around the group and said goodbye to everyone, saving Skylar and I for last. While he was saying goodbye to everyone, Skylar and I made making him cry our #1 goal. Since he told us that he doesn't get emotional, we were even more dedicated to see a tear fall from his eye. But of course, his eyes remained dry, even when mine were filled with tears. Even if he didn't cry I know he will still miss everyone.
After visiting the temple, we headed over to the Urban Planning Museum. Inside, there were mini scale models of the entire city of 上海. Even when it was miniature sized, it looked massive. What impressed me the most was how modern 上海 is and how efficient it is. It has the first offshore wind farm and the most powerful power plant in China. It has currently been focused on making the city a "greener" place. Using different techniques, it has exceeded standard set for national garden cities. It has 242 square kilometers of greening that loops around roads and urban areas. Also, in more suburban and rural areas, it has 671 square kilometers of forests dedicated to animal reserves and tourist areas. Taking this all into considering, along with it's massive population. 上海 could easily be the best city on Earth.
Surprisingly, the line to get into the tower was very short. What took a long time was connecting to the free WiFi, hahaha. After waiting for 30 minutes in line, we finally reached the elevator that took you to the viewing deck. The elevator doors opened to a spectacle view over the massive city of 上海. There were just rows upon rows of apartments, stores, hotels, and skyscrapers. It made you feel so insignificant, just a number upon the 23.03 million or more people in 上海. It kind of answers the questions of why Americans are so focused to determined to gain more and more freedoms. One of the biggest cities in America, New York, only has a population of 8.4 million which is less than half the size of 上海. Therefore, people in America feel more independent than the ones in China. In China, you are always crowded by people, but in America there are many more rural areas and smaller cities, allowing the citizens to feel as if they can make a difference. But standing in the Pearl Tower, overlooking China, made me realize that I am just one of the 7.404.976.783 people in the world. 
We walked down one level of stairs to another overlook spot, but this one was different. Unlike the last, this one was completely covered in glass, even the floor. Sydney, being afraid of heights, was unexpectedly very comfortable while we were up there. After walking around for 30-45 minutes, we all filed into the elevator again and went to the bottom level. On the first floor was a museum about the urbanization of the city. It started out with wax figures representing life before 上海 development. By the end of the museum, there were current pictures of the massive city. 
Today was our first full day in the beautiful city of 上海. The hotel we were staying at, Regal Hotel, had a rating of 6 stars. Right? I didn't even know that was possible. This hotel was so nice and so fancy. But since it was so nice, they over charged you for everything. Even the WiFi was 3 元 per minutes, but since we were a group, we got it for free. The breakfast in the hotel was unreal. Today for breakfast, they had a giant buffet set up with a variety of food. They had everything from baked beans to dumplings, and I ate everything. Hands down the best breakfast I had in China.
Once we finished viewing the entire museum, we headed to lunch. There we had 汤包, 上海 famous soup dumplings. Afterwards, we went to Hengshan Road, a street market. We were given 2 hours to walk around, shop, and take pictures before we had to met back at the Starbucks. Some of my friends went to a Phone Repair shop to get their screen's replaced, because they had shattered. All was well until the men tried to charge them double for it. Sydney, being in the advanced class, yelled at them in Chinese. But they did not budge. It wasn't until we told them we were with the US government and would call our director, did they agree to the original price. It was pretty exciting to watch the argument unfold between the men and Sydney, but I know it was also very stressful for her. After the phone situation, we walked around the shopping mall multiple times before we had to met.
Today was our last day in 北京 but also our first day in 上海. In the morning, our director 陈老师 invited a famous Chinese screenwriter to talk to us. Before the question-answer session, we watched one of his famous movies, Fearless. It was a very interesting and action packed movie. Would 100% recommend. After the movie we had a "lecture" that was divided into 3 parts: him talking about himself, us asking him questions, him asking us questions.
Today was our last full day in 北京. We
spent the entire morning sightseeing Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden Palace.
Although the heat was unbearable, it was a wonderful experience. 
After getting past security we walked over to the actual
square. Everywhere you looked there were guards who stood perfectly still. They
didn’t even look like they were blinking. Along the walk, I ran in between different
people’s umbrellas to get just a brief second of shade. I also stupidly forgot
my fan on the bus, so I was extra sweating and hot. Once we went underground
and to the other side, we were officially on the square. It was massive, filled
with tourist trying to be discreet about talking pictures of us. We waited for
30 minutes while our chaperones bought us tickets to go into the viewing area
on top of the entrance building. Once the tickets were bought we had 30 minutes
on top of the building. Inside, there was a showing of different “offices” that
were used by the empires at varies points of history. Outside, we got to stand
a look out upon the square, like different leaders once did. 
After getting at least 10 wake up calls at 6:30, Sydney and
I woke up to go eat breakfast and get ready for our first full day in 北京. After having a wonderful, western styled
breakfast with fried eggs, potatoes, and orange juice, we filled on the bus and
headed for the 长城/ The Great Wall! We traveled through a small village
before arriving at 慕田峪, a less-touristy part of the Great Wall. 
We were given 1 hour on top of the Great Wall before we had
to meet back at the exit to go to lunch. I wish we were given more time, but I
was still able to make it to the top tower when I ran. Climbing the Great Wall
was so tiring because the steps were so uneven and unimaginably steep. We
stopped every ten steps to take another picture of the amazing view and clouds.
We stopped at the highest lookout point, and spent 10 minutes taking pictures
and enjoying the cold breeze. At 12:15, with 30 minutes until we had to be
back, we started headed back to the Great Wall entrance. I thought going up the
Great Wall was hard, but going down was very frightening. By the time we made
it back to the entrance, we were covered in sweat. The rest of the group was
already there for just arriving. Of course, our lovely Director Chen, made us
put on our cotton NSLI-Y t-shirts for a group picture. The picture probably did
not look good considering we all looked like we just took a shower. Anyways, I
was not about to walk down the path to the bus stop, so a couple of us NSLI-Y
kids took the chair lift down. It was just like the ones at the ski resorts,
except there was no snow because it is so hot in China. Sydney, being the
gullible and clueless person she is, did not understand what we were riding.
She had some image in her mind of a closed area that we would ride down in, not
an open chair with only a bar to hold us in. Therefore, when we got into the
seats, she started freaking out, claiming she was scared of heights. I told her
it was too late and to smile for the picture I was taking. You should of seen
her face when we got to the bottom; 100% relief. 
The opera was not what I had expected. It had few to no
props which made it difficult to understand. It also had no plot and was not a
full story line. It was separated into 3 different traditional plays that are
apparently commonly known by all Chinese people. Considering I am not a native
Chinese, I was completely lost during the entire performance. But it was only
an hour long so it went by quickly. After the opera, we went to dinner at the
same restaurant we went to the night before. After eating another delicious
dinner we headed back to the hotel to rest up for the next day. 
We went to 鸟巢 (Birds Nest) first. The stadium is huge and has 80,000 seats surrounding the track and field. We walked around the stadium and took pictures before leaving to go see the 水立方 (Water Cube). Inside the stadium they were currently doing some construction but it was still amazing to see the huge field and track. Outside of the direct village, there is the highest building that is open to tourists as a look out point on the Olympic Park. We learned that the park was built to have perfect 风水 (FengShui), meaning the Birds Nest represents the guard and the water cube represents the earth.
I choice to opted out of this one, and so did most of the people. Since I planned on going biking on Wednesday around campus, I didn't want to be in some ridiculous outfit. On a side note, biking was so much fun and allowed me to see some incredible views. It was also fun being the one on the bike almost hitting the walkers instead of being the person who almost gets hit every 5 seconds. I also went on Tuesday with Sydney, Zihan, and Merrick but on Wednesday I went with Sydney, Zihan, and Skylar again. We biked to the reservoir and then around the campus. 
Remember how at PDO we were divided into 5 teams? Well, for Thursday each team choice a color and all wore it. My team, the Orange Team, choice to wear white t-shirts and black shorts because no one owns orange clothes. 
The car ride took about an hour and all 60 minutes of the ride, I was asleep. When we arrived and I woke up, I was very confused. All around me were homes and mountains, no farm. We got out of the car and a man guided us down a path. The walk was jaw dropping. I was in awe at how beautiful my surroundings were. To my left was a river, that looked and smelled fresh. To my right was a beautiful lotus flower lake surrounded by gazebos and brick pathways. One of my favorite parts of the walk was the bridges. Unlike classical bridges that arch above the river, these bridges were flat, right on top of the water. It had a similar feeling as walking on the rocks along the creek in my backyard. 
After exploring this part of 庄州, we went to a resort in the mountains, 10 minutes away. There, I learned that Aidan's host father is family friends with the people who own the resort (which is why we were able to go there for lunch). Once we walked through the gate, a atmosphere of privacy and western styles overwhelmed me. In the middle of resort was a small pond, surrounded with flowers and long grass. Across the pond was a lounge and 8 small houses you could rent for a few nights. We went to the lounge first. There we were given AC and watermelon, my 2 favorite things! After resting and cooling off for 30 minutes, we went exploring around the resort. We discovered that on the other side the pond, 6 more homes/ resorts were being made. They were very modern looking. On the side facing the pond was all glass, allowing me to look in (which was awesome because I could see the people). On the inside, there was all modern furniture. Also, each "house" was labeled with a different Chinese holiday, which I thought was interesting. On top of the lounge was an outdoor, covered "book nook" with a wall full of shelves of books that people could read. Around the outdoor room were super conformable. 
We then finished the movie and left the "most beautiful place on Earth". We planned on going straight home but instead we stopped at the grape vineyard for a quick tour. There I tasted the best grapes on Earth. Most grapes, especially when they are not cold, are a little plain tasting. But these grapes were fresh, warm, and tasty. Our tour guide simply plucked off grapes for us straight from the vine. Since they weren't washed, we peeled off the skin before eating the grapes.
There are 31 other NSLI-Y
participants, 4 teachers, 4 chaperones, 3 host families, 2 host parents, and 1
tutor that have all become my best friends these past few weeks. As the program
comes to an end, I have been thinking about how much I will miss these people.
I am used to seeing these 41 faces everyday, all day. I'm used to waking up and
seeing their face first thing in the morning, laughing at our inside jokes, and
sharing funny stories. I remember how lonely I felt when I first arrived in
Newark because I did not know anyone. I called my sister and friend and told
them I wanted to go back home, that I didn't want to go to China, because I did
not like anyone on the trip. I was wrong. Without some of the people on this
trip, I probably would have gone crazy due to a mixture of culture shock and
loneliness. Of course there are some people on the trip that get on my nerve,
but here are the people I will probably miss the most; 
Posts
