Honestly, the change in culture and behaviors was underwhelming. Perhaps naively, I expected a drastic change that, in retrospect, was more characteristic of traveling to an alien planet rather than visiting a foreign country. In reality, the Chinese population is fundamentally similar to the American population in that we all are subject to the human condition. People live their own individual lives, for the most part going through the motions in their daily grinds. Our group of outsiders garners some curious stares and pointing fingers. And quite comically, every time we pose for a group photo, bystanders watch us as if we are on stage, sometimes even taking a photo us. But overall we're merely an unusual distraction in their normal routines. Race truly seems to be a social construct created as a way to conveniently categorize people in our minds. However, just spending a few days here has really emphasized the point that we are all ultimately under the global race of human.
This is not to say that there aren't obvious and more subtle cultural differences, because there definitely are. The vast majority of males seem to avoid wearing shorts, opting for jeans or khakis. Liberal use of honking combined with a reckless neglect for using turn signals, sudden lane-changing, and multiple near-misses with bikers and jay-walkers clearly illustrated where the stereotype of the "bad Asian driver" emerged. At the risk of sounding defensive, despite the admittedly bold driving maneuvers, I never once witnessed a loss of control from the calm drivers or panic from the pedestrians who crossed roads like Frogger. The foreign food pallet granted the opportunity to experiment with odd delicacies having some shock-value, such as ostrich kidney, deer, and donkey. And of course, the native dialect is Mandarin. Unlike some of the other students here, I came into this program understanding most conversational Chinese, giving meaning to the odd tones and nonsensical noises all around us. Being accustomed to hearing Chinese spoken at home, this skill mitigated the culture shock that was probably stronger for the students who have little exposure to the language.
It's a unique perspective being a Chinese American who can't speak the language. Because I'm Asian, I have the opportunity to observe as if I was a native rather than a foreigner, at least until they notice my severely limited range of replies in conversation. I hope to overcome my mental block of recalling Chinese words as I become accustomed to forcing myself to speak, eventually becoming apart of the culture to which I was born.
