It is always interesting to examine the similarities and differences between cultures and different groups of people. Sometimes our expectations of other countries can be very different from what we actually experience. As students, we spent some time thinking about our expectations of China, and how it will compare to our experiences in the USA.
What are some of the similarities and differences that you anticipate seeing between China and the US?
One of the similarities I expect in China is the “respect your elders” etiquette. Although the US is more lenient in this, I expect that in China we will find more common as they have a larger population of elderly. It will be interesting to try to address older people when there is a huge language barrier. A major differences I expect is the way we eat and the food we eat. I am excited to have authentic Chinese food and eat in the traditional Chinese way. Overall though, I am nervous about the language barrier, although we will be in big cities, I feel that most of the population will be unable to communicate with our group.
Claudia Coria-Luna
I feel that the customs, architecture and the people will be very different between the countries. I am used to seeing a blend of cultures in the USA, but in China, although there are many different ethnic groups, the overall culture there will feel like one big one to me. I feel that the cities we visit will be similar to major cities that I have visited before here in the US.
Adam Lopez
I found something very interesting about young Chinese students and USA students. As I was reading the China book I made few comparisons with my own Chinese friends and the will that they all have to better themselves. It was emphasized in the book that Chinese students work very hard to do better than what their parents were able to do and here in the USA I believe that students strive for that as well. We all want to better our country here in USA and that is the reason why we are coming up with sustainable energy and better ways to live in the future. Also China is striving for the same goal. I believe that we both found out that our environment is critical for the better of our lives and future.
I knew that most of the Chinese people dress up conservatively because one of my close friends is Chinese. I like to wear tank tops and shorts during the summer and I’ve never seen my friend wearing shorts too shorts or tank tops too tight. I believe that this idea of women being conservative comes from the past conservative governments and their views on how the right women in their society should look. I look forward seeing many women dressing up very conservatively even though it’s going to be very hot by the time we go there.
Julissa Oquendo
I anticipate that I will feel very out of place in China. The language, food, pace of life, and certainly, the number of people is very different than in Midwest. From what I understand, I can expect to see more people around than I have ever seen before in one place. While in the US I usually blend into the crowd, I can expect to stand out in China, since China is much more ethnically homogeneous than the US. Since we are traveling to Beijing and Shanghai, I expect the cities to be much larger and more modern in many ways than even major cities, like New York. On the other hand, China has so much history as compared to the US!! I will be looking to experience that sense of history especially at the historical sites that we visit. As much as the differences will stand out to me as a traveler in China, I hope to find more similarities than differences between the US and China that may not be quite so obvious.
Cristina Springfield
One big similarity that I anticipate seeing is both countries being quite modern. Because China has a population of over 1 billion and the U.S only has 300 million, I am anticipating that China will be a lot more crowded than the US since they are both about the same size. In addition, the U.S population is made up of a lot of different races, while China’s population is considered mostly Chinese. Also, I anticipate seeing a lot more poverty in China; the U.S is a much wealthier country.
Cristina Barrera
I’m not quite sure what to expect when I go to china in terms of similarities and differences between the United States of America and China. I do expect to find American trends like some popular music or fast food. I am also expecting to find local hip-hop scenes in Shanghai and Beijing. One of the UW b-boys, Jarius King, told me he was in a crew from Macau China. I have heard about the globalization of Hip Hop, and accordingly I expect to see graffiti, breaking, mcing, and djing in China; however, I also expect to find many differences between China and the US. For example, I heard there are many cultural differences like “face”. Also, it will be interesting to see the difference between government censorship and network censorship. Although American journalists do not have censorship, their stories are governed by providing them with an income- by angering network executives or publishers, a journalist jeopardizes their livelihood. In China, journalists must strictly appease government officials, or risk losing not only their livelihood, but their freedom. I think this will affect the information I receive from media sources in China.
Thomas Sannito
I do not know too much about China, so I am sure I will be able to add more to this question after returning from China.It’s difficult to imagine similarities because China is a complete change regarding the environment and people.After reading a news article about Chinese television, a few of their shows may be similar to the US shows.The article talked about China adapting some of our shows.I can talk about several topics that are different between the US and China.A huge difference is China’s population.It will be the hardest factor to become comfortable with because our guest speakers have told us of how packed and busy the cities are with people.Another different aspect is the shape and sizes of buildings.I have seen some pictures of the buildings in China and the buildings look unique.
No comments:
Post a Comment