Our group of students has a diverse background of studies here at Madison, so it follows that our knowledge of Chinese Culture would be equally diverse. Luckily, we have gained knowledge through our readings and workshops but we know there is still lots to learn. We asked ourselves where we stood in our background on China and Chinese culture and here is how we responded.
How knowledgeable do you feel about Chinese culture? Where or how have you gotten your knowledge about China/Chinese culture/Chinese people?
Prior to being selected as a participant for this trip I did not have much knowledge about China or Chinese culture. Since participating in the workshops, reading the assigned book, and checking out the Learn@UW site for additional reading materials, I feel that I can now travel to the country with a confidence of being able to acknowledge and show respect for all it has to offer. I have a better understanding of China’s government and its people’s way of life. Having speakers attend the workshops has been most insightful has each has firsthand experience being in China and being immersed in its culture. Being able to get advice from those with experience has helped to calm some of the nervousness I have had about traveling abroad for the first time and being somewhere where my language isn’t native.
Antonette Guider
I feel generally pretty ignorant about Chinese culture, though our travel orientation has certainly helped to give me at least minimal knowledge about Chinese history and culture. I feel that I have gotten the majority of my knowledge about China/Chinese culture from US newspapers or US movies (although I have seen quite a few Chinese movies over the years). US newspapers focus almost exclusively on Chinese government, and so is not a good source of information about Chinese people/culture. I think it is almost always a mistake to confuse a country's government with its people since they often don't agree on many policies or government policies don't reflect the values of the people they govern. US movies seem to focus mostly on either a China in the past or Chinese "gangsters," not on the lives of average Chinese folk--leaving me pretty unaware of the daily experience of most Chinese.
Cristina Springfield
I know a decent amount of knowledge about the Chinese culture and the technology there. The English language is a very RARE thing to find in terms of people speaking it. Apparently, a lot of signs are written in English, but in terms of English being spoken by the Chinese people residing there, it's very rare. Another knowledgeable fact that I know is that the U.S. dollar is worth $8 or $9 in China. The exchange rate is what a lot of tourists enjoy because we will be able to shop and buy lots of clothing, shoes, etc. for a very cheap price. Shopping will also help us experience the different styles of clothing that China has to offer. The knowledge that I've obtained for China and the culture is simply through T.V. and Internet. These resources have provided the largest amount of information to myself and others about China and the people. I'm very excited to experience China, the culture, the people, the food, and everything else China has to offer when we go to the world expo.
Dan Torres
On a scale of 1 thru 10, 1 being completely lost about Chinese culture, I'd probably rate myself about a 5. I've learned that one should always take your shoes off when entering someone's home or should bring a gift of gratitude when invited over for dinner. One part of the Chinese culture that I'm not used to at all is being aggressive when using public transportation or even waiting in line to use the ATM. It makes sense why one should be so aggressive considering the extremely large population, but it still caught me off guard and something I will have to learn to accept when being pushed or skipped. Something else I found very interesting about the Chinese culture is how during the summer time, women will ride their bikes around town wearing large visor hats and long gloves to prevent themselves from getting darker. This sounded crazy to me because many American girls spent countless hours trying to maintain a nice tan, or even spend ridiculous amounts of money to stay tanned, whereas the Chinese feel the whiter you are, the more beautiful you are. One last part of Chinese culture, specifically the youth's culture that surprised, is how much they embrace hip hop culture. I've always known that break dancing is popular for Chinese youth, but it never really dawned on me that hip hop culture was just as popular there as it is here in the United States.
I've learned most about the Chinese culture by listening to the workshops in which students or staff shares their experiences about being immersed within the Chinese culture. I feel like those accounts have been the most useful in comparison to books I've been reading. Hearing personal experiences makes it all seem so much more real. I've also done research online here and there.
Daniela Moody
I feel that I know enough to get bye in a conversation about China’s history and culture. The book that we read really helped in understanding the culture and history in a nutshell. But I feel still there is much to learn and I know that on this trip I will learn far more that what any book can show me. 2000 years worth of history cannot be learned in a short time.
Adam Lopez
I feel very unsure about true Chinese culture. I have only really experienced filtered Chinese-American culture in dingy “Chinese restaurants” and crude generalizations in TV shows or comedies. Even what I have experienced talking with Chinese-American students or international Chinese students does not truly show Chinese culture or Chinese people, since their experiences were shared here in America- in popular American culture. However, the video from Katrina Brown on cultural differences was very informative, and the book China in the 21st Century, by Jeffrey Wasserstrom, helped give some insight to the shared experiences of Chinese people over the last two thousand years. I am looking forward to experiencing Chinese culture by awkwardly navigating my way through two massive Chinese cities.
Thomas Sannito
I feel semi-comfortable with Chinese culture. I learned many useful tips from our workshop speakers. One of our speakers told us that we are suppose to tap the table with two fingers if we are given tea to say thanks. A memorable experiencing of trying to learn about the Chinese culture was when another student and I told the cashier of a Chinese restaurant that we were traveling to China. He was very happy to learn that we were going there, and he decided to give us some tips and try to teach us some useful Chinese phrases. Some cultural norms from my ethnicity also transfers, such as not wearing shoes into a house or elders being much respected. I am more worried about the language barrier because I will only be able to memorize a few words and phrases in a small amount of time.
Saeng Douangdara
No comments:
Post a Comment