3/24/10 8:44 PM
I just noticed that I'm pretty good about putting the Date/Time stamp in front of my blogs, if nothing else.
Yesterday we left really early for Nanjing, one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals, which has a much more elegant name in Chinese, but I forget it, and I don't think it's the one that Wikipedia gives (although the article makes for good reading http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_capitals_of_China), and we came back today. And by "we" I mean some 300 Students at the school, 12 German kids, 3 American kids, and a butt-load (It wasn't really a butt-load, but it's a good expression, I suppose) of teachers (I find it funny that Word doesn't have a definition for "butt" that means buttocks. Very PC, for some reason. I've become acutely aware of things like this. Hannah keeps finding words her English-Mandarin dictionary doesn't have, like "cut," "murder," "necrophagous," etc.)
It had a really great dynamic to the whole thing. The we're-cramped-together-in-a-bus-for-four-hours-so-we're-going-to-be-nuts-and-then-really-tired-and-then-nuts-again-in-hopes-that-we-might-pass-the-time sort of dynamic. The way the classes work (I think I mentioned this much earlier, but it bears repeating), is that all of the students stay in the same room, with the same group of kids, for their entire school day, while the teachers move around from class to class. So it winds up that all of the kids in any given class are crazy close with one another. So I was on a bus with these kids, who have all been together for a long time (I should find out if they stay with the same class throughout high school, or if they shuffle the classes every year. Regardless, they're all wicked tight), and was sort of hanging out with them. I forget that I'm a foreigner more and more often. More like I'm just a kid who sort of doesn't get what's going on all the time, and no one blames him for it, but is totally and definitely a part of the dynamic. Not necessarily defining the atmosphere, but a part of it as much as anyone else.
People want to open up to me fairly often. I think because they're wound up so tight, and because I'm someone they can vent to, someone they won't see for the rest of their lives. I don't really know what to make of the kids anymore. They're at once happy and stressed, skeptical and subservient. It feels bad of me to talk about them as a single unit, because they're as varied as any other group of kids on the planet. But there is sort of a loaded perception of them that exists. That they're so studious and such good kids and that they're vary traditional and are good little communists and whatever else. But I find that the differences between how noodles are eaten and how poops are taken to be much greater cultural gaps than anything thought by these kids.
I was reading Wikipedia (what else is new?) and came across a really good article on Intercultural Competence. It had an interesting list of cultural differences, like how the "thumb's up" is perceived, squat toilets vs. western toilets, marriage garb, public displays of affection, etc. Some of the cultural differences I'm experiencing (lifted straight from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercultural_competence):
§ People from the west are shocked by the squat toilet prevalent in Asia most especially, China, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and the Indian sub continent, even found in Singapore's spotlessly clean, ultra-modern Changi Airport toilets. However, it is common for Asian public toilets have both type of toilet designs. However, these may not be connected directly to mains water supply and not have toilet tissue. Instead in these cultures, cleansing after ones ablutions is done with a through water (and preferably soap) douche, and the user is expected to flush their resultant mess on the toilet or floor manually via the ladle or bucket provided. As such, many Asians are revolted by Western toilets not providing the post-ablution toilet hose. Humorously, even among themselves many resourceful Asians will bring bottled water into toilets or fill them from the sinks as a makeshift post-ablution rinser.
§ Additionally, a wet toilet seat and surrounding floor is considered clean, or newly rinsed, in many parts of Asia, while a dry toilet and bathroom are considered possibly dirty. A Westerner would find a dry toilet cleaner.
§ Arranged marriage is very common in the Middle East, India and Africa, while in some Asian and most Western cultures, the romantic marriage is idealized and one has a right to choose their marriage partner and thus an arranged marriages is perceived as an infringement on this right and viewed unfavorably.
§ It is very common for heterosexual men in the Indian subcontinent and most parts of the Arab world to hug each other, sit with arms over the shoulder or walk while holding hands but it is regarded as homosexual behavior in the West and some Asian cultures such as China, Indonesia and Japan.
§ In Indonesia, and many Asian nations, girls and adult females will often hold hands and be quite "touchy-feely" with one another, even slapping one another on the bottom. This is considered locally as harmless sister-like platonic affection, but some outsiders may inaccurately perceive it as widespread lesbianism.
§ In some nations, heterosexual unmarried couples holding hands in public are uncommon or frowned upon, and hugging is considered unacceptable. In many Western and Westernized nations, especially urban centers, this is common and considered harmless.
§ It is common to see couples kissing, even quite passionately, in public in the Western countries but such an action may cause consternation, alarm or even legal action in African and Asian countries.
§ Punctuality is very highly regarded in many developed nations, such as (perhaps infamously) Germany, Scandinavia, the United Kingdom and the United States. "Fashionably late" would be at most ten minutes early or late. In some European nations and Asia (though not Japan), particularly because of huge traffic problems, clock time is less strictly adhered to, as most are well aware of the unpredictable traffic chaos.
§ If invited to dinner, in some Asian countries it is well-mannered to leave right after the dinner: the ones who don't leave may indicate they have not eaten enough. In the Indian sub-continent, Europe, Australia, South America, and North American countries this is considered rude, indicating that the guest only wanted to eat but wouldn't enjoy the host or guests.[citation needed]
While this is very interesting and makes for good reading, the differences that distinguish one culture from the next can't begin to outshine the things that remain the same. And I know that I sound like someone over- and poorly-quoting Gandhi when I say that, but I mean it.
I was talking to Jason about healthcare reform, and explaining why it's been taking so long, and describing the inefficiencies of democracy, in general. And then he jumps in with what was going to be my next point, saying that a one party system, though generally regarded as "unfair," may, in fact, be better for a country, because then that party can actually get things done. (Whenever people whip out comparisons to Hitler and Stalin and the like, I tend to tune out, because mostly this is used for name-dropping and shock value and the point isn't relevant or true anyway, and the casual discussion of mass murderers obscures the fact that they are, in fact, mass murderers, and I fear that you, my astute reader [woah those are some intense fireworks] have developed the very same, very reasonable gag reflex. But I ask you to bear with me as I discuss Stalin, in what I think is a legitimate context.) Stalin got things done. He brainwashed and killed his population, to the point of creating a state of unrelenting, Unified Thought, but as a result, he was able to go out and do things. He set out the 5 Year Plan, which was extremely successful. "For instance, coal and iron production both quadrupled their output, electric power production increased and 1500 new industrial plants were built." (Sorry for all the wiki citations. I don't want to go out and get actual sources, because that takes too much time, and I always know that these wiki articles are good, because I remember learning about these sorts of things earlier. So Wikipedia it is, Wikipedia it will be. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five-Year_Plan_(USSR)#The_First_Plan.2C_1928.E2.80.931932). This isn't to say that his methods were the right ones. The peasant class was essentially decimated and suffered a massive famine, as the focus on growth was on the industrial level, rather than the agricultural level, and the strain on the farmer class to produce all the raw materials, as well as the food for the gigantic middle class was immense. This is also a symptom of a one party system. There is no meaningful discussion to take place, no way to improve a flawed idea by defending it against other, potentially better ideas.
But, in the case of healthcare, to almost return to my point, this discussion does not produce a better answer to a problem. The debate was (is?) not focused on creating an ideal way to go about improving the healthcare system, but it is instead focused on sort of "giving everyone a say," which will lead to (man, I hate political buzzwords, but they're so darned handy) cherry-picking and gerrymandering. Not to mention hate speech and Tea Partiers.
But, to actually return to my point, I was able to truly discuss this with someone in China. He may prefer squat toilets, he may pal around with other guys in ways that make Americans squirm, he may eat with chopsticks and wear a uniform to school everyday and be a member of the Chinese Communist Party, but nothing can keep us from sharing our thoughts genuinely, and truly being able to meet together and understand one another's opinions on the world.
We then went on to a great discussion about morals, and he talked about that famous lecture about pushing the fat guy in front of the train vs. letting more people die, and things like that.
We're all intensely human, and all feel the same way, on some wonderful level. It's so sad to know that people let things like skin color and chopsticks get in the way of this.
No comments:
Post a Comment