1. Over the weekend I had to wait for something and there were very few places to sit, but two seats were open: one next to a Caucasian guy, and one next to an Asian guy. And it was really crowded, so I sat next to the Asian guy, because I thought he might be better with me being really close to him. This is awful, but true. Also, he didn't flinch at all when I sat right next to him.
Related: the first time someone here apologized after bumping into me, I almost laughed out loud. I hadn't even noticed they did it.
2. I had dinner with a friend of a friend at a Chinese restaurant, and we decided to order family style. This is how pretty much all my Chinese meals in China were eaten so I am very comfortable with this. But I guess to him, family style meant "sharing" not "eating out of the same plates of food." So I inadvertently grossed him out by sticking my own chopsticks in the plate of Kung Pao Chicken. I guess I'm not ready to be taken out in public yet.
Related: he said, "You can use chopsticks really well." I thought I had left this observation behind in China. I guess not. And yes, I do use chopsticks really well! I lived in China for two years! If I couldn't use chopsticks really well by now, I'd be an idiot! (I have wanted to say this soooo many times. Thank you.)
3. Most of my part of China still functions on a cash-only basis, and the electronic payment system, when there is one, is very uniform. Have you noticed that almost all gas stations, stores and gas pumps use a different setup for debit card payments? I have. It takes me a minute to figure out what I'm doing. And today I didn't have to enter a pin number, but I didn't realize that and just stood there waiting to be prompted until the guy said, "That's all. You can leave now." He said it in a nice way, but I still felt a little silly. It's a lot to remember!
Related: advice my friend J. told me when I explained I was having a hard time with reverse culture shock: "When you feel frustrated, just think about how nice the bathrooms there are." She's right: public bathrooms here are amazing. I could eat in there!
Good news: I enrolled in a Mandarin course at the local University and it's been nice to have a reason to speak Chinese again. It's very uplifting to have something to do while I endlessly job search.
Just chuckling away at your expense here, Becca :)
ReplyDeleteHe he - magic toilet seats with plastic covers that move at the wave of a hand :-D
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your re-integration is going well, at least it sounds like you're making good headway. The little stories are just spice on the cake ;-)
ps: is the chinese food passable compared to what you ate in china?
You seem to be having some issues but in time it will get better.
ReplyDeleteHang in there, my friend... I know things are gradually improving for you, day by day.... and enjoy your Mandarin class!
ReplyDeleteCome on over to my blog when you get a chance... I have a fun little posting inspired by an NPR story, and am actively soliciting "interactive comments"... I'd love to hear yours!
I'm amazed at how many differences there are between the two cultures...but then I never sat down and thought about it (or have known enough about the Chinese culture). Thanks to you I feel I have a taste of it from reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteYou will come around, but yes, it will take some time. I like how you're taking a Mandarin course; how cool!! Good luck with your job search, Chica. I wish a happy weekend and all the best!
You did make me laugh...but I don't think you mean to. :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the classes, as well as getting on with American life too!
Best of luck with adapting back to the USA. I also struggled for a month. The first few weeks were rough, but somehow toward the last few weeks I started feeling like I belonged. I think it was due to hanging out with people I knew in Africa and my Chinese sitemate. There was a really comforting familiarity with those people compared to family and friends I hadn't seen in over four years.
ReplyDeleteJust as I started feeling better about being in America, I was happily on my way back to China. So that was nice.
Will you be looking for jobs in China too?