Privacy, Chinese Style

My first week in China, I was trying to buy something in a store that required a membership card; I didn't have a card, so the cashier reached into the purse of another shopper, pulled out a membership card and swiped it. I was surprised that the shopper made no protest to a stranger reaching into her purse and pulling out a personal item. Welcome to privacy, Chinese style.

Mandarin does have a word for 'private,' but their word has a very different connotation than ours. Here are some of the ideas expressed with the word 'private' in Mandarin:

Bootlegging
Unlicensed prostitute
Selfish ideas, interests and desires
Illicit love
Embezzle
Smuggle
Personal grudge

As you can see, not a very positive connotation. The ideas of private space, time, things etc. we have in Western culture do not really exist here. What this means for a Westerner in China: people will rummage through your shopping basket to see what you're buying, they'll open your purse for you if you're trying to retrieve something (I've even had people pull money out of my wallet for me), they'll ask you very personal questions about money, your weight, tell you if you weigh too much, etc. My in-my-head reaction to the lack of privacy is still usually "dude, wtf*?" (Hey, I've been a Westerner a long time!) But outwardly I've learned to let it go. It's just how things are here, and most of time it's because someone is trying to be helpful.  

*what the flip! :D