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Thread: Culture shock

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[quote=AIQIU222                ,5288]Hi Brent,Hey Elcabron, you're impressed with the spitting abilities too. I saw a really lovely young Chinese couple, clearly in love, walking down the street when suddenly the girl just turned and spat. The male friends I was with couldn't believe it (though they don't seem to have minded adopting it themselves).I'm English and have been living in China for 6 months. I can safely say that the best way to sum up all the different culture shocks is 'lack of privacy.' For better or worse (and I guess better in light of how crowded China is) the concept doesn't exist.When I got my medical check up I was astonished. Consultancies happen in the corridor, really. There was a problem with my friends' 'ecg' and it was discussed in the waiting room with 20 chinese men crowding round and looking over each other shoulders to see what was happening. Its disconcerting (and admittedly something I personally find awkward) but its not meant to be rude, its just a different way of considering things.I think that same lack of privacy though is also one of the things that makes the Chinese so friendly.Like Elcabron said, the toilets take some getting used to, expecially, I suspect for Western women with no experience of urinals.Being 'foreign' can be more than just stares, I went out with bare arms once (I have quite fair skin) and  2 yr old boy was so astonished at my colour that he dropped his ice lolly (popsicle), and I've had people follow me around supermarkets to see what I buy.It sounds like food won't be a problem for you but I will say, I'm a relatively unsentimental person about animals and don't actually like dogs. Though not wanting to try it myself (I'm NOT adventurous with food) I told everyone that I didn't think the whole 'eating dog' culture would be a problem, after all eating one animal is surely much the same as another. I will admit however, that when I saw skinned dog's heads being sold on the street I felt rather odd, beyond my normal distate for raw meat. Likewise, being offered roasted sparrow on a skewer.Trust me, it is strange but that is what makes it China and different!So, where are you planning to travel?[/quote]

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