Cultural and Dining Differences

---

Below is an excerpt from a letter I recently wrote to a friend of mine. I thought my subscribers would like to read some of it:

My language skills have greatly improved. I have a few Chinese friends, and the taji class is very helpful for me because I always hear the language being spoken. My responses are still very slow because I have to think about what I'm saying and it takes a while for the vocabulary to be pulled from storage, but I am definitely making progress. My friends have noticed as well.

Lets see- Chinese food is very much different, though we mostly have Cantonese food in America. (Canton is much further south, so its like comparing Boston clam chowder vs. mexcian food... maybe not so extreme, but there are big differences in flavor from each region.) The worst difference is the fish. Chinese think that the freshest fish still has bones in it. Many times it take a while of chewing and spitting before you are able to swallow your food. This often happens with chicken and sometimes with pork as well. I eat alot of rice, and if I don't have rice, then I have noodles. Tofu is abundant, and occasionally it is prepared in such a way that I like it, though usually only for a few bites. Sushi is available, but its not what I'm used to in America. I'm sure there's a sushi bar where you can watch them make it, but they're going to be downtown and expensive. Fast food: no Taco Bell! The only two they had closed right before I got here.... we looked it up. There are too many McDonalds, and KFC is here as well. Its so funny- the Colonel looks Chinese. My favorite meal here is very simple: jiaozi (a type of steamed, stuffed dumplings) with vinegar, and ciao mein (in America: Chow Main). I'm actually about to go enjoy some.

Cultural differences... There's too many to list, and after being here for two months, I hardly notice them any more. First would be eating differences. To the Chinese, the proper way to show that you are enjoying a meal is to slurp, burp, and chow down. Many of them eat with their mouths open, which is at times annoying to many westerners. Often the Chinese do not purchase drinks with their meal but instead order a soup. Beer is cheaper than cola, a difference that I very much enjoy. Some bars offer All You Can Drink specials which I have never experienced back in America. Its very painful the next day... I'm trying to learn self control now. Oftentimes you can see people on the street spitting, and men often relieve their bladders in public. Once at the park, I watched two old men step into some bushes to enjoy the spring afternoon while they pee'd. I laughed because it was so absurd, but no one else seemed to notice. This may just be a Shanghai phenomenon, but smoking abounds. There are very few establishments which prohibit smoking.

---

Comments

[Sarah]

Hi from stressed Sarah
:P to your favorite meal of the deeeeee-frickin-licious dumpling. J/k...you enjoy that and then try to describe it to me in a witty/ interesting metaphor/simile. I just finished a lovely American meal of a Chicken bacon ranch sub...yeah...I feel satisfied, what? tee hehe. Later Bobb.