Overall, I'd say I've had a positive experience in China thus far. But, as one should expect, it isn't all rainbows and unicorns. The last several weeks have just really walloped me with examples of how badly I fit in here.
The Chinese people have, overall, been very welcoming and friendly and hospitable, and for that I will be eternally grateful and love them for it.
That said, they can really be quite silly and relentless in pointing out just how different you are in strange and ridiculous ways. My rugged American individualism is squarely at odds with the hive mind-like Chinese collectivist culture of conformity. Coming as I do from a melting pot culture, where you can meet people from a dozen countries in a single day and think nothing of it, I find it incredibly disconcerting to be the proverbial sore thumb, so completely different from the people around me that I elicit stares and gasps and sometimes even screams just by walking into a room.
Today it was nearly 70 degrees, so I didn't wear a coat and wore a short sleeved Polo shirt. In America, no big deal, right? The weather's relatively warm. I would be uncomfortable in a jacket. End of discussion.
The Chinese are taught, as best as I can gather, that you must wear your coat at all times, and if you don't you will get sick. Mothers tell their children that when they feel hot and get sweaty that means it's working and they won't get sick. In China, wearing no coat elicits gasps and stares and a flurry of comments. I can only imagine what they're saying. Frankly I don't care, but it does become tedious after a while. I'm the kind of person that just wants to blend into the crowd most of the time... and that's one thing I cannot do here.
Forget that. I'm hot natured, and I overheat easily. I'm all for trying to get along in a foreign culture, but I'm not going to be miserable and uncomfortable for some silly superstition. And even if I did get sick, I'm a big boy, I can dress myself and I think I can generally deal with any adversity that may come as a result of an ill-chosen fashion selection as it relates to climate and comfort.
"Teacher aren't you cold?" "Teacher, you will get sick!" "Tab, you should take care of your health." I've read this is the Chinese way of showing concern. Be that as it may, it comes off as nosiness to me and it takes all the diplomacy and tact I have not to tell them to mind their own business at times.
That's just the instance that stands out in my mind right now. There are others, though. Wearing sunglasses at anytime, swallowing a pill with a soda, being followed and stared at on the street, getting laughed at when I don't understand something they say the first time (imagine that!), being photographed by people anywhere I go... the examples go on.
I will say this, though: I think I now understand the real reason why celebrities wear sunglasses all the time now. When everyone is staring at you and taking pictures, sometimes the only place you can feel alone is behind the lenses. At least if I was a celebrity I would feel like I deserved the attention.
It's not all bad, though. Sometimes it can be quite funny. My blue eyes are a never-ending source of wonderment for the Chinese. My beard, when I haven't shaved for a few days, elicits a lot of comments. Body hair in general is a subject the Chinese are very curious about, particularly the men. I actually had a man at a restaurant grab my arm and held it an inch from his eye so he could see the hair that was revealed by my sleeves being pushed up.
I suppose I could look at things from another angle. Assuming I never get to achieve fame in another area of endeavor, at least I will have had a little taste of what it feels like. I'll probably even miss it once I'm back home in America. Once I'm in a better mood I'm sure that thought will make me smile.
And as far as culture clashes go, I'm sure it could be much worse, and I'm lucky there.
