Wow, the first week in China has been an experience! My host sibling, Pengxiao, has taken me around Beijing to try things that I wouldn't have found in America. What has really intrigued me during my first week, though, has definitely been the food.
China has a wide variety of food options that have made my mouth water just looking at them. But for this entry I'm focused on the school lunches. School lunches, often disapproved by most students back at home, usually aren't the tastiest option. Because of this many students in Wayland opt to bring their own lunch. But in China, I have noticed that every Chinese student gets his/her lunch from the school.
The lunches work like this. There are usually two very long lines, one line that goes to a rice meal and another that goes to a noodle based meal. When you are next in line to pick up your food it is very old fashioned in a sense that your servers scoop food into your tray. Each meal consists of a some type of vegetable, meat or assortment of meats, and drinkable yogurt. There is also optional soup. These meals are very tasty and also larger in quantity and fill me up better than Wayland school lunches.
My friends and I definitely prefer Chinese school lunch over Wayland lunch.
-posted on Sunday, April 17, 2016 at 11:29 PM
A commonly used stereotype to label a Chinese mother is a "Tiger Mother", meaning one's mother who is strenuously strict with their child. As a mother you always want the best for your kid and will do whatever it takes to see them succeed. But many people see Chinese mothers as over the top when it comes to school and music especially. When it comes to the Chinese, it seems like everything is a competition. At schools, the best grades for tests are written down on a chalkboard and displayed in the hallway for everyone to see. People think that mothers have to be vigorous about their child's education for them to be at the top of the class, but little do they know many moms can be lenient.
As I continue my stay in China I have noticed that the mothers do not scold or beat their children. Though they may not be happy, at times they encourage and offer to help their children in any way they can. Second, most moms don't punish or make the children study from the moment they get home from school till they moment they go to bed. Instead many mothers often let their children hang out with their friends during their down time. The students I've met are super independent about studying and never have to be told to do it. They enjoy working and feel confident about schools. I believe that maybe before, many mothers only cared about education and being the top, but now I see that mothers just want their children to become successful. They realize that their children need a break every once in a while.
-posted on Sunday, April 24, 2016 at 11:43 PM
Everyday as I walk to and from school I always notice on the street corner this little window restaurant. Every time Pengxiao, my host sibling, and I walk by we always see at least four to seven people standing next to the restaurant. There are usually students, as well as many different types of people like businessmen and workers. So one day I asked Pengxiao, "Could we try that place? " He told me he has never been there but it is always crowded and that many of his friends take out some food from there. Since it is only a two minute walk from school, we decided to try the window.
When we walked up to the window there were two chefs, a man and a woman. I
immediately noticed that the interior wasn't anything fancy, just kind of cluttered and messy, with little space to cook or clean. Spices, like salt and pepper were put into reused water bottles. The woman chef was wearing a worn hello kitty apron and the man was similar. It was kind of unappealing and messy.....but the aroma from the grill... what a delightful scent! The smell of eggs and sweetness filled my nose with pleasure. The freshness of cilantro and scallions filled the air, while the smell of char disturbed my thoughts. One whiff of this delicious food clouded the idea of the condition of the window.
After Pengxiao ordered, I watched carefully as the chef cooked our meal. The first thing on the grill was Asian sausage, which is sweet and has a similar texture to a hot dog. Next a sheet of noodle was placed and enveloped in an egg. Sweet and sour sauce was brushed onto the sheet and onions, cilantro, and scallions were added to the mix. The caramelized onions and the crisp scent of the vegetables made my mouth water. The sausage was then split and inserted into the sheet. The meal was then wrapped, cut into pieces, and put into a small takeout box with a pair of cheap chopsticks.
"Let me pay," Pangxiao insisted. He then pulled out ten yuan from his bag. For only ten yuan, only about a dollar and a half, Pengxiao and I took our meals and continued to walk home. Now everyday I always look forward to walking home and getting window food, as I like to call it.
-posted on Sunday, May 1, 2016 at 12:27 AM
Today I interviewed someone, who chose to be anonymous,about how she views her life as a Chinese citizen and how it compares to American life. She told me that as a doctor, life isn't as hard. For people with occupations like a doctor, lawyer, or engineer income is sufficient. As a Chinese citizen she feels she lives very comfortably with her husband and child. But, she also tells me that as a Chinese citizen she feels in danger at certain times.
Today this person informed me that they got a WeChat messagethat a doctor, in the Guangdong province, was murdered by their patient. She told me that this is one of the many problems that many citizens like her have to experience everyday in China. She believesthat there are two factors that contribute into making her and others like her feels endangered in China. These factors are the Chinese people'slack of opportunity and the environment.
She tells that in China people have less of an opportunity than in America. Because some people can't find a job or has difficulty making a living, many resort to crimes and scams. She says that there are many more murderers, thieves and pickpockets than in America. Many citizens in China warn tourists, especially, to keep their passports and personal belongings at home and not carry too much money on them.On the Xi'an trip, our tour guide Charlie, told us a story of a scam where a student went to try and buy Terra cotta warrior figurine. He was asked to pick one out of the many small figurines that was for offer. Unfortunately, when he lifted the one he wanted it was slightly glued to the table cloth below and all the small warriors shattered. This is one of the many tricks some Chinese people pull to make you pay an absurd amount of money.
The second factor that she believes as dangerous is China's environment. She explained to me about how the two main environmental problems are the food and pollution. She says that China has a lot of cases of food poisoning and contaminated water. Diseases like typhoid and salmonella are more commonly seen than in Americas,especially in the rural and more poorer areas in China.Then there is pollution. China's population and usage of cars, trains, and motorized vehicles have caused China to be one of the or most populated countries on Earth. She tells me that on some days the smog in the air clouds the windows of her home. Some days schools even close because the smog is dangerous enough to damage your lungs.
Overall, she thinks that can be a dangerous and unhealthy country to be in. There are thieves that could potentially ruin your life. There is also the chance of the food and water to be contaminated with deadly diseases. She tells me that although there are problems she still enjoys living in China because of her great career, family and friends.
-posted on Sunday, May 8, 2016 at 7:34 AM
ABC's, also known as an American born Chinese, are extremely common across America. I see people like myself everywhere, ranging fromthe streets of Boston to the beaches of California to my own classroom in Wayland. ABC's are everywhere, yet we often forget how diverse of a countryAmerica is.
I am part Chinese and part Vietnamese. My mother, born a Chinese, grew up in Honduras which makes me culturally Hispanic. My father was born in Vietnam speaking the southern Chinese language of Cantonese. Both moved to America where I grew up in. On the outside I look Asian, but on the inside I am a wide variety of cultures and ethnicities.
I have never left the country before, so this trip was an opportunity I wasn't going to pass up. The trip was a chance to experience my Chinese rootes and expand on my knowledge of Chinese culture.. My Chinese routes have made me invisible to the people here and makes me reflect on how being an ABC in China is different from being white or black in the eyes of the Chinese people I see everyday.
As an exchange student in China, for 6 weeks, I have noticed that this country has very little diversity. The streets are filled with people of Asianethnicity. The subway, schools, supermarkets, neighborhoods, banks...you name it .. there are Asians everywhere.
But what most Chinese do, that I've experienced, is use the term foreigner. A foreigner, in their eyes, is anyone who doesn’t have yellow skin and black hair. But how about people like me? In this country I am one of them, I don't stand out. I am dangerously assumed as a Chinese citizen. I am eyed at and judged for speaking perfect English and hanging out with the "foreigners". My classmates get asked to be in pictures with others just because they look different, not how they are different on the inside. A woman came up to me one day and asked me, in Chinese, to take a picture of her with my friend Myle. Looking back now, how could that woman knowthat I, too, am an American? I am masked by the image of my parents, but under the mask I am a multicultural person.
These stories happen to me everyday on the streets of Beijing...so I'll share a few.
KFC: After classes my friends, John, Julia, Nathan, Myle and I were craving the flavors of American cuisine. So without a doubt in our minds, of the distance, we trekked to KFC. When we arrived Nathan decided to order first. When he ordered the waitress had a difficult time understanding our broken Mandarin. With one glance at me who was talking in English to Julia, I noticed a gleam of relief in the waitress's eyes. That one look told me "Yes! There is a Chinese boy here who can translate and make my life easier." But she was soon disappointed when I wasn't able to answer her back.
Pearl Market: As Nathan and I were browsing the fake filled market we were having a normal conversation. At the time there was a large group of British students around our age. At one point I exclaimed something out loud. One of the British turned around and looked at me in confusion. He had a surprised face because my English was so good... Joke's on him.
Art Class: This story came from Julia during our art class with middle school students. She told me that the girl sitting next to her asked, "Is that boy Chinese?" She said that I was American. The girl didn't believe her, at first, but after Julia went out of her way to explain American diversity, she finally believed that I was Chinese.
In conclusion, I've experienced a lot of situations in China that made me feel invisible because of my outward appearance. I know, as I said before that even though I'm Asian on the outside, I'm multicultural myself on the inside. I identify more as an American and I'm proud of that.
-posted on Friday, May 13, 2016 at 12:19 AM
The past six weeks in China have gone by in a flash. It only felt like yesterday that I had to say goodbye to my family for the longest period of my life so far. I have come to be pretty homesick and I miss so many people back at home. I miss the suburbs, school, swimming, and the fast Wi-Fi. But during these six weeks I have learned so much about Chinese culture and the people that live here. My time here opened my eyes to the many cultural differences between American and Chinese lifestyle. From my view, I may see some things that the Chinese people do as "strange" but from their view it can be totally acceptable.
One of the big reasons I decided to come on this trip in the first place was to try the food. As most of my exchange classmates know by now, is that I am an exotic eater. I am willing to eat anything that is given to me. During my time here I have noticed and tasted so many different foods that I wouldn't be able to find in America. For one thing, Beijing food is different than American Chinatown. Our Chinatown is based off southern Chinese food, like the Guangdong Province. In America you can't have delicacies like Beijing roast duck or 驴打滚, a platter with assorted traditional Beijing snacks. I also bet that in America there wouldn't be live scorpions on a stick or fried seahorse and starfish. This difference of food was a fun and tasty experience for me.
Another topic of note is the transportation in China. Like in America there are similar ways of transport like walking, driving your car, or public transportation like buses or trains. Since Beijing is a highly populated area of China, it is similar to New York in that many more people choose public transportation over driving because of the constant traffic. Luckily for me, I lived close by to the school, malls, and plazas so I primarily walked to all my destinations from home. Unfortunately some of my classmates have to take long drives or ride the train just to get to school! Back at home mostly everyone just drove to school, so being able to walk ten minutes to and from school was a luxury. Basically the transportation in China is extremely similar to our big cities, but one downfall of the large population that leads to all the traffic and cars is the pollution.
In China pollution is a big problem that we fortunately don't have to face back at home. During my time here I have seen many days of clear blue skies with the sun shining bright. It reminds of a perfect day for a barbeque in America. But somedays the haze in the air is almost palpable. It was harder for me to see on hazy days and I feel that I wasn't getting the good quality of air that I was used to. My host sibling Pengxiao even told me that somedays when the pollution is at it's worst schools can get canceled, almost like China's version of a snow day. Because of all the pollution I always saw a large amount people wearing masks on the streets or in the subway. I have never seen the sheer number of people wearing masks in America.
Overall I have enjoyed my stay here in China. I have eaten so much food and observed so many things different than at home. My best experiences was going to see the historical sites. Because China is such an old country there were trips like the Great Wall and the Forbidden City that made this whole trip a once in a lifetime experience. Though I am eager to explore more of China I still believe that I have made the best of this trip and have loved my time here.
-posted on Wednesday, June 8, 2016 at 4:36 AM