Week
4
One cultural difference I noticed
this week was the Chinese attitude toward alcohol. There is no drinking age in
China, so (theoretically) anyone can drink and purchase alcohol. This is not the case in America because a
person needs to be at least 21 years old to buy and drink alcohol. So I was
very surprised by the laid back attitude the Chinese people have toward
alcohol. In America there is an issue with underage binge drinking but, from
what I can tell, that’s not an issue in China. I wonder if it is because all of
the high school students are too busy studying for the gaokao or if it is just
a cultural difference. Well, anyway, the laid back attitude is what strikes me
as the most interesting. For example, my Comprehension teacher – Guo Laoshi –
brought a bottle of Huang jiu to class for us to try. Literally Huang jiu
translates to yellow wine but it looked and smelled more like pure vinegar. It
was disgusting. Out of all of the nasty alcoholic drinks I’ve tasted (which is
biased because I think that the majority of alcoholic beverages taste gross) it
was the worst. Maryanne and I were shocked that a teacher would actually serve
her students alcohol, even if we were all college age students. It struck us as
a very strange occurrence – so strange that I have trouble explaining why I
found it weird.
---------------
This
week we had visitors from the University of New Jersey come to evaluate the
Central College program. They were sampling various study abroad programs
throughout China to see which ones suited the needs of their university. They
sat in on my Comprehension class, which I now share with Maryanne. Needless to
say, they were impressed with Guo Laoshi’s teaching. Later that day they
interviewed us (all of the Central College Program students) about our
impressions of the program and China in general. It was a pretty standard group
interview, but through this exchange it became very clear to me that these two
men did not have much understanding or appreciation for China and its culture.
One would think that if a university was considering adding China to their list
of places to study abroad, they would send a representative with some
background knowledge – otherwise the trip is pointless.
---------------
Recently,
I’ve been frustrated with my limited language ability. I know the words but
when I mispronounce them or when I’m not understood, I get frustrated and my
mind shuts down. When this happens it’s like I can’t think of the Chinese I
need to say anymore. So I panic and switch to English. Then I get angry with
myself for not trying harder to speak Chinese. Other times I think of sentences
in my head but I am so unsure of myself that I never end up saying them. I tell
myself that I am satisfied knowing that I was able to form that sentence on my
own, but I know that it’s not enough I think I would be more compelled to
practice speaking Chinese if I had more Chinese friends. Unfortunately it’s
hard to make friends when you can’t fully communicate with them. Also all of
the Chinese friends I already have speak English very well, so there’s no need
to speak Chinese. I know this goes without saying, but it’s easier and more
natural for me to speak English. Thus I find myself using it as a fall back for
communication.. It’s becoming clear to me that a language barrier has multiple
levels. It’s not only speaking, but also listening and comprehending. Then
there’s the issue of reading and writing that seems like a near impossible task
some days. I wish I had more confidence, but that comes with practice and with
time.
At the same time, though, I feel
like I’ve learned and retained more Chinese during the short time that I’ve
been here than I learned in a month of Chinese class back home. With this
thought, I have more confidence that every day my Chinese will get better. Even
if it’s just a small amount, like learning one new word or pronouncing a phrase
correctly, it will improve over time. I just need to be diligent and patient.
No comments:
Post a Comment