My Birthday in China

Finding out more about Chinese culture:

Today was my birthday in China. Let me tell you that it is awesome to have your birthday in China. Every one I have met here has been so nice to me on my Birthday. When I woke up this morning, my Chinese roommate had prepared noodles for me with sauce. In China it is custom to eat noodles on your birthday because it represents longevity. So I woke up to a nice surprise!

My roommate had also gotten me bubble tea the night before because I have been talking about it a lot and how much I love it. Bubble tea is very delicious here. If it wasn’t good I would be really sad.

Then throughout the day all the Chinese roommates have been giving me presents! My roommate gave me a porcelain glass with artwork on it that was really beautiful. The other roommate across the room from me gave me a pair of beautiful wooden chopsticks.

Last night when I was out on the town, people kept buying me drinks to wish me a happy birthday! It was so wonderful!

My teacher just emailed me as well telling me that tomorrow in class she will have a gift for me for my birthday. I love my teacher because she is only 24 and she is super young and down to earth. We have gone out to eat dinner and connected on so many levels. Sometimes I feel like she is just my friend who is teaching my Chinese! Or my older sister.

I have been learning so much more about the culture here that I forget it when it is time to write it down. And I can’t remember if I am repeating myself or not.

A point of view that I discovered was interesting: All the people and the pushing and shoving without lines of any sort are actually better than the lines we form in America?

Let me explain:

I realized that I kind of like that people don’t form lines here because it makes the process equal for everyone and no one gets offended when you push them! So the reason it is more equal is because in America, it is whoever gets there first gets a spot on the subway, bus, etc. And the people who get there later don’t get the same opportunity to the front or getting on the bus, subway, etc. In China, everyone gets an equal chance. Because if you get there later, you can just push and shove your way into the front and no one will complain about you “cutting” the line or being disrespectful because everyone does it here. Also people usually wont get mad if you push them, and people don’t apologize. So you don’t even have to worry about offending anyone and because it’s what everyone does, you don’t’ even mind when people shove you because you realize that they aren’t doing it with bad intentions, it’s just what they do.  And maybe I like that way better than America. Who’s to say our ways of doing things are the better ways anyway? And that’s something to think about. I can already anticipate the culture shock when I get back to America. Oh boy.