THIS IS CHINA!!

Some cultural differences you will have to deal with if going to China. Be prepared.

When I arrived in Shenzhen, I was surprised to find the city so modern and pretty. I read many books about China, but mostly about the Mao Era, so my idea of China was outdated. I had no idea of what I would find in China. Of course I knew about the industrialization and economical development, but I couldn't put that together with the traditions and local customs. I just wasn't able to visualize China as a whole. That is one of the main reasons why I was so curious and eager to go to China.

On the first week I arrived in Shenzhen, I made some Expats friends. The very first thing I learned from them was the expression 'This is China'. Every time I saw something really random and weird, the T.I.C. will pop into my mind. And it happened a lot.

I remember I got really intrigued at the supermarket when I saw baby clothing with a twist: the crotch/butt region had a big hole! (Known in Chinese as 开裆裤 Kāidāngkù, it literally means "open-crotch pants"). Later on I saw many toddlers on the streets wearing those fashions and relieving themselves right on the street! And even children, out of habit, would pee and poo like dogs in the streets of Shenzhen. I was so shocked!

Second gross Chinese habit: clipping their nails - anywhere. In the streets, subways, stores, restaurants... Very pleasant to see flying toe nails into your bowl of noodles. Eww..

Another disgusting thing you will have to deal with is people spitting or expectoration very -VERY- loud. There were many occasions that they almost got my feet and they don't care to apologize. They don't care to say excuse me or thank you. Being shoved into the side of a bus or cut in line by a crowd is the rule and they won't apologize, not even recognize it. If you look angry at them, they just ignore you with a poker face. My worst memory is the Hong Kong- Shenzhen Immigration line that we did quite a lot. It is one of the most stressful experiences of my life. Leave your politeness at home, or you won't survive.

I really don't know why they even have a word for [wait in] line in Mandarin (Páiduì 排队), because they don't have any idea of what that concept means. They have no respect for your personal space. Stand in a metro line with the tiniest of gaps to respect space of person in front, and a Chinese will spot that gap and jump in - with no offence intended.

Having someone almost run us over with their scooter as we crossed a campus street is ordinary too. To cross the streets you have to be extra careful, they truly don't care and they are horrible drivers. I am a bad driver myself, but after seeing the barbarities Chinese drivers accomplished, I am more confident with my driving. My friend was in a taxi once that run someone over on the street and didn't even stop. He said the taxi driver even shouted angry at the poor pedestrian. I myself was run over by a scooter once. I wasn't even on the street, I was on the sidewalk! It wasn't a big deal and I was running late for work so I just shook it off and left. I got gigantic bruises on my thighs, but that was it, luckily.

Chinese are famous for yelling and they seem to be having a discussion every time they speak. But for them is not rude at all. If you want something to get done, you have to yell it out. This is how they communicate. I am a very soft speaker, and it was really uncomfortable for me to yell at people, but you get used to it. I actually ended up loving to bargain and that was my most successful contact with the Chinese people. Some foreigners would simply refuse to haggle and pay whatever price is first offered, because they felt uncomfortable bargaining due to First World guilt. But it's a norm that you haggle on independently owned business (doesn't work on large stores though). Sellers would even compliment you for being tough. You can walk away as a bluff, and they will come after you and give you the "final price". But if they think the price you are demanding is too low they will just tell you to leave. And you should, just go around comparing prices.. Don't engage in a sanguinary negotiation if you are not interested in buying anything - if they accept the price you want but you don't buy it they will get really angry. You can easily get up to 50% off, in most cases, but you can try to push to 70%, just for fun.

The pushing, shoving, spitting, peeing, yelling, cutting, obstructing was at first overwhelming for me. I thought that was rude and impolite, but that is just how they roll. It's cultural. These behaviors don’t make sense to us, but for them it is just normal. You have to have in mind that your logic does not apply to Chinese logic. Their common sense is beyond our understanding. Just put your best zen mode on and enjoy China. 加油!

加 油! (Jiāyóu) is a figure of speech. "加" means add, "油" means oil or fuel. So it literally means "add fuel" and it is commonly used to encourage someone.

#china #culture