Part 2 of My Initial
Observations Upon Arriving in China
An extension of my first post, here are the rest of my
initial observations.
Sign Here, I Already
Did!
First I must say that I can’t remember ever having to sign
documents in any of the foreign countries I have previously traveled to (unless
you count receipts). I have had to sign customs forms but those are always done
in airports where people speak English. So for all I know signing documents in
China could be no different than signing documents in any number of countries.
However I’m going to put my money on this being the case only in countries that
use a different alphabet system than the one used in English.
When I went through the K-12 school system all important
papers were to be turned in using cursive. I never really cared for cursive and
it wasn’t until recently that I began making a positive effort of neatening
mine up. Naturally as cursive was the form of writing for important documents,
cursive was the way I wrote my name whenever I had to sign something; a norm
held by most English speaking people in the US.
As mentioned though my signature needed some work, six years
of working at a gas station where you were signing paper work left and right
had its impact on my once lovely signature. Gone were the swooping letters and
neat elegant style, instead you could always make out a J in the beginning and
either a U or an N (on a good day) towards the end. In the US though it didn’t
matter that generally my signature looked like “J squiggle squiggle U squiggle
loop” most signatures can’t really be deciphered.
I practiced my signature quite a lot before leaving on this
adventure and I found myself with an almost legible one. Anyone could read my
first name, and if you knew it, you could definitely read my last name, for
those who don’t know it, there’s an 80% chance. Which is up a lot from before.
Yet all this hard work didn’t seem to matter, the first day I was in my new
city I got scolded by the bank worker when I signed my name in cursive. She
pointed to my name on my passport and said “write name” apparently in China the
signature box is just there to look Western. Take it from me, write your name
in print where ever it says signature.
A Picture of
Efficiency – A Chinese Hospital
Even in the United States I dislike going to
doctors/hospitals. I always have ever since I was a kid, definitely has
something to do with my hatred of needles. Before coming to China I had to have
medical exams done designed to see if I was healthy enough for a Chinese visa.
Adding up all the time I spent waiting for and having the various tests it
probably took 8 hours and was divided over three days. To my surprise I learned
I would have to do the exams again now that I was in China in order to get my
residency permit. So on my second day in China I prepared myself for a trip to
the hospital. I put my mp3 player, American cell phone (in case there was
wifi), and kindle all into my bag. I assumed I would be at the hospital most
the day since there was six of us all together that needed to get this exam
done.
It was a very pleasant surprise to find that Chinese
hospitals (at least this one) are so much more efficient than any of the ones
I’ve been to in America (unfortunately that is a bunch). I didn’t have time to take a single one of
the things I brought with me; we were out of the hospital within an hour. All
six of us had blood tests, EKGs, blood pressure tests, and X-Rays, as well as
filled out forms. I want a Chinese hospital back home!
I should also mention that we probably could have gotten out
of there sooner however there were three of us who did not know any medical
Chinese. So when the first one of us none Chinese speakers got to the front of
the line the first minutes was simply us being yelled at in Chinese. Finally
the person conducting the scan would realize that we had no idea what was going
on and they would just move our bodies into whatever position the needed. It
was then the goal of that first person to convey in English as quickly as
possible what was expected of us to the rest of us English speakers. We could
have easily been out sooner if there wasn’t a language barrier.
Ummm, Thanks for
Putting That in English?
I had heard from many people who had lived or visited China
to expect some bizarre English phrases on signs and T-Shirts. I quickly noticed
the English phrases that don’t make sense all of the city. From “And Romantic
Cohabitation And Grace Amen” to “Shush, Grass is Sleeping” there is quite the
need for a good English translator in this city.
However it came to be quite the surprise to me when I found
these incorrect English phrases all over campus. There are eight (that I know
of) foreign English teachers currently working at this University, and foreign
teachers only teach English majors. I know other students take English…. So
there must be Chinese teachers who teach (and I assume speak) English here. How
can it be that there are so many strange English signs around?
It Translates
Milkshake
Anyone who has studied a foreign language knows that literal
translations can be the worst. Since words often mean so many different things.
Examples can be taken without even leaving the English language look at the
phrases peppered into your everyday conversation. I know personally I’m a fan
of the phrase cool beans. However if we take the literal translation I could
mean slightly below room temperature beans or interesting and popular beans;
where in reality what I’m saying has nothing to do with beans. It’s easy
however to overlook such occurrences because we grow up with these local
idioms.
I had the opportunity to go to the local coffee shop with a
few of the foreign teachers, not being much of a fan of coffee and being
perplexed with the number of teas on the menu I decided to stick to something
that sounded familiar. I went with some sort of berry slushy. Unfortunately
they were out so I quickly scanned the menu and saw “Chocolate Milk Shake” and
ordered it. I was told not to expect a milkshake like I was used to in the US
but to expect
something different.
It was strange brownish white color and lacked much of a
smell. The texture looked like crushed ice varying from slushy to coarse. It’s
lack of color should have been a warning of its lack of flavor. Yet I drank my
overpriced “ice shake” as I think it should be called and learned an important
lesson. Just because it has an English name does not mean it is anything like
what I get at home.
Welcome to China – A
Fancy Dinner
I get nervous when I go to western style fancy dinners.
There are always too many forks. I mean come on who really needs five forks to
get yourself through a meal? Maybe I’m crazy but always had trouble grasping
the concept of what fork for what dish. Naturally knowing that I’m not very
good at the whole fork thing just increases my anxiety when it comes to fancy
dinners. However I’ve been getting better at it and when I celebrated my
birthday at a gala at a royal palace in Abu Dhabi (a story for another day) I
finally conquered my fear of the many forks.
Fast forward to China. I meet my fellow teachers at the
foreign teacher bus stop and we all pile into taxis to bring us to the
restaurant. I’m wearing dress pants and a nice blouse as I had just finished
teaching, I felt underdressed walking in front of this place, let alone going
in. Yet, in was exactly where we went. The lobby was beautiful marble the most
elegant restaurant I have ever been to. A fellow teacher tells the hostess what
party we are with and we are lead upstairs to a private dining room. There is a
dining table, a couch area, a kitchen area, and of course a private (western
style!) bathroom.
Upon sitting down I first noticed the number of glasses set
before me. There was a wine glass, a tea cup, a glass similar to a wine glass,
a scientific beaker, and a small shot glass. Immediately I felt the same pang
of fear that accompanies the sight of too many forks. However the glasses were
quickly filled by the waitress that stayed with us in the private dining area
the whole time. Crisis averted.
The dinner was hosted by a member of the University
Community and her husband, as honored guests we were welcomed with many toasts
of baijiu and were told to order anything we wanted, to feel at home. The table
was quickly filled with a variety of dishes, most of which I couldn’t fully
identify, however someone was always quick to tell me what it was. The sharing
nature of the meal reminded me of family dinners when all my extended family
gets together. In a strange way sitting with a room full of people I barely
met, eating food I couldn’t identify, and drinking alcohol so very strong; I
felt at home.
