by Ruth
I was thinking lately about the ways in which I have gradually taken on elements of Chinese culture over the past few years. Nothing serious, just new habits and styles I have picked up, things I wouldn't have done before coming to China. For example...
-I wear long underwear most days from October to April, sometimes 2 or 3 pairs. I really don't know why we don't do that more in America.
-I have been seen wearing a jacket when it's 80 degrees outside, just because other people are. And because I have a fear of cold.
-I prefer squattie-potties, at least in public.
-I like drinking hot water (I still drink cold water in the summer, though, so that only half counts.)
-I have Mickey Mouse stick-ons in the bathroom and kitchen...and I think they're actually legitimate decorations.
-I sometimes/often wear the same outfit for a couple/several days in a row.
-I have occasionally spit on the ground (Gross, huh? I don't do it when people are around, though. And you'll still never see me with my finger up my nose.)
-My current favorite vegetables are garlic bolts and eggplant.
-I use my umbrella as much for sun as for rain.
-I sometimes wear stocking socks with sandals and skirts.
-I have become (mostly) oblivious to fireworks and loud music.
-I think my glowingly-white legs are pretty.
-I stare at other foreigners.
There are some things I don't think will change, though. I think I'll always love cheese and hate fluorescent lights. I still plan to diaper my child (which I'm sure you'll appreciate if I ever come to visit you). And of course there are all those deeper changes that actually matter, and in those ways I still feel like a total outsider. Really, I'm not sure that I've become more Chinese; I've just turned into a really weird American.
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4 comments:
After we visited you last time, I started drinking hot water and liked it. Warming on a cold day and faster than tea. But give me ice in the summer!
No split pants for little Ruvin?
oh dear. My Chinese American friend. That is very interesting.
I compared your list to my list.
1. Nope.
2. Definitely! The Western ones in public are guh-ross!
3. I'm more a Hello Kitty kind of girl, but I definitely know what you're getting at there.
4. I had a teaching outfit each week. One of the things I don't like about America is having to think about what to wear EVERY DAY. I like putting outfits together -- fashion is a hobby of mine...but EVERY DAY. Come on.
5. I don't spit, but I do clear my, um, "congestion." When I do it in public here, I get really, really embarrassed.
6. YES! Eggplant forever!
7. I'm totally scared of the sun.
8. Never. In. My. Entire. Life.
9. I'm pretty sensitive to them again. :( Noisy 8th graders? Eh!
10. I totally use self-tanner.
11. I did that!! Now I stare at Asians and wonder if they're American or not.
i do all the same things too....i went stateside in one backback and wore the same pair of pants for 6 weeks. i did wash them every 3 or 4 days. i would never do that before living in china.
pam in henan
http://www.swallowsnestzz.org
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