This is the first time I've ever been to China. After about two weeks of it, these are my impressions.
- China is very beautiful. Because of its large size and history, the landscapes here are amazing - everything from mountains to valleys to deserts. I would need years to fully appreciate all the nature that China has to offer.
- Why pirate country? I've discovered that the Mandarin dialect that I speak is called "common Chinese", but with a Taiwanese twist. "Common Chinese" is the proper way of pronouncing words, and is mostly based on Beijing's dialect (because it is the capital). The Taiwanese twist is that I don't pronounce all the AARRR's. For example:
side
Taiwanese: bien
Chinese: biAR
turn
Taiwanese: guai
Chinese: guAR
there/that
Taiwanese: nah
Chinese: nAR
I'm surrounded by pirates! (By the way, is Pirates 3 any good?) The reason there is "common Chinese" is because there are thousands of dialects around China, so they need a common one that everyone can understand. We started off in Beijing and I could understand about 85% of what people were saying. But now we're in Sichuan, and now I'm down to about 10%. Apparently in Shanghai it will be about -50%.
- Even though China is very large, it STILL has too many people. The "one child" policy is awful (with the abortions, child abandonment, favoring of males), BUT then you have to wonder what this country would be like if there was no such policy in place. It's like New York City - too many people in too small of a space. But NYC is still pretty organized, clean-ish, and livable.
- And this my friends, is the biggest thing I've come to realize about Chinese people. They (and I don't include myself because I didn't grow up here) are ruthless, self-centered, proud, emotional, and loud. I put some of the blame on the sheer amount of people - if you don't push and shove, cut lines, yell loudly, drive erratically... you'll never get anywhere. My mom puts some of the blame on the Cultural Revolution as well - because of it, no one trusts anyone and is skeptical of everything. We would go to workshops and see workers make combs out of real cow's horn, and there would be people screaming, "This is fake! You are ripping us off!" It's ridiculous. And very unnerving.
- There is very little politeness here. Sure, there are polite ways of saying "you" and calling people by respectful names, but that's about where it ends. In restaurants, people clap their hands and yell, "Waiter! Waiter" whenever they need something, no matter how far away the nearest waiter is, and expect them to come to their table immediately or they will yell even louder. If you are taking a photo, they will walk right through it even when it is OBVIOUS you are taking a photo, BUT they will yell at you if you walk through theirs. If you are first in line for anything, if you don't act quickly enough when it is your turn, you will lose your spot.
- And are the people here LOUD. Not just for complaining, but for normal conversation (which is mostly gossip). Also, I don't believe anyone here knows about the "vibrate" function on their cell phones (perhaps the phones they sell here don't come with it?). During church services, during lectures, during movies... you are bound to hear about 10 cell phones go off, LOUDLY, with an upbeat dance song. Heh. It's funny hearing an old lady's cell phone go off and watching her frantically shut off her eurotechnopop ringtone.
- The whole country is under construction. One, because the 2008 Olympics are going to be held in Beijing next year, and it's the first time that the Olympics have come to China. Two, because China's economy is the only one in the world that is doing well, and now there's all this money to spend, and by golly let's build more apartments for all the freakin' people. I think it's great - it's definitely progress, and the new buildings look very nice. Some of the buildings here are hundreds to thousands of years old. The only problem is that it increases the amount of pollution here, which is already so great that some cities have a constant brown sky, and the rain makes your hair grow bugs. I could barely breathe in Tainjin from all the dust that was flying around, and every time I walked outside I had a headache.
- Speaking of progress, there is one aspect of China that I believe is moving in the opposite direction. There are two written Chinese languages - Traditional Chinese and Simplified/Modern Chinese. Traditional Chinese is probably what you all recognize; very complicated picturesque characters. Simplified Chinese is just that - simplifying the characters down to make it easier to remember and write. I don't think dumbing down the written language helps ANYONE, and the fact that they are changing whole words... well that just makes it difficult for everyone. Also, I think simplified Chinese is ugly. It looks very unfinished. When I continue to learn Chinese, I'm still sticking with traditional.
- Another thing that really bugs me here is all the spitting. It could be because of the pollution, it could be because everyone here smokes (no establishments here are smoke-free). But all you hear in the city streets are construction, squeaky brakes, and :HOCK: :SPIT: I realize that some of the people who do this have the courtesy to spit in the grass or in a trashcan, but still, with the spitting. It's gross.
Okay, well I believe I've complained enough about China. It's really not THAT bad, and I would even consider living in Beijing for a while. And I definitely want to tour all of China's landscapes. They're simply breathtaking. Unfortunately, if any place in China is famous, it is overcrowded with... Chinese tourists. And I'm sure it's just going to get worse after the Olympics.
So I don't know. I've enjoyed my stay in China, but we're actually cutting it a week short because, well, my mom and I really want to go back to Taiwan. It's just kind of a mess here. Taiwan is a mess too, but it's a different kind of mess. I don't know how to explain it. I think it was just too big of a culture shock; I thought it would be like Taiwan, but it is far from it, and I don't know if I like it. Maybe it's the communism?
I want to come back though, but perhaps when I'm a little more up to the challenge.
