Parental Discretion is Advised

Parents: If your college aged child disappears and ends up in a third world country after reading this blog, please contact my lawyer at 1(800) 555-1234. If he doesn't answer, just keep trying.

Cultural relativism, according to the flawless Wikipedia, is defined as the principle that an individual human’s beliefs and activities should be understood in terms of his or her own culture. Traveling the world has forced me to remind myself of the importance of this way of thinking. To visit a society for a week is one thing; to be immersed in that same society for more than two months requires effort and study.

I have been in Hefei now for a little over a week and have already experienced more than I could have ever asked for. Being involved in dinners, meetings, classes, and much more has given me a perspective on the Chinese culture that is, not only interesting, but truly necessary in order to gain the respect of the people.

I intend to cover two things in this blog. The first being the countless cultural differences and means of overcoming them; the second being how extraordinarily cheap it truly is to live in this country compared to America. The second topic might seem out of place but the reason I want to cover it is simple: I’m tired of people emailing me telling me how much they wish they could travel abroad but don’t have the time or the money. Obviously, it is aimed at those of us who are lucky enough to be in college or even the later stages of high school.

Cultural Differences

The simplest things can often be perceived as rude or disrespectful. Take dinner for example. In America, the only seats that resemble status are at the head of the table. However, in China, almost all tables are circular. The most important guest sits farthest from and facing the door. As you go around the table, your importance becomes less and less until your back is facing directly to the door and you are the closest. The reason for this has to do with ancient times. People closest to the door were most susceptible to attacks from enemies entering the dining area. Simple enough. Lesson learned.

The next is food. Now this has less to do with being rude and more to do with survival. While eating a meal the other day I started putting what I thought were vegetables into a tortilla-like food to make myself a good old Chinese taco. Of course, I didn’t really examine the substance but ate it with delight. My pallet was pleased and I had no worries. Until… my colleague asked, “Are these baby snakes?” To my dismay, the long vegetables were not vegetables at all but rather headless snakes in disguise. Here is the most incredible phenomenon. Even though the dish was delicious and I had already stomached at least two tacos, it became much harder to swallow knowing I was eating miniature satans from the Garden of Eden. Conclusion: When in China, eat first, ask questions later. Since adopting this strategy I have become much more “Chinese” to say the least. I have devoured bowls of sea-slug soup, eaten chicken tongues, digested pig feet and most likely much much more. In order to appear cultured and to avoid offending other people, eat then ask.

Tangent: I just want to point out something I have learned that even made me cringe for some negative reason whether it was disgust, sadness, or something else it is really irrelevant. Somewhere near the border of China and Vietnam monkey brains are a delicacy. The monkeys are rhesus monkeys and they are extremely expensive. However, if your wallet allows and your fear of the afterlife is non-existent, it is possible to consume "live monkey brains." I know this sounds sadistic and borderline cannibalistic, but, being the only source of information from China that most of you have, I find it necessary to explain. The monkey, who we shall call Curious George, is first force-fed rice wine to inebriate the him. George is then placed in a constraining device where his skull is viewed from the table. The "chef"/sick human being/future serial killer then takes a knife and cracks the skull of the living monkey open until the brain is visible. At this point, I pass out. Then, boiling soup is poured into the monkey's skull to cook the brains and add flavor. How many of you sick people are still reading this? ha. Finally, the starving diners are allowed to enjoy some fresh monkey brain while Curious George screams at you and questions your humanity. I know I've tried many disgusting things in my life. But, I think this might be where I draw the line. Anyone else interested in trying?

Some other things to avoid: hugging, asking adults their first name, turning down an offering of green tea, not drinking alcohol at the dinner table especially when toasts are being given, disagreeing with the Chinese government, etc. If you have any specific questions please feel free to ask, I’ll be here all month.

Cost of Living (COL)

Traveling in America is extremely expensive. For God’s sake America’s poverty line begins at $30 dollars a day for one person. Let’s consider: My flight to China cost me $800 dollars round trip, spread out over 60 days that is about $13/day. Add in the cost of food in Hefei, I’m talking very good food, at a meager $3/day. I’m currently living in a 3 star hotel for approximately $10/day. My daily cost of living including travel expenses comes out to $26/day. Now, how many friends of mine reading this blog honestly think they live anywhere near the poverty line? I would go out on a limb and say that there isn’t a single one of my friends in college that touches $50/day living in America during the summer months while home from school. Now will someone please explain to me why you can’t “afford” to travel all over the world again? (Note: If anyone uses this as a bargaining tool with their parents, you must up the ante to $52/day to travel and change the cost of living in America to $100/day and bring me along with you!)

On to serious business. Over the course of the past week since my last blog I have met some fascinating people and learned so much from some of the brightest minds I’ve ever spoken to (this excludes you Dad of course…). I feel like I’ve just been thrown into a dream situation at the cost of $26/day. Every day I wake up, go into the office, study Chinese, meet someone important for lunch, study more Chinese or maybe attend a lecture on business in China, and then have dinner with a government official! Somewhat of an exaggeration but it’s incredible nonetheless. My spoken Chinese is improving rapidly and my reading and writing is gaining some speed but I can’t begin to describe how lucky I feel to be working with some of the brightest minds in the fields of business and education in China and the world for that matter.

Every day I engage in thoughtful debate with individuals who have spent their lives researching these topics and I get pummeled over and over again only to find a new perspective. I’m still not a communist sympathizer and I will forever cherish In-N-Out, but I am truly expanding my horizons in the truest definition of the phrase. I am attending lectures by ex-university presidents from America and sitting in on MBA classes at the MIT of China. Thank you all for reading my blog. I know I go off on random tangents and sometimes they are excruciatingly long but I’m trying my best to share my experiences and the incredible things I learn every day. It’s a lot more difficult to write a frequent blog mostly due to time constraints and a lack of change from day to day life. If anyone has any questions just email me or comment on the blog!

再见, that’s goodbye in Chinese,

Michael

Pictures:

Chicken tongues and other mouth parts...

The infamous chicken feet

Pig foot with straw to slurp out the bone marrow

Sea-Cucumber soup with everything!

Some comedy for you to lighten the load