Chinese Culture Exam

Final Exam Paper

Brandon Shapiro

1. Please give three examples of the difference between Chinese culture and your culture.

While there are many differences between the Chinese culture and my culture, the American culture, I would like to talk about the differences that I have come into personal contact with throughout my stay here in Beijing. The first difference I would like to bring up is the value of self as it relates to work ethic. While Americans and westerners alike value the self as being much more important than with Chinese counterparts, I truly never knew how much this translated into a difference in behavior. I have made a few friends with locals here in China, but it seems to become difficult when our interests are very different. While I may spend my free time relaxing and hanging out with friends, they seem to have very little free time or spend it working. This is why I believe that many of the local students I have met are very close friends with their classmates because they spend an even longer amount of time with them, working in and out of class. Even on the weekends, my local roommate almost never has time to hang out with my roommate or me, and most of the locals I have met almost never drink.

The next cultural difference truly shocked and astounded me. It was even pointed out to me in the class slides but I did not think much about it until my friend told me a story. Apparently in the dorms at UIBE, students are only able to take showers during certain hours during the nighttime, I believe from 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm. It is not that this is something that is unacceptable or terrible, but it is something that I would never even have thought about. Such an idea would not ever come to mind if a friend warned me not to live in the dorms. The last cultural difference that has occurred over and over is the question “have you eaten yet”. I understand that they are not actually asking me if I have eaten, but it is still a question that puzzles...