The Culture Gap Through My Own Window

Living in China gave me an entirely new outlook on many things.  I learned a lot about another culture, saw my own culture in a new way, and generally gained a new perspective on the world.  That's what the study abroad office told me would happen, anyway.  But there were still some things that just didn't make sense to me.   And when it did make sense, I could find logic to why if someone thought about things logically it would no longer make sense.  Here are some confusing realities about the China I saw from my apartment window.
A few at the end weren't "through my window", but you get my point.  

This post contains a ton of videos.  Just letting you know ahead of time.  :)

TRAFFIC

My first example of things I just didn't get was the traffic in China.  Although these cars must know from experience that in this type of traffic jam, NO ONE is going ANYWHERE for a long time, they still feel the need to honk incessantly.  My confusion with this phenomenon is this: why keep honking at the person in front of you when there are 20 cars in front of them, and no one can go anywhere because the traffic jam is so bad?  Honking is not going to help anything, and of anything it is just plain annoying!

I was slightly annoyed at the time I took this video because I'm pretty sure this was around 7 am.

On a similar note, something that I completely didn't and still don't understand was this - a street cleaner that plays songs, it sounded just like an ice cream truck.  This truck played "It's a Small World."  This was one aspect of Kunming's weirdness that definitely always brought laughter and excitement, but also the confusion of "why does the street cleaner sound like an ice cream truck?"

This.
A camo painted car in China?  Really, please just try and amuse me more.

THE REAL ESTATE OFFICE

Other things that completely confused me was the morning routine of the real estate office directly below my apartment.  Every morning, the employees went out and stood in lines on the sidewalk.  Every morning, they would sing the same three songs.  Every morning, they would perform exercises to a recorded version of one of the same songs that they just sang.  Yes, I took videos because I found it really odd...and I would never want to sing songs and jump around every morning in whatever line of work I end up doing one day.

TONS OF STUDENTS RUNNING DOWN MY STREET

I'm sure in actuality, this event was not random.  The color coordinated clothes, tons of students shouting and running down the street.  But to me, it was completely random...especially when it woke me up.  

THE INFRASTRUCTURE
I guess it is because China is a very old country, or maybe becase it is a developing country....but sometimes I just couldn't help but wonder what the people who built things were thinking.  Take a look at the pathway to my apartment...there were an unreal amount of tripping hazards...especially since there were no lights at night!

THE CITY OF ETERNAL SPRING

...is a big fat lie!  

It is the city of Spring during Spring, Summer and Fall.  But it most definitely has winter.  And it most definitely does not have heaters, insulation, or ample supplies of warm water.

What I don't understand is why they want to call it the City of Eternal Spring while after November hit, I had to wear a coat and gloves in my apartment, to my school, in my class, in my sleep...basically they were my new bodily extensions. 

I called this my "Where's Waldo" jacket.  It was soft and cheap, so I just wore it around my apartment.

No words.  There are just no words.

I CAN PLAY...

Is this supposed to be sexy?  I never understood many of their English sayings on shop names and on all the clothes.

What things did you just "not get" while living in another culture?

A Few Realities of China

Today, I'm bringing you a list of things you should know if you ever plan to live in China.  Or at least Kunming.

Bathrooms

Okay, I feel like I'm totally cheating by putting bathrooms first on this list.  This is what you expected to read in a post about realities in China.  Bathroom stuff.  Sorry I couldn't break the mold on this one, but for westerners it really is something you need to be prepared to encounter.

Bathroom sinks at Yunnan University international dorms.

Squat toilents are very much a part of every day life in China, and I'd have to say - just get used to it. 

For a place with such a huge population, unless the bathroom has frequent cleaning, you will be 100% glad for the sanitation that comes with the squat toilet - the sanitation of touching absolutely nothing.

They really aren't that bad once you overcome the initial awkwardness - it just might be a good idea to read up on techniques prior to your trip.  You think I'm kidding about researching how to use them, but the conversations I had with the other western friends during the first week in China was like this: "Which direction are you supposed to face?"  

Here are a few general rules for squat toilets.

• Carry hand sanitizer.  Most public restrooms either don't have sinks or don't have soap.
• Carry your own toilet paper with you - and get your wad of paper out prior to entering the stall.  You don't want to balance and jumble around for your toilet paper in a tiny stall with all your stuff.  
• NEVER put paper in the toilet.  There will always be trashcans in each stall for this purpose, because the plumbing cannot handle the paper.  
• ALWAYS roll your pants up before even walking in the bathroom.
• Keep some change - public restrooms usually cost somewhere between a few jiao and a few yuan.

A trough style toilet - these are common in some of the older public restrooms, bus stops, train stations, roadside, etc.  This particular one was, however, in the international student dorms at Yunnan University.  Sometimes these older styles will also not have doors.

Even my apartment had a squat toilet and an older style bathroom - meaning the toilet was also the drain for the shower.  It was weird at first that there was not a designated shower area, nor a normal toilet but it quickly became normal.  However, if you're willing to pay a little more for an apartment or move further from the city center, you can find much nicer places with more western furnishings.

Squat toilet in my apartment in China..

Laundry

My Chinese professor at OU liked to go on a lot of tangents during class by telling us stories about Chinese culture.  Her tangents were always really funny, and I'll always remember some of them.  One day, she wanted to prepare the whole class for daily life if we ever decided to study abroad in China.

And now, I'll quote to the best of my memory...because it was just funny.

"So if you want to go to China, you have washer?  Sure, most of China have a washer.  If you want to go to China, you have dryer?  Hahahaha, no! China no have dryer!  So if you do laundry, it will take several days, yes, so you must be prepared and do laundry before you run out of clothes!"

And that's basically how laundry day in China went.

Depending on the thickness of the material and humidity that week, it could take clothes between one day to three days to dry.  During the winter, towels and jeans never seemed to completely dry after being washed.

Oh, and your clothes will also smell like air pollution.

Food

 Bucket 'O' Feathers right outside the restaurant door?  Yep, that used to be on your dinner.

It's okay, it happens all around the world - you just don't always get the educational experience that comes with it.

  

Shopping

Some forms of shopping in China are really cool.  Many vendors sell products on the sidewalks, or in carts that the push up and down the streets.

This is a photo of a pet fish cart.  She was selling all kinds of fish, and she walks around and maybe you decide to buy her fish, and you pay her on the spot and get your fish on the spot.  Always remember to bargain with these types of street vendors!

Then, you have supermarkets.

While Wal-Mart is available in China, I think most people who've lived in China would suggest that Carrefour is a MUCH better option as far as supermarkets go.  They are just as widespread as Wal-Mart, if not more, and as far as food selection went I thought they had better products.

See a Chinese Carrefour below.

Carrefour is pronounced Jiā lè fú in Chinese.

Some cities will also have a store with more imports and western delicacies called Metro.  As with most imports, the price will stay true to the lack of ability to purchase such products otherwise.

Weather

Okay, this one is purely talking about Yunnan.  I don't know about other areas in China if what is said about the weather and how the weather is actually is true.

If you haven't heard, Kunming is called the City of Eternal Spring.

Its true - things stay green year round and you'll probably never encounter snow there.  But it DOESN'T mean that you won't freeze your butt off!

Most people are really confused that I laugh when I hear "City of Eternal Spring."  Sure, for the first several months, the weather in Kunming was wonderful!  It wasn't super hot, and not cold...yet.  While I was there in November, December and January, Kunming consistently stayed around the mid-30s (Fahrenheit). 

What they don't tell you when they talk about the City of Eternal Spring is that since they think it is Spring year round that that also means that building don't have insulation.  I lived in a solid concrete apartment with windows that didn't even seal all the outside air out.  There was literally an draft all the time.

So when I was up doing homework, no matter what time of day nor what building I went to, I was freezing.  My hands were so cold that I bought the red fingertip-less gloves so I could still write.  Oh, and don't laugh at my Where's Waldo jacket with sleeves too short for me.

My suggestion for anyone traveling to a new place - even if you research the weather, it might not be like what you expect with differences in humidity, winds, buildings, and altitude.  Just pack what you need to be prepared to make do with both hot and COLD weather.

Dating at a Distance

Long distance relationships (LDRs as they say in the online world) are not easy. While you can talk to that person, you are limited when it comes to actually doing things with them. Besides Pinterest Dates,Tyler and I came up with MANY different ways to spend time together while still being over six thousand miles apart.


Here are some of the dates we attempted…

Skype Movie Night: Skype has a screen sharing capability. This means one of you can see the other person’s screen instead of seeing the input from their webcam. If the person who is sharing their screen plays a movie on their computer, both can watch almost simultaneously. However, be aware the sound will be somewhat off sequence for the person on the other end. Tyler and I solved this problem by turning subtitles on, and accepting the out of sequence sound. If you haven’t seen a movie together for months, or want to watch something special, this is the way to do it together.

We watched this on our anniversary abroad, because we first held hands watching this movie. :)

The Question Game: each person takes turns asking questions to the other. The rule is you have to answer the question you ask as well, so if you aren't willing to answer, don't ask!

Go Through A Couple's Book: Tyler bought us the e-book called 1000 Questions for Couples for our anniversary we had to spend separated. It helped tremendously when we ran out of questions for the Question Game, and we have continued going through the book since then. Some questions are fun, some serious...some you wouldn't have thought of.

Night Night on Skype: One of my favorites was falling asleep (remember...time zone difference) with Skype on, but this wasn't something Tyler was into. He usually did his homework, and I would watch and talk until I fell asleep. Especially when you are both busy on opposite sides of the world with class and homework, sometimes this time was the only time left to spend time together.

Take Turns Planning an Online Date: We would sometimes play an online game, screen share and "go somewhere" on Google Earth, Pinterest, or plan future dates we could do for when we were together again.

Play a Game: I thought doing a "draw together" would be fun...where you can chat and draw pictures on the same tablet. We did this a few times. Your art doesn't have to be "good"...just as long as you have fun!

One of our Paint Dates

Tips For International Long Distance Relationships

Send Your "Person" Texts for Free: If you are the one who is outside your home country, you can send texts from your email for free. You just have to find that person's carrier's code...for exampe, if they use AT&T, the format should be 5555555555@txt.att.net (their number@txt.att.net). Other cell phone carriers will have similar codes, they are easy to look up online.

Send 'Love' Emails: We sent love e-mails to each other, especially when we knew the other person was having a rough week. (Snail mail to China is just too...snail-ish.)

Go "Out" Together: Sometimes we'd go out somewhere to get coffee or food to Skype instead of staying home. I always enjoyed when Tyler would study and have me on Skype at Starbucks. Even though we didn’t talk much, it was fun to hear the music and see the cars and people going by outside the window.

KaKao Talk: This didn't work for us because Tyler isn't an iPhone user, however if you have certain types of smart phones, look for the app called Kakao Talk. You may text and make international calls for free. It was so fun to talk to my Korean friends the other day, and to be able to do it with the convenience of my phone. The only catch is for whoever is overseas, if you do not use your data plan (who would??) then you have to use Wi-Fi to utilize the app (otherwise your data charges will put you in debt for the rest of your life!)

One blog that helped me SO much during our time apart was Loving From a Distance. There are tons of good ideas here that are good for making your Skype or Google Video Chats a little more fun.
Be careful, as there were also some ideas that do not fit within healthy boundaries for Christian dating couples, however, as with the rest of life, use your common sense and morals to judge what is and is not appropriate.

I hope this is helpful to anyone out there going through a period of time apart from "your person." I know without stumbling across some of the advice I found from others, we wouldn't have found as many fun ways to keep in touch. I thought I would share our experiences with continuing to grow deeper in our relationship while apart for a period of time.


With Love and a Cup of Coffee,

-Saxon

Check out my last post about Surviving a Long Distance Relationship here!

The Kunming Experience: Final Week

This week concludes my study abroad experience in China.  I leave Kunming next Friday, putting me on a 35 hour traveling spree.  Then, I can eat steak, Mexican food, and not have to think about how to say something before I go to a restaurant! After I get over jet lag, I'll be hijacking my boyfriend from the rest of  society...forever.  No more of this:  :)  I can't wait to see him for the first time in five and a half months!  (I miss my parents...and kitties too, of course!)

...and hopefully I'll stealing my mom's sewing machine.  :P  All this Pinterest inspired creativity that cannot go anywhere because I have no supplies being abroad.  Oh, and I forgot to mention how I will take 3 hour hot showers multiple times daily to make up for all these cold showers here in Kunming.  I also hope to refrain from using a stove top for at least a month, to make up for 5 months with no oven.

Ok, so...enough dreaming of a week from now.  I do have big list of things to do this week.  First of all, celebrate my birthday for three days straight!  I'll be 22, and I'll get to eat Korean traditional birthday soup (seaweed soup), then on my actual birthday talk to my boyfriend all day, then the day after my birthday eat lunch with a friend!  I also need to buy some more souvenirs.  After that, I need to pack my existing suitcase, see how much stuff I still need to pack that doesn't fit, and go buy another suitcase.  I suppose all my stuff will be going home soiled since my washer decided to quit two weeks before I leave.  Then, of course, when your clothes have lost their shape to this extent because they hang dry instead of shrinking in the dryer, there's really no point in even taking them home. 

When the washer does this to your floor every time you use it.....there's no more using it.

  I'll have to be sure to eat the following before leaving:
Korean triangle kimchi snack things

Korean Topokki

Jiaozi

Er Kuai (rice tortilla with a warm, sweet peanut sauce inside.)

Candied Fruit Skewer

I guess for the rest of the week besides that crazy list, I will continue to do silly things like this and color them with my crayons (which WILL be going in my carry on.)

So that's most of my bucket list for this week, then I'll be back to Oklahoma, taking classes, reading books, and the occasional road trip or craft project.  With Pinterest around, hopefully there will be more interesting things happening around my corner of the world! 

I'll end on this note: (maybe I'm hungry too?)

The Kunming Experience: Part II

While I studied in Kunming, I missed a lot of American holidays.  I studied in the Fall semester, but in China, the semester doesn't end until the beginning of January.  I missed Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and in a few days I will miss my birthday.  Although not being around our families during those times was sad, I feel we made the best of it! 

Halloween:

  For Halloween, Sam and I improvised some random costumes out of what we had to be Disney characters.

Here's Aladdin (or maybe it was Abu) with a red peanut butter cap and a red T-Shirt only wearing the arms.

 And here's Pocahontas, with a turquoise shirt, braids, some feathers, and a red ribbon for an arm band.

We trick or treated each other at the door, and then took treats to our American classmates who lived down the road.  Yes, we went in our costumes.  Yes, the 门卫 (guards at the apartment complex entrances) gave us a very strange look!

Thanksgiving:

For Thanksgiving, we bought a roast duck, and cooked Potato Salad, Candied Sweet Potatoes, Deviled Eggs, and Green Bean Casserole.  We invited our Korean classmate, Daesun, to join us!

I also took some pictures of our really cute Chinese Pumpkin that was for decoration.

 Pumpkin and Coffee are always a good mix.

This little bird is made in Yunnan.  It is a whistle, and if you fill it partially with water it sounds like a bird.

 

Christmas:

We didn't see too many Christmas decorations for sale, so we made most of them.  

Frosty was made from a paper towel tube and paint.

 Pinterest Inspired:

Pinterest Inspired:
Tutorial can be found here:  Bird Ornament

 Chairman Mao celebrating Christmas. haha

 She was going to be the tree topper, but she was too heavy. :/  I made it using calligraphy paper, tape and chopsticks.

Made on Calligraphy Paper.  Also Pinterest Inspired.

Christmas Dinner

For Christmas dinner, we cooked and had our Korean friend with his girlfriend over!  They are lots of fun!
We served basically the same dishes as Thanksgiving, only we attempted Green Bean Casserole and made a Cheese Ball with crackers.

Yunnan Zoo

And during the holiday season, we also took a trip to the Yunnan Provincial Zoo:

Beautiful Tiger Cubs Cuddling: 

 I was yelled at for petting this Zebra.  It was worth it.

 The llamas just walk around the zoo. (Edit: I've come to realize that I'm pretty sure these are actually alpacas.)  You can pet them.  And if you have food, they chase you. haha  "Carrrlll"

Here in Kunming, they sell these candied fruit sticks.  They are really tasty.