Big Differences.......

Posted on Sunday, March 18, 2007 at 3:59 - Post Comment

Me Again !!!

To me ...this is all VERY interesting , while living here i've noticed that EVERYTHING is the total opposite to my country Canada !

Here are some examples :

At a restaurant in Canada ( and growing up) we are raised to finish everything on our plate , if we don't ...the server will assume that we do not like the meal ....so in other words ....clean plate =good food ! Well here that is totally not the case .....if u happen to finish all that is on ur plate here ....they will assume that there was not enough food for you meaning u still need more and they did not prepare enough !! Strange ...but just different !

Another thing ....in school we are told to call our teachers by Mr. or Mrs ....to me this is polite and the right way ( of course followed by their last names ).....i've even had some teachers tell me to call them by their first names (they were the cool ones) ...well NOT HERE .....to them it's ALWAYS teacher ....if u dare call a teacher by their first or last name ...consider urself in bit deep trouble , followed by a beating ( yes they do that here too= hey another blog idea) !!

Something else that drives me crazy is how they call their own family members ....i have a sister and her name is Rachael ....so if i need her i simply say "Rachael" ........in China , they consider that rude ......it should be mei mei which means younger sister or jiejie for older sister ........so in china family members are called by what they are in member ...not by name ....drives me nuts ! And i think it's rude !  BUT The worst ....is they even call their friends and /or classmates sister or brothers ....i hate this when someone is introducing people to me .....it goes like this " This is my sister , and she is my sister , he is my brother , and so is he " .....I then reply ..WOW ur parents were buuuuuusy .......they finally realize what i mean and say " no they are my fathers sisters children and she sits beside me in class" ...then i say ..."Ohhhhhhhhhhh .....u mean cousins = not ur brothers and sisters and she is ur classmate NOT ur sister " ......see there you go Shit for brains !

They have this thing about cutting their little baby boys hair , something about their lunar calendar crap ....must cut or shave their head on February 2nd ....( in chinese days hahahahha) .....i think this is dumb ....when hair is long ...cut it !

Marriage : My family always told me that when 2 are inlove and about to get married .....all the parents usually sit and discuss who will pay for what ! NOT HERE .....if u have a son ...the sons parents must pay for EVERYTHING !! Weird and how sad ! ( my chinese family is very poor , so i ended up paying for everything for my own wedding ) !!

Speaking of marriage ...their weddings and ceremonies are PATHETIC ......they are the most un romnatic people in the world ! First the couple must get their marriage certificate , once they have that ....the family members and friends gather at a chosen restaurant to have what they call a wedding.  They have one boring master of ceremony as the speaker at the front ......the bride and groom stand with him , they do NO vows , NO exchanging of the rings ...GET THIS .....the bride must buy a WATCH for her hubby not a ring .....this is one tradition i HATE !!! The bride says a few words , then the groom , then the parents ....everyone eats , has a drink and by 12 lunch time .......IT'S ALLLL OVER !!  What a waste of time and money .....there is little kissing done between the couple , no music , no dancing ...it's horrible !!    

Another thing that is really different .......well this refers to mainly up north ...but in china to be a drinker shows that u are a MAN .....if u don't drink = u are weak and not a real man ! Where i come from to me a real man is one that does not drink and act like a puking moron !!  Also ....when giving a toast ....others must follow ....for example ...if i give a speech and "gan bei" = bottoms up ...then the others must bottom up their glasses too ! Trust me - u get drunk fast as there is little time to eat and each person must do a toast ......at a 12 people dinner gathering .....u can imagine !! Gan Bei !!    

These are just a few examples of just how opposite their culture is ....i don't agree with any of it ...but i am not about to change any of it either !! I'll think of more as the days go by !! Thanks for reading !!

Wow

Posted by Fightingfemale on Sunday, March 18, 2007 at 7:04 - Link

Fascinating facts and fascinating insight. I never any of these things, or the things you wrote about in your earlier posts. I thought everybody would be polite on the transit system. Maybe I'm thinking of Japan. Anyway, I am glad to have figured out why your English is so perfect--you're from Canada!