A story about Chinese and American differences

[website]

I've been thinking about the differences between China and the US recently and I thought I would share this with you:

My girlfriend just told me a story about growing up in rural Henan, China. She said that while growing up in the 1970's and 80's, her family had no electricity, no toys, no car, no soap, no phone, no indoor plumbing, and a mud house with a dirt floor. As a child, she never saw a building over two stories tall. Meat, apples, oranges, bananas, and eggs were rare treats. She said some people went six months without washing because there was no hot water in the winter! She was 26 years old the first time she went to the dentist. She has never used deodorant, jewelry, perfume, make-up, breath mints, or shaved her underarms. I introduced her to salads, jelly, and cereal, but she didn't care for them.

In contrast, I grew up in the American Midwest in a "typical"

working-class, small-town family. My parents told me that we were poor, but we had a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath ranch house with a garage, basement, central air, wall-to-wall carpet, swingset, sandbox, large yard, a boat,

camera, tent, motorcycle, blender, dishwasher, vacuum cleaner, mixer, toaster, microwave, TV, bikes, drill, power saw, gun, refrigerator, oven,

toys, lawnmower, phone, Christmas/Easter/Thanksgiving decorations, two sets of dishes, birthday gifts, a truck,

a small vacation house, and a car. I never went one day without taking a shower or a bath and eating three meals. I went to the doctor for checkups and saw a dentist every six months. We went to chuch every week. I almost never ate rice

and when I did, it was Minute Rice.

Her story made me think that anyone who was born in a developed country should thank their

lucky stars. It just blows my mind to think that China was against everything that West thought was good. Education,

birth control, capitalism, religion, democracy, free speech, free choice, and freedom of movement was forbidden.

Although China still has a lot of problems with corruption, racism, poverty, education, copyright theft, justice, healthcare, welfare, overpopulation, banking, reliable statistics,

religion, speech, democracy, crime, credit reporting, hygiene, and other things, I must admit China, however, does the following

things better than the USA:

1. Cell phones are pay as you go, cheaper, and more people have them in China

2. DVD use

3. Living expenses are cheaper

4. No babysitters

5. Less sales/income/property tax hassles

6. Public transportation

7. Coinless public phones

8. Journalism is more upbeat here

9. Booming economy

10. Very few lawsuits

11. Few divorces

12. Little personal debt

13. Thin girls

14. Banks are open seven days a week

15. Dr. appointments not needed

There are more good sides to China, but that's all that come to mind right now.

Constructive comments welcome.

[skylee]

You have an incredible way of thinking and writing style.

[geraldc]

All countries go through difficulties as they develop, but people are basically still people no matter where they are in the world.

I normally enjoy reading people's thoughts on the differences between developing China and the West, but most commentaries on economic and social development aren't written by shallow patronising morons.

[liuzhou]

Living expenses are cheaper

Who for? You? What about the Chinese?

Journalism is more upbeat here

What? Do you know how many journalists are in prison? Do you have any idea of the censorship?

Can you read a newspaper? They are dull, dull, dull. Usually full of stories about the party praising itself and ignoring anything newsworthy.

Booming economy

Maybe in Shenzhen and the eastern coastal areas. Look at the rest of China.

Few divorces

The divorce rate is soaring.

You seem to live in a different China from everyone else.

[xuechengfeng]

You post some very strange things.

[marcopolo79]

Website, would you have lived in the China of your girlfriend's youth?

Perhaps if you took the time to stop gathering facts from the nether reaches of your rectum and reflect for a moment, you'd appreciate the unprecedented and tremendous changes that China has experienced since the inception of the Reform and Opening program and the challenges that it still faces in achieving it's goals of becoming a wealthy and industrialized country. The standard by which contemporary China ought to be judged is not against the developed economies of the world, rather, you should look at it in context to where China is coming from and what it has the potential to become.

Your comparisons are baseless, worthless, and highlight your ignorance and your intellectual torpidity. This ex-pat mentality, the facility with which you disparage the country you reside in while taking advantage of the opportunities it affords you, speaks volumes about the hypocritical nature of your views and, consequently, renders you ill suited to truly appreciate the advantages and disadvantages between life in America and life in China.

[website]

This is lame, but I am trying to decide whether to stay in Asia. I am trying to decide on whether I want to live in China where living is simple and hot, innocent women fawn over me or return to the stressful US,

be lonely, and try to get lucky enough to find a job on the busline where I can work like a slave for 40 hours a week at $7 per hour, pay 30% of my earnings in taxes, and pay $500 a month in rent to live in a ghetto.

Staying in Asia is my prefered choice, but I am still young and worried about not having a pension or building up a 401K. Buying land is not possible in China and I am not sure if I can buy a car, house, or a business here, either. America has it's downsides, but I think it offers more opportunities than just teaching English.

What to do?

http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/2004-12/10/Stories/03.htm

[Lu]

As long as you don't know the language and keep complaining about the country, like you have done on this forum previously, I think it would be a bad idea to stay in China.

As to your list of 'good sides of China':

1. Cell phones are pay as you go, cheaper, and more people have them in China: more people, yes, I guess that would be because there ARE more people in China. And for the cities it might also be true that relatively a lot of people have cellphones. But for the countryside, this would be different.

2. DVD use: not sure how that is in the US, but here, too: difference between city and countryside.

3. Living expenses are cheaper: and so is the average income :-/

4. No babysitters: not sure what you mean by that. Rich families have ayi's.

5. Less sales/income/property tax hassles: => less social security, worse education system, etc etc.

6. Public transportation: ok, you definately got a point here. Cheap, on time.

7. Coinless public phones: ?? I saw phones with coins. What's the advantage of a coinless public phone?

8. Journalism is more upbeat here: it's not. Try reading the newspaper and finding actual news in it.

9. Booming economy: it's coming

10. Very few lawsuits: result is government officials abusing their powers. Is this a good thing??

11. Few divorces: probably, but not because marriages are better but because divorce is seen as 'not done', especially for women.

12. Little personal debt: nonsense.

13. Thin girls: [sigh]

14. Banks are open seven days a week: you're right, that's a good point of China.

And you forgot one:

3. Food is cheap and delicious

[Bob Dylan Thomas]

please, Website, go back to the USA; if not for the benefit of everyone in China, I at least will be going back to China soon and I don't particularly want to risk meeting you.

[geek_frappa]

1. Cell phones are pay as you go, cheaper, and more people have them in China

2. DVD use

3. Living expenses are cheaper

4. No babysitters

5. Less sales/income/property tax hassles

6. Public transportation

7. Coinless public phones

8. Journalism is more upbeat here

9. Booming economy

10. Very few lawsuits

11. Few divorces

12. Little personal debt

13. Thin girls

14. Banks are open seven days a week

i have no idea what you just said,.... but there is a rabbit with a pancake on its head...

[website]

If you are American and want to be nostalgic, just spend two years

in China and then watch "About Schmidt". It will probably bring

back some memories. I don't know if China

or the USA is good or bad, but I can say that it isn't common to see the following in China:

1. Waffles

2. Recreational vehicles

2. Dairy Queen

3. Ice makers

4. Homes with two freezers

5. Charities

6. Churches

7. Hot tubs

8. Limos

9. Proms

10. Cheerleaders

11. Baseball

12. NFL games

13. Forks

14. Answering machines

15. Hot dogs

16. Roast beef

17. Life insurance

18. Long life expectancies

19. Carpet

20. Electric wheelchairs

21. Marriage counselors/psychologists/Prozac

22. Waterbeds

23. Private pilots

24. Classic cars

25. Mutual funds?

26. Wallpaper

27. Bathtubs/shower curtains

28. Phonebooks

29. Drag races

30. Comfortable furniture

31. Electric knives

32. Ovens

33. Window screens

34. Basements

35. Firetrucks

36. Junk mail

37. Laundromats

38. Garage door openers

39. Clean air

40. Infant car seats

41. Sandwiches

42. Marching bands

43. Funeral homes

44. Closets

45. Window screens

46. Personal hotel room keys

47. Joggers

48. Newspaper vending machines

49. Pawn shops

50. Golf courses

51. Heavy metal bands

52. Refunds

53. Adult magazines/strip clubs

54. Credit cards

55. Drive thrus

56. Drive-by shootings/carjackings/crack

57. Drive-ins

58. Yellow school buses

59. Bike helmets

60. Boxing

61. Checking accounts

There is no point to this post. I just thought someone might enjoy reading these observations. It really is amazing the differences between the west and the east and probably one of the reasons why living in Asia is so exciting.

[marcopolo79]

Website, had you previously been abroad before you first came to Asia? If not, then it might explain why the absence of quintessentially American things strikes you as amazing. The differences between life in the West and East are truly staggering, but the material differences are only a small part of that. If you are intent on staying in Asia, try to be more receptive to your surroundings.

For you to derive any sort of reward for the amount of time you've been here it's necessary for you to stop acting like a tourist and stop trying to make your surroundings conform to you instead of you accomodating your surroundings. Teaching English is not a career, nor does it prepare you for anything else, if you feel that your time here is not productive and that there are not enough incentives to keep you here, then go back home and do the best you can.

Oh, BTW, What's up with the random links you attach to your posts? You seem to have acquired some sort of hyperlink diarrhea.

[roddy]

Going to move this to practicalities, as it's less of a waste of time there

i have no idea what you just said,.... but there is a rabbit with a pancake on its head...

If you haven't got anything useful to add (difficult, I know, in this topic) please don't add anything.

Roddy

[xuechengfeng]

I think it's useful, rabbits don't have pancakes on their heads in China.

[roddy]

I think it's useful, rabbits don't have pancakes on their heads in China.

If you haven't got anything useful to add (difficult, I know, in this topic) please don't add anything.

Roddy

[yonglan]

i have no idea what you just said,.... but there is a rabbit with a pancake on its head...

1. Waffles

Pancakes, Website, pancakes. If you can't even find the right breakfast food, how are you going to place it on the rabbit's head? [Edit: I wrote this before seeing a second pancake post. Please don't beat me Roddy, I'll be good.]

My parents told me that we were poor' date=' but we had a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath ranch house with a garage, basement, central air, wall-to-wall carpet, swingset, sandbox, large yard, a boat, motorcycle, blender, dishwasher, vacuum cleaner, mixer, toaster, microwave, TV, drill, power saw, gun, refrigerator, oven,

toys, lawnmower, phone, Christmas/Easter/Thanksgiving decorations, two sets of dishes, birthday gifts, a truck,

a small vacation house, and a car. [/quote']

Website, you were upper-middleclass.

I don't know if China

or the USA is good or bad, but I can say that it isn't common to see the following in China:

21. Marriage counselors/psychologists/Prozac[emphasis yonglan's]

or return to the stressful US' date='

be lonely, and try to get lucky enough to find a job on the busline where I can work like a slave for 40 hours a week at $7 per hour, pay 30% of my earnings in taxes, and pay $500 a month in rent to live in a ghetto. [/quote']

Staying in Asia is my prefered choice, but I am still young and worried about not having a pension or building up a 401K. Buying land is not possible in China and I am not sure if I can buy a car, house, or a business here, either. America has it's downsides, but I think it offers more opportunities than just teaching English.

Somehow these two quotes (from the same post) don't quite jibe.

Constructive comments welcome.

I dare say that we have failed you in that regard. But some of us have all but begged you to "Think before you post."

Anyway, here's a random link for you

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2004/12/13/2003214861

[website]

I grew up in a lower middle-class home. My mother was a housewife

and my father was a blue-collar repairman. Most of my friends were better off. It sounds like I was a millionaire, but I think my upbringing was fairly ordinary.

I traveled to Europe and Canada before I came to Asia, but they didn't prepare me for the culture-shock. A RT ticket to London from NY is $200. Almost anybody in America can work hard for two weeks to save up for quick trip across the pond. Anyway, I like China. It's...different. However, there's no Social Secuity, pension, retirement, or stock plans

here for me and I think the prudent person should think of the future occasionally.

[Quest]

However, there's no Social Secuity, pension, retirement, or stock plans

here and I think the prudent person should think of the future occasionally.

Are you planning to immigrate to China? I don't think you can get ss pension retirement as a tourist/traveller in the US either. For the Chinese that work in state own agencies/factories/companies, they do get subsidized housing, retirement and medical deductions.

[yonglan]

Canada before I came to Asia

They got pancakes AND waffles

[Quest]

pancakes and waffles

Why would you expect to see pancakes and waffles in China? I wouldn't expect to see water if I go to the moon...