Culture is a fantastic human-made concept. Every country and society has a specific culture from where it derived its identity, customs, values, and traditions. Every culture has a unique aspect that is hilarious and the more a person leans a new culture, the more he or she interacts with the new and exciting aspects of that culture. Individuals who have the opportunity to globe trot understand better about other cultures as reading books and listening to tales about such cultures is not enough to understand them. The important matter is to interact with a particular culture and get the opportunity to experience it and know what it is all about. In an interview, a foreign exchange student from Bangkok China gives his view on different aspects of the US culture that are different from a culture of his home country. The student has spent several months in the US. As a result, he has noticed numerous cultural differences between two of the most powerful countries in the world.
The student admits that though China and the US are the most powerful countries in the world, the two countries are different culture wise. The student gives his account of five cultural aspects where he observes adverse differences between Chinese and American cultures. The first aspect is classroom culture. He notices that in America, the teaching approach is freer in comparison to that of China. Moreover, he asserts that American's teachers prefer students to call them by the first name or abbreviation.
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Furthermore, he observes that in America, students express themselves freely and their exams aim at checking the students' subjective mastering and understanding of the subject. The classroom environment in China differs from that of Americans. Teachers in China are authoritative, and the students must raise their hands as a mark of permission before speaking or answering any question in the classroom. Teacher’s title or the last name is the only apparatus the students can use while referring to their teachers. Lastly, the examinations and tests aim at checking the student's memory but not understanding.
The next cultural aspect is punctuality. The student notices that in America, timeliness is a matter of importance. Both at work and in school or other areas, there is a culture that demands that people must arrive at their destination on time or little before time. Time management, according to the student, is a significant part of American culture. The same applies to Chinese culture. In this country, honoring other people time is a sign of respect and is a path towards a better relationship in the society. Though the two countries are similar in this cultural aspect, the student admits that the Americans are more time-conscious than the Chinese.
The third cultural difference the student point is with regards to the relationship. The student's observation in the US has led him to conclude that the Americans have no rigid social hierarchy in any specific form of social relationship. According to his observation, there is fluidity with regards to such relationship with minimal boundaries. In America, children are free to call older people by their first name. In a family relationship, it is a responsibility of the parents to take care of their children with minimal expectation of such favor when the children grow up. The situation is much different in China. Chinese have a social structure that results in strict boundaries and social hierarchy in any form of relationship. In China, specific titles are used to address the elders by the children. A relationship is given high value and after the establishment of a particular form of relationship, caring for such a relationship becomes the major priority. In China, it is an expectation that children must care for their elderly parents in a familial relationship.
The next aspect of the cultural difference between China and America is Values. In America, the student observes that people focus on themselves and give pleasure to individual success. The student, therefore, concludes that American culture is individualistic since people get much satisfaction when they succeed at an individual level. More specifically, the student observes that personal satisfaction, achievement, and growth are the epicenter of American culture. People develop individual ambitions, which they strive to achieve. Such values are different when a person travels to China. In China, communism is the priority. Before making any decision, a person must consider the impact of such a decision on the entire society. In China, people get pleasure when their achievements have a positive influence on people surrounding them. The student asserts that Chinese culture does not encourage boasting due to personal achievement or success.
The last cultural aspect was food and culture. In this case, the student claim that in case two or more American friends check in for dinner at a restaurant, the cheques are equally split among the friends or each person pays for his or her order. According to him, this is an abomination in China. In China, the person who made an invitation must pay the bill. In a situation where friends meet coincidentally in a restaurant, one person pays the entire bill.
In summary, the entire interview is significant as it gives a glimpse of the cultural differences between China and the US. From the interview, it is apparent that critical cultural aspects such as food, classroom environment, punctuality, food, and values vary as one move from one country to another.
