The Real China
BY- Jeffrey LeFevre
After reading some of the posts, I’m sure you are thinking that the food and the Great Wall are well great, but you want to know the meaty stuff. What is China like? So, I am going to try to answer some of your burning questions.
1. What are the people like?
Everyone in China is extremely nice and friendly. They have big banners with “Welcome St. Charles East” at every hotel and performance; they give the soloists and directors huge bouquets of flowers after every concert, and people swarm around you for pictures. The Chinese people do everything they can to make you feel welcomed, and you feel like a famous movie star when you walk through the streets. Then they have twice as many employees at every restaurant and shop than in America, so there is always someone following your every move. It is a little weird at first, but after awhile you become used to it.
2. What do the people look like?
I know what you are thinking, “Duh, they look Asian,” but there is actually a lot of things about their general appearance that are quite different from America and the rest of the world. First of all, 100% of the population looks Asian. I thought that maybe I would see some Europeans living there or something, but everyone was rail-thin, without any facial hair, and dressed in modern clothes (at least in Beijing). On the trip, I only saw two African-Americans, two groups of European tourists, and three slightly overweight Chinese men. In China, it is considered beautiful to have pale skin and big eyes, so you will see people walking with umbrellas on a sunny day. Some even go to the point of having plastic surgery on their eyes.
3. Then there is the infamous question that every one of you parents has: did you feel safe?
Actually, I found that in China I felt very safe. No one can have guns except some police and military men, and the people are so no nice that I did not feel threatened by any means. The closest thing to crime was counterfeit money. I know one person got some fake money at the hotel and I think some vender tried to give me some fake bills, but I caught it beforehand. People are really paranoid about it though, and almost everyone checks your bills to make sure they are legitimate. Then there is apparently a big credit card theft scare in China. Of course, we did not know about it until someone’s card got shredded in the ATM machine, but otherwise China’s all good.
4. What is China like?
Most of the cities (other than maybe Beijing) are not as glamorous as Chicago or New York, but there is a lot of new buildings and shops on the streets similar to the US. Especially in Beijing, there are a lot of tall, modern apartment buildings and towers. I guess you need a lot space for 15 million people. The highways and schools are especially nice in China. Transportation and education are high priorities in the country, and a lot of buildings and national relics are being restored and renovated for the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympics. Although China is evolving and changing, there is still a lot of poverty. As we drove though the cities and the countryside, we saw people living under highways and homes that looked like ruins, but I think there is poverty wherever you go.
5. What were the performances like?
The performances were in a variety of places including the Great Wall, a concert hall, a university gym, and a city square. There were each unique with different audiences, and even some press at the last concert (we were on TV and on the front page of the city paper), but perhaps the most enjoyable concert was at the university. Although it was not the best in regards to acoustics, the audience was absolutely wonderful. They responded well to our music, offered us huge flowers and a large scenic painting as gifts, and absolutely roared in applause after hearing Diana Yu (our student announcer) speak perfect Chinese (I guess an American speaking Chinese is a rarity there). Then afterwards, we were bombarded with the many Chinese college students with cameras and we shared a great dinner with them. It was very interesting to see how immersed they were in our American culture, and they could talk for hours. It was very hard to leave, but we plan to keep in touch with e-mail.
6. Was the language barrier difficult?
Actually, more people in China speak English than in the US, and the college students in particular have really good English. In fact, they are required to learn and study in English, and half of their textbooks are in English. Most of their signs are in English and Chinese too, but there is a little of odd spellings for things (we got plenty of pictures of them, no worries). Of course, there are many Chinese who do not speak any English beyond “hello” and “clothes in there” (see my previous posting), but luckily we had our tour guides to help us out.
7. Are things expensive in China?
Most things are very inexpensive in China compared to the US. For instance, three bottled waters are $1, and ice cream bars are $0.40, and the average car is $4000. With such inexpensive merchandise, it may seem like everyone should be living in grand, luxurious homes with fancy cars, but when people are making $100 a month, everything does not seem so cheap. In fact, the only real homes in China are owned by farmers with lots of land or millionaires who own villas in the cities. The majority of the population living in China lives in small apartments.
8. How is the food in China?
Generally, the meals are in restaurants are setup like banquet halls with round tables. Then you have a small glass for Coke or Sprite (no refills), a smaller cup for tea, a bowl and spoon ( like a small ladle) for soup, a small plate for food, and chopsticks (yes, we were able to eat without forks and knives). Then you have a big Lazy Susan in the middle of the table, and they bring out various dishes throughout the meal. It usually starts with nuts or light food, and then proceeds with several kinds of meat and weird vegetables that I have never heard of, and then it ends with soup and fruit (in other words watermelon). I cannot say that I liked all the food, but everyone tries it and finds something they like. Each meal certainly fills you up.
9. How was drinking out of bottled water?
As you know, we cannot drink the water from China unless you want to be sick, so we have to drink bottled water. It is annoying at times, but the hotels normally give complimentary water and you can get them cheap from the bus. Nevertheless, we had quite a few people who got sick in the trip for one reason or another. Luckily, we had Dr. Nelson to save us all from 10 days of diarrhea.
10. What is your least favorite thing about China?
Of course, there is the language factor, but my least favorite thing about China is the stairs. You think I am joking, but I am not. Everywhere you go there is huge numbers of stairs in certain increments, like nine for emperors. In other words almost everything affiliated with emperors has stairs in sets of nine. With all of the temples, buildings and the Great Wall, stairs are endless in China. Then at every ancient Chinese relic, they have this step thing at the door so you have to bow and show respect to the owner. Anyways, I am totally exhausted from the stairs, so I am going to try to wrap this up with one final question before you fall asleep.
11. What is your favorite thing about China?
There were some great thing about China that I really enjoyed on the trip like bargaining at the market, visiting the small factories and seeing the amazing stunts from the acrobatics show, but I think everyone on this trip would agree that the best part of China is its people. They are truly the nicest people you will ever meet. The Chinese are so warm and inviting, and they appreciated our work and music. From the welcome banners to the pictures to the deep conversations, they showed how truly generous and kind the Chinese people are. We have befriended a lot of wonderful people, and have many unforgettable experiences. It has been the best ten days of my life, and the fact that I could share them with my friends and classmates made it even better. This experience, as corny as it may sound, has changed my views on life and made me appreciate America. We are so special in that we are the “melting pot” and we are exposed to so many cultures, people, religions and food. Every day we live freely and we are capable of surpassing any obstacle, to follow our dreams. This opportunity allowed me to see that, and I hope I was able to give you a sense of the real China.
