Rodrigo Cortez

A new perception

            For years going to China was a dream. As a participant of this study abroad in Santa Fe, I had an unforgettable experience of traveling to China. This trip allowed me to explore and to visit a worldwide known culture and its amazing sites such as the Great Wall. Places I used to see in documentaries or movies. Before the trip I had some opinions and points of view about Chinese culture. I knew some details about China, for example, its people, kind of food, unique architecture designs, the government system, and pollution problems. My first experience in China helped me to comprehend and understand better all these problems and Chinese characteristics.

After our study abroad experience in China I changed my perception of Chinese characteristics because I thought that they were cold and lonely people. Chinese people in general, especially students were very kind, and they were willing to make new friends. Our tour guides were kind all the time no matter if they were tired or bored. They always tried to explain us everything they knew, and if they did not know an answer, they did some research or asked someone else to get it. I also was impressed that our tour guides were very involved with the group not only as tour guides but also as friends. Finding extroverted people in China was not in my thoughts before the trip. I have a misperception that Chinese were very introverted and did not like to be surrounded by a group of people every day. However, our tour guide in Xian, Jackie, was a clear example that I was wrong. He was very extroverted and social confidant; for example, he sang two pop Chinese songs for us in the bus. Other BUU students were also very friendly and interested in having new friends. Lawrence was one of those students who wanted to spend time with us and had a good time. He gave up time to study for his tests to be more time with us.

            Eating Chinese food was a big concern that I had before the trip. I used to eat Chinese food in America, but all my friends told me that it was not real Chinese food. We ate everyday at the Beijing Union University cafeteria. We had a special menu because we were guests. We ate on two tables with lazy Susan, which was a rotary tray placed in the center of the table. Instead of having individual meals, we shared bowls with different food. I like the idea of sharing bowls because it gave the table a sense of community and contribution. As my friends told me before the trip, the food was different. First, Chinese food was saltier and with more oil than the food in the US, which I think was unhealthy. Secondly, I also perceived that Chinese eat rice as Americans eat bread. During our trip plain rice was present in every meal. I considered that rice make the food more consistent. Third, Chinese did not use to eat dessert after meals; however, sometimes they brought us some fruits such as papaya or watermelon. Not having dessert after each meal left me with a desire of something sweet. Finally, we never got cold water or juices during our meals. Chinese accompany their meals with warm water and tea, which they never cool down with ice cubes. It was not a problem to me, but most of the group members did not like the idea of drinking warm beverages. In addition to all the differences in the food, we never used forks and knives to eat. We had learned how to use Chinese chopsticks. The waitress offered forks to make it easier for us to eat food; nevertheless, no one accepted them. A common joke among our Chinese friends about chopsticks was that “you were able to eat whatever you want with chopsticks when you can grab a marble with them.”

          While watching photos of China before the trip, I saw unique Chinese architecture designs. China is well known for its amazing and great architecture projects. Chinese used wood to build their buildings; for instance, they made the whole Temple of Heaven’s structure just using wood. I was astonished by the fact that Chinese did not use any kind of nails to hold all the parts together. It is amazing how they developed construction skills that have lasted for centuries. In addition, a characteristic about Chinese buildings is their roofs styles. Before the trip, I expected to see roofs with a sweeping curvature that rise at the corners of them. Once in China, I realized that most of the old buildings were built with those types of roofs. Those distinctive buildings such as the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and the Temple of Heaven are originally from China. Not only Chinese architecture is well known for its roofs, but also people know it because of the magnitude and size of their buildings. Chinese buildings and constructions have a direct relationship with their population; they are colossal. According to Gifford, “the census of 1953 found the population of China to be just over 580 million people. Now, at around 1.3 billion, it has more than doubled.” Chinese architectures have to overcome the challenges of fitting thousands of people in a building at the same time. Buildings in general were bigger than in the US, for instance, the Beijing Capital Airport. When we arrived to this airport, I was stunned by its magnitude. It was built with a single roof without any support underneath it. Other gigantic construction in China was the sport complex for the 2008 Beijing Olympics games, which has an area similar to UF. I was amazed by the extension of this sport complex. It blows my mind to know that it was built just for one single event. Chinese architecture impressed me for its design and magnitude.

          As everybody knows, China’s political system is a combination of communist ideas and a free economy market. Before the trip I was worry about the country that we were going to visit. I did not know what to expect of China and its communist ideas. I believe that China has two sides: a new generation that consider that China should have more freedom or change its political system and an old generation of people who still think that communist works. An example of the new generation was a student that I met in the plane to China who has studied in the US for two years. When I asked her if she was excited for coming back to China, she told me that she was; however, she did not like the idea to have limited access to some websites because of government’s ideas. I personally believe that only the people who were abroad realized that in China citizens have giving up some freedom of choice. Examples of the old generations are commemoration places and idolatry toward Mao Zedong, the supreme leader of communism in China. Mao Zedong mausoleum is located in the center of the biggest square in China, Tiananmen Square. It is considered almost a sacred place for the old generation because Mao’s body rests inside the building. Our tour guide, Kristal, told me that most of the people who visited the mausoleum were old. I realized that old people in China still believe in Mao only because they were present when he was alive. They did not just believe in his ideas, but in his image as a leader. Before the trip I personally did not expect so much idolatry toward someone who is dead especially if he took away his or her freedom to speech; however, his own painting gallery in the National Museum proved that I was wrong. I think that China has two different generations of citizens China should know how to combine both of them to lead the country to better days.

            Nowadays due to the overpopulation and lack in education, pollution is a well-known environmental problem in China. During my study abroad in China I experienced it. I broke up this problem in two categories: water pollution and air pollution. Before the trip I knew that air pollution was a problem in China. When the plane was landing on China, we saw a lot of smog over the city and in the countryside. I think that authorities have to solve this issue urgently. Once we arrived in Beijing, I remembered one day we could not see the top of a building six blocks away. Air pollution is not only a terrible problem in cities, but it is also a problem in the countryside. Pollution was present all the way to Xian as well. According to Gifford, “pollution has also become a major cause of protests among farmers whose land is near factories.” I think that pollution does not have an immediate effect on people, so authorities do not prioritize to solve it. The second pollution problem in China is water pollution. Tap water in China is not potable, that is why my biggest expense was water bottles. In my opinion, buying water everyday was not an inconvenience for the group; however, for Chinese people who did not have the same income could be difficult. I believe that nowadays pollution is the biggest problem in China.

            After visiting China I changed my mind about this amazing country, which once seemed strange and unknown to me. Now with a firsthand experienced, I have a clear understanding and a better judgment about China. The kindness of its people made me realize that I was wrong. They were not cold and introversive as I used to think. Sharing time with them allowed me to know the way they think about their own country. Visiting the main places in China gave me a new perception about Chinese architecture and its government. These experiences helped me to have a better understanding of Chinese relationships, food, government, architecture, and its problems.