top of page

Rick

To double R,

To be back in China must feel great. It was. It was a different feeling, though. I just went back to my home country with a bunch of American students. I am quite used to the lifestyle and the culture of Chinese people, so it was a little shocked of how American people view everything in China. This gave a good lesson that I learnt before: never assume everything without actually seeing them. However, I also get confused: how do I know what is true, what is false? It is like a single story, am I living perceiving this world as a single story, are my perspectives stands out for all the Chinese people? We ask a lot of question to a lot of people. We get answers, but are those answers believable? I guess this is the power of a single story, the power of the credibility of your answers that related to your identity. Just because I am Chinese, people tended to ask me questions about everything in China. It is just like the story I learned in middle school. Imagine you give a Shanghai map to a local Shanghainese but no map to another Chinese citizen who doesn’t from Shanghai. After the non-local Shanghainese go over the map, he or she will know even more than the local Shanghainese. However, if you need to pick one person to ask for directions, you will ask the local for help first. Our identity can be also used as a single story in this case.

It was also interesting to watch my fellow trip-mates asking for pictures. People were like: “She/He’s a foreigner!” People was “secretly” taking their pictures. I was not surprised by those actions, but it somehow was embarrassing. It makes total sense though, cause people in China who are not from a big city never see a white or black or Latino person before, especially a kid: “Foreigners!” Ok. I lived in Seattle for almost a year so I was like “Nah”, but yeah, some people has been in a small town for all their life. Sometimes I really don’t know what to say, maybe I will figure it out later.

It is delightful and a little bit scared to realize I’ve changed in the past year. So awesome, I know a lot about America, obviously. I was shocked when I met my friends in Tsinghua University and they asked me some questions that were pretty dumb I think. Most questions are clarifications, but it doesn’t feel right. The question is easily about sensitive topics, like racism and discrimination in the States that I feel hard to answer because I need to everything very carefully so they won’t misunderstand. I know sometimes my narrative will be a little exaggerating. That also feels true even as an ambassador in China. As a Chinese, I feel like it is a responsible to seriously present the facts of my home country (at least, everything of my hometown). One thing that shocked me is the virtual class in China. Alex told me their discussion of the Chinese virtual class. I was surprised to see them taking this as a very serious topic. Yes, there is no “virtual” class in America, but I believe compared to parental teaching, virtual class can’t be the main influence to a child (it may be a main influence if it is the only source of virtual knowledge for the child). I think, at least for me, or in my city, politics are not a very popular topic and people will be more cynical when talking about politics, so people kind of avoid the topic and work hard instead to “start something wonderful”.

From city known for its economic blossom, many people move to my hometown. New immigrants need to work very hard to stay in the city or they will be beaten by the competition. I am a very privileged person to be in such a great city all my life. However, it is the social environment and economic environment that give me this single story that everyone goes to college. So everyone can imagine my embarrassment when I say “I can’t believe there are people who didn’t go to college” and my roommate response “my parents didn’t go to college”. Luckily, since the city is so modern and live a “good” life, people keep flooding in the city trying to get a spot to stay that keep this city diverse and I have the chance to meet more people that is not from the same economic status of my family. I’ve talked to the less fortunate and rich people, and I start to respect both. Economic status cannot earn you respect. (Well, you will definitely earn respect when you earn all those money by yourself.)

Anyway, it is a fun and fascinating trip, definitely worth going!

Always the best,

Rick


RECENT POSTS
SEARCH BY TAGS
No tags yet.
ARCHIVE
bottom of page