Culture Adjustment

I have a list of six titles on a scrap of paper located beside my laptop waiting for me to write blog entries, but each one is missing one or more pictures. My plan was to go out for a walk in the morning and get those pictures, but when I shared that plan with Zuhua I was told that she had other plans for me; plans to go to a farm. I am sure that will be an interesting adventure that will create great material for at least one blog entry.

As I wait for an opportunity to obtain the necessary pictures, I would like to write some about culture and the problem I am having traveling between them. The more time I spend in the Chinese culture, the more difficulty I find in traveling between them. My return from one and/or entrance into the other culture is requiring a greater adjustment for me to make each time. In this entry we will consider several simple adjustments that create no difficulty for me. In the next blog entry I will try to make sense out of the struggle I experience during the adjustment period.

The food that is eaten, how it is prepared, and how it is eaten is no problem for me. I am just as comfortable drinking out of a bowl as I am a cup or using chopsticks in place of silverware. Like painting a wall, you can spray, roll, or brush the paint on. The important thing is to paint the wall; the same with preparing food. It doesn’t matter how you prepare it as long as you get something good to eat. Food is not a problem as I have had countless good meals here.

Travel on roads in some type of vehicle required an adjustment to be made or you will have to accept fear as your traveling companion. In America we grew up with the automobile and understand the importance of obeying the enforced laws that go with their use. In China they grew up with bicycles and scooters and then the car shows up. It is only natural to drive a car under the same rules as riding a bike or a scooter. Because of the enormous density of traffic it moves slowly, but it usually moves and it moves wherever there is space for it to move, even if it means driving on the wrong side of the road or maybe even on the sidewalk in some cases. – A bus I was riding in did that one day. It was a frightful experience with many passengers demanding to get off when the bus finally stopped. It was an example of road rage where the bus driver was determined to run down the car that cut him off. The car managed to squeeze down an alley too small for the bus. – Stop signs do not exist here and often stop lights are ignored. Traffic from side streets push their way into the main flow of traffic, usually without looking at oncoming traffic. At smaller intersections it is a weaving pattern; you simply thread your way through. At larger intersections, as traffic loads increase and grid lock becomes more common, traffic control police are replacing traffic lights to bring order. Grid lock is now common at the intersection near where I live. As a result three traffic control police have been assigned to this spot. One works the intersection and the other two are about a half mile down the main road each way of the intersection with a two way radio. When pressure forces traffic to get out of hand at the intersection these remote police can stop it from moving toward the intersection to allow it to clear a bit. There are several bus lines that do a U-turn in this intersection because it is where their route begins and ends. Under the right conditions they can easily lock up the intersection when they fail to complete the U-turn. They also store extra busses on the street near this intersection taking up valuable street space. There are several bus stops near this intersection also. With about a dozen other bus routes going through this intersection, along with heavy truck traffic, I find it is fun watching the activity, or sometimes the lack of.

PS This entry was written before the previous five entries, but posted after them causing some confusion in the story line. Sorry about the mix up.