Maitreyi Sistla, Public Health in China, Summer 2012
Hello all,
It actually astounds me its only been a week since we’ve left China; maybe it’s just the multitude of things that have happened since then that makes it seem like I left over a month ago. I do still miss China a ton, but instead of spending this post reminiscing about my experience in China though, like I already did in my last blog post, I’m going to use it to express what I’ve taken away from the program since I’ve left.
Unlike most other students, my flight from Beijing wasn’t back to the United States; rather, I hopped from one large developing country to another large developing country located right next door- India- to visit some of my relatives. You’d think that traveling from China to India wouldn’t give you that much of a culture shock; I mean, China and India are both nations that are talked about as being “emerging economies” whose rapid development in the last few years has created a new era of globalization. Even so, comparing Beijing to New Delhi will give you many more bullets in the “differences” column than in the “similarities”.
One thing I never really noticed about China until I left for India was how westernized it really was. Maybe it was just the fact that we were living in one of the urban centers of the country that gives me a biased view, but I think many of my fellow program friends would agree when I say China was a lot more like America than I expected it to be. Basically everyone, from kids to grandparents, wears Western clothing (albeit, Western clothing with a twist of Asian flair to it). Every hundred meters is another KFC. Malls line the street corners, with American and European brands flashing their fancy logos outside of the windows. Although there were definitely moments when we would say “this is so, so Zhongguo”, it was definitely less of a culture shock than I expected it to me. Can’t really say the same for India, whose conservativeness and culture shocks me every time, even though I’ve been here many times before.
China fashion- albeit a little more feminine than what most guys in America would wear, you can definitely see the Western influences
Starbucks in China! Still waaay to overpriced though- some things never change
Another thing I never really appreciated about China until I left was how clean the government keeps the city. Rarely can you find trash on the streets or on the subway. Even the number of homeless people you see is substantially lower than in Chicago or New York City. The safety is also impeccable- even on those very late nights we were exploring the city, none of us ever felt threatened or creeped out by others on the street or by the taxi drivers driving us home. Definitely not something you see in New Delhi- or even most other American cities.
Beijing subways- literally the cleanest, fastest, and most reliable form of public transportation I’ve ever taken
Even though I’m currently visiting a city that’s vastly different to anywhere I’ve ever been before, my experiences in Beijing for the last two months have prepared me well. It really does make me realize that wherever you are in the world, there will be some little thing that will remind you of home. Maybe we’re all not so different after all.