Culture, Culture, Different Cultures...

Because the topic of my blog is mainly about Chinese culture, I interviewed a Chinese professor who declined to be named. Due to the fact that usually the professor is extremely busy, there were just three questions to be asked. The professor was very nice and gave me satisfying answers.

Question 1--Do you and your family celebrate any Chinese festivals in America? 

Yes, we do celebrate major Chinese holidays such as 春节(the Spring Festival), 元宵节(Lantern Festival), 中秋节(the Mid-Autumn Day). We do this to keep our tradition and maintain our cultural identity.

Comments: The festivals mentioned above are three very important and traditional festivals in China. The Spring Festival is the biggest Chinese festival, another way of saying it is "the Chinese New Year", which is much more important than New year's Day—January 1 of each year. The Lantern Festival, is the fifteenth day after the Spring Festival, it is the sign that the Spring Festival of this year is over. The Mid-Autumn Day is important because family members must get together on that day.

Question 2--Did you feel any culture shock when you came to America for the first time? If so, would you please share your experiences with us?
 
Several weeks after arriving in the States, I went to a garage. An American worker greeted my by saying "Hello, my friend." I felt very surprised if not shocked because Chinese people never call a stranger "friend." 

Comments: The reason why I asked this question is because everyone who goes to another country for the first time must feel some culture shocks. The first day that I came to America was Sunday. I walked to Target in order to purchase something necessary. However, the store was closed. It never happens in China, because people have more spare time on holidays. Even though the business hours may be shorter than usual, all the public stores are open on holidays. 


Question 3--For those people who are born and raised in their motherland, do you think it is a little difficult for them to adapt themselves to a new national culture when they are twenties or older? 

Yes, it is hard, if not impossible, for an adult (like me) to adapt him to a new country. No matter how long I have lived in the States, I still behave in a Chinese way and cannot shake off the impact of Chinese culture on me. Yet, I become much more conscious of the positive and negative characteristics of Chinese culture and appreciate and adopt some values of American culture. So, I am no longer the man before coming to the Sates.

Comments: Why I ask the question is because I came to the States on my twenties, and I find that there is a little difficult to adapt myself to American culture. Since I had accepted Chinese education for more than twenty years, I have a different background from my American classmates'. We have different educational and cultural background, we watched different cartons when we were kids, we are interested in different TV programs now, we talk about and love different idols. All the things are due to the differences between Eastern cultures and Western cultures. We can learn and realize another kind of culture, however, it cannot replace our own culture.