What a cultural difference! This experiance has opened up a whole new world to me. While I have traveled a fair amount and consider myself fairly cultural there is nothing like truly being surronded by a different culture. Through this experiance you relize so much about yourself and learn to appreciate more what you have. We have talked to many young people who are only children, while at times I may hate my brother I couldn't imagin being an only child.
I have also been blessed to grow up never really wanting for much. Like many Amerians I never understood how high our standard of living truly is. When visiting the house of a local women in Bejing I asked if this was an average sized house. I was very surprised that in fact it was huge for a typical house. Even more surprising was that houses are rare in a large city in Bejing. The amount of people of the street don't come from much. However, they are extreamly happy.
This is a similarity I did not expect to find. Many Chinesse tend to not smile in photos. However, they are extreamly friendly. Like a typical Midwest girl I love nothing more than saying hello and waving at people. The Chinesse people are very friendly in responses. It just goes to show that no matter where you are in the world everybody understands a friendly smile and a kind wave.
I have also been blessed to grow up never really wanting for much. Like many Amerians I never understood how high our standard of living truly is. When visiting the house of a local women in Bejing I asked if this was an average sized house. I was very surprised that in fact it was huge for a typical house. Even more surprising was that houses are rare in a large city in Bejing. The amount of people of the street don't come from much. However, they are extreamly happy.
This is a similarity I did not expect to find. Many Chinesse tend to not smile in photos. However, they are extreamly friendly. Like a typical Midwest girl I love nothing more than saying hello and waving at people. The Chinesse people are very friendly in responses. It just goes to show that no matter where you are in the world everybody understands a friendly smile and a kind wave.
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1 comments:
Nice to see your reflections. You seem to be in that part of the trip where you really take a look at who you are and where you come from. I think it's the complete immersion in the culture that contributes to this. While in South Africa, I experienced some guilt for being so blessed while some of the people of South Africa had so little. Keep growing!
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