Being born in China and spent most of my life in US, similar to many other Chinese-Americans, the two utterly different cultures are constantly mix-n-matching and taking turns to dictate my behaviors. Spending a year in Shanghai and getting exposed to the new age Shanghai-Chinese culture only made the matter worse. Upon moments like this, I often regret that I lack the know-how to put my feeling in words.

That’s why when I read other people’s writing that accurately and oh so elegantly describe what I have always wanted to express, my eyes moist and I quickly copy and paste their text to my blog. Eric is a Chinese-American friend of mine living in Shanghai, aside being a Shanghai party prince, hair saloon guru, he is also quite a writer. Check out more of his legendary depiction of the Shanghai party scenes at his site: www.SushiPanda.com

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I have been here for two and half years, and it felt like for the first time, I was listening in on how this other sub-segment of foreigners really felt. I
couldn't be a part of this discussion. I didn't feel like defending these heinous (italics indicating sarcasm) Chinese practices, but no way in hell was I going to join in on the fun either.

In many ways, I can appreciate the culture shock that these guys feel. Theresa lamented: "I don't want to be THAT American girl, you know. The one who comes in and complains and doesn't make an effort to reach out. I'm really trying."

I thought about what she was saying, and I'm sure she was. And my thoughts wandered to these other co-workers who had now been introduced to my circle of pals. My wonderful friends who don't think twice about taking off their shoes, who burp at will but still grimace when the taxi driver hawks a loogey, who freely dip their chopsticks into the bubbling hot-pot of goodness, who always want a clean table before we sit down. These things are second nature to me; some of them are embedded in me as a Chinese-American, and some things cannot be stripped away from me as an American-Chinese. And while I've poked fun and taken swipes at locals here in previous posts, the fact remains that I chose to came here on my own, and as such I vigilently maintain an open mind and hesitate to criticize, unless phlegm lands on my shoes. I'm proud of the people here. When folks like Theresa come to visit and are totally lost, there are always co-workers who sacrifice their weekends and evenings to take them to the same old Bund, the same old Jade Garden, the same old Xiangyang market, the same old DVD stops. And they do this without complaint. I have a feeling my fellow citizens back in the States would be hard pressed to do this if the situation were reversed.

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