FacebookTwitter
Hatrack River Forum   
my profile login | search | faq | forum home

  next oldest topic   next newest topic
» Hatrack River Forum » Active Forums » Books, Films, Food and Culture » So we're hosting an exchange student from China

   
Author Topic: So we're hosting an exchange student from China
C3PO the Dragon Slayer
Member
Member # 10416

 - posted      Profile for C3PO the Dragon Slayer           Edit/Delete Post 
The thread title says it all. We are going to host an exchange student for a school year. This is my first experience being part of a host family, though my parents have both had exchange students at their respective houses when they were young. We are very excited about having a new brother for about 10 months. The student is about a year younger than me and a year older than my younger brother, so there won't be much age disparity between siblings. We're eagerly awaiting his arrival, which is a mere three days away.

Besides sharing this exciting news with Hatrack, I'd like to ask if there's anyone who is familiar with Chinese culture and would offer some hints about anything we (Americans) would take for granted that is a completely foreign concept to Chinese students. We already went over the obvious ones; I'm wondering if there is anything about our cultural differences that isn't relatively common knowledge.

Posts: 1029 | Registered: Apr 2007  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Mucus
Member
Member # 9735

 - posted      Profile for Mucus           Edit/Delete Post 
What city(or province) are they from? Which ethnic group?
(And which state do you reside in?)

Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
BlackBlade
Member
Member # 8376

 - posted      Profile for BlackBlade   Email BlackBlade         Edit/Delete Post 
Province is important, and ethnic group is definitely something one should consider. I'd really need more information before I could give you any specific advice.

Don't be surprised if he tries to take his shoes off when he gets to your house.

Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Mucus
Member
Member # 9735

 - posted      Profile for Mucus           Edit/Delete Post 
Wait, what? *confused*
Why wouldn't one take off his shoes?

Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Carrie
Member
Member # 394

 - posted      Profile for Carrie   Email Carrie         Edit/Delete Post 
I rarely do. Then again, most houses I visit have pets, and I don't want to be walking around on cat litter in my socks or barefeet. My parents also never required taking off one's shoes. To me, it's weird to do so.
Posts: 3932 | Registered: Sep 1999  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
C3PO the Dragon Slayer
Member
Member # 10416

 - posted      Profile for C3PO the Dragon Slayer           Edit/Delete Post 
He's from Fuzhou. I'm not sure which ethnicity he is.

Taking off shoes isn't a problem; we all take our shoes off when we enter the house anyway. [Smile]

[ August 09, 2010, 09:05 PM: Message edited by: C3PO the Dragon Slayer ]

Posts: 1029 | Registered: Apr 2007  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
scholarette
Member
Member # 11540

 - posted      Profile for scholarette           Edit/Delete Post 
I take off my shoes. The majority of people who visit us take their shoes off too. Though this could be the stack of shoes by the door or the fact that we have lots of Asian artwork in our house and our daughter goes by her Chinese name even with Americans, so most people know my husband's mixed heritage. On the other hand, at my parent's house, no one takes their shoes off (even husband and I).
Posts: 2223 | Registered: Mar 2008  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Mucus
Member
Member # 9735

 - posted      Profile for Mucus           Edit/Delete Post 
Hmm, maybe the snow thing obscures it here.
C3PO: So what city/state is yours? (And what is his age? (I can't recall yours))

Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Mucus
Member
Member # 9735

 - posted      Profile for Mucus           Edit/Delete Post 
Ok, well, thats one thing I learned today
quote:
Canadians take their shoes off when entering a home. There isn't any questioning it. As soon as you enter the front door you're taking off your shoes. That's just the way it is. As a Canadian myself, I find this practice completely normal. For most of my life I assumed that everyone did this.

Apparently that's not true. From what I've heard, Americans generally leave their shoes on at home. I would see this practice on American television programs and think they're leaving their shoes on because it's TV. That's not true. Most Americans leave their shoes on indoors.

http://www.howtospotacanadian.ca/2009/01/they-take-their-shoes-off-indoors.html
Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
BlackBlade
Member
Member # 8376

 - posted      Profile for BlackBlade   Email BlackBlade         Edit/Delete Post 
C3PO the Dragon Slayer: If he is from Fu Zhou he sounds like a city boy, and probably has a Fujian accent. I like him already. When you meet him you might want to start things off with a "Li Hou!" instead of "Ni Hao."

The best thing you can do is to sit him down serve him some tea (or his preferred beverage, make sure he understands you won't take no for an answer) and just find out his basic life story, why he wants to study in the US, and what his goal in life is. That will tell you a lot more about what you should do then just analyzing his cultural background, which when it comes to the Chinese can be very diverse.

----

Mucus: I have to routinely remind guests to take their shoes off when they visit me. Barbarians.

This isn't to say there aren't Americans who don't have the same habit, and in fact in China I often start taking my shoes off and hosts make a big show of protesting because they assume I as an American don't take my shoes off.

I'm busting that idea open one house visit at a time. [Smile]

Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Samprimary
Member
Member # 8561

 - posted      Profile for Samprimary   Email Samprimary         Edit/Delete Post 
We don't take our shoes off. There's rarely any point to it unless you have light carpeting or certain household elements that would wear easily to shoe-bound feet (certain modern types of flooring, wooden staircases, etc).

Shoes really don't track in a lot of detritus.

Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
adenam
Member
Member # 11902

 - posted      Profile for adenam           Edit/Delete Post 
I take my shoes off, but that's just because I like to be able to wiggle my toes.
Posts: 399 | Registered: Dec 2008  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Amberkitty
Member
Member # 12365

 - posted      Profile for Amberkitty           Edit/Delete Post 
I grew up in New England where there are heavy snows. Imagine my surprise when I learned that there are people who don't take off their shoes when they enter a house. I'm generally okay with it, though it sometimes takes me a moment to wipe that puzzled look off my face. (And just by habit, I tend to kick off shoes at the door, no matter where I am.)

quote:
Originally posted by BlackBlade:
The best thing you can do is to sit him down serve him some tea (or his preferred beverage, make sure he understands you won't take no for an answer) and just find out his basic life story, why he wants to study in the US, and what his goal in life is. That will tell you a lot more about what you should do then just analyzing his cultural background, which when it comes to the Chinese can be very diverse.

This is the best advice anyone could give, for any visitor! But yes, Chinese backgrounds and customs are very diverse. There is no iconic Chinese person, just as there isn't such for Americans.
Posts: 23 | Registered: Aug 2010  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Lyrhawn
Member
Member # 7039

 - posted      Profile for Lyrhawn   Email Lyrhawn         Edit/Delete Post 
We always take our shoes off upon entering the house, and expect our guests to as well. It's the same story at my parents house. I suspect that the snow has something to do with it. When you get used to taking off your shoes because of the snow six months out of the year, the other six tend to follow the same rule.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
BlackBlade
Member
Member # 8376

 - posted      Profile for BlackBlade   Email BlackBlade         Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
Originally posted by Samprimary:
We don't take our shoes off. There's rarely any point to it unless you have light carpeting or certain household elements that would wear easily to shoe-bound feet (certain modern types of flooring, wooden staircases, etc).

Shoes really don't track in a lot of detritus.

The mere fact you cannot account for everything you've stepped on on any given day is reason enough to leave shoes at the door.

Further, it's nice to get your feet out of shoes, it gives bacteria less time to make your feet smelly.

Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Tstorm
Member
Member # 1871

 - posted      Profile for Tstorm   Email Tstorm         Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
Shoes really don't track in a lot of detritus.
My vacuum cleaner disagrees with you. It works the hardest in the area by my door, where I remove my shoes. [Smile]
Posts: 1813 | Registered: Apr 2001  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Mucus
Member
Member # 9735

 - posted      Profile for Mucus           Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
Originally posted by C3PO the Dragon Slayer:
He's from Fuzhou. I'm not sure which ethnicity he is.

Well, Fuzhou is a lot smaller than you might expect, so take that relative to your city/state.

Fuzhou doesn't have much of a reputation aside from being a big source of immigrants, illegal or otherwise. They moved into Toronto's downtown Chinatown while the Cantonese moved out to the suburbs. But yeah, BlackBlade's advice is best. Just ask *shrug*

Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
rivka
Member
Member # 4859

 - posted      Profile for rivka   Email rivka         Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
Originally posted by BlackBlade:
I have to routinely remind guests to take their shoes off when they visit me. Barbarians.

I make my kids wear slippers (or shoes) at home. NOT wearing shoes is the barbaric thing. [Razz]

Conan -- no shoes at home.

Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Orincoro
Member
Member # 8854

 - posted      Profile for Orincoro   Email Orincoro         Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
Originally posted by Mucus:
Hmm, maybe the snow thing obscures it here.
C3PO: So what city/state is yours? (And what is his age? (I can't recall yours))

I would say snow is an important factor as well as culture. Czechs usually take off their shoes and are offered guest slippers, for instance, because carpets are not common. In California many of my friends houses as well as my parents house are shoes-on zones, except the bedrooms. Most Czechs I know find the idea disgusting, but my parents blink in surprise at the idea that it's dirty to wear your shoes around the house. Asian friends and housemates I had in college pretty much all took off their shoes. I sometimes had to be reminded, and sometimes still have to be reminded in Czech, although I've mostly got the habit now, and my parents find it weird that I insist on having my house slippers by the door.

Interestingly, Czechs take it a step further and also keep their own slippers at school. It does keep the hallways clean in the winter. In California we didn't change our shoes at school even in winter, so the hallways and classrooms would just be a mess when it rained.

Posts: 9912 | Registered: Nov 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
BlackBlade
Member
Member # 8376

 - posted      Profile for BlackBlade   Email BlackBlade         Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
Originally posted by rivka:
quote:
Originally posted by BlackBlade:
I have to routinely remind guests to take their shoes off when they visit me. Barbarians.

I make my kids wear slippers (or shoes) at home. NOT wearing shoes is the barbaric thing. [Razz]

Conan -- no shoes at home.

I'm completely amenable to the indoor slippers concept. I personally do not have room for a shoe/slipper rack, so I just have people take shoes off and line them up by the door.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
stacey
Member
Member # 3661

 - posted      Profile for stacey           Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
Originally posted by rivka:
quote:
Originally posted by BlackBlade:
I have to routinely remind guests to take their shoes off when they visit me. Barbarians.

I make my kids wear slippers (or shoes) at home. NOT wearing shoes is the barbaric thing. [Razz]

Conan -- no shoes at home.

This is funny - I was just having a conversation with another person from England who also thinks that not wearing shoes is the most disgusting thing ever. In New Zealand it is very very common for children and quite a lot of adults to walk around with no shoes on outside and considered good manners to take off your shoes at the door when you enter someone else's house (or in Maori custom, considered more than just good manners - it is sacred). I wondered whether it was because we live somewhere with hardly any poisonous insects, spiders and no snakes. Although the lady I was talking to mentioned broken glass and dog excrement as reasons for it being disgusting. I don't really find I have to watch out too much for those though! Must be a barbarian [Razz]

/end threadjack

P.S. Hi again everyone, haven't posted in a couple of years but then I never posted a huge amount anyway [Razz]

Posts: 315 | Registered: Jun 2002  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
rivka
Member
Member # 4859

 - posted      Profile for rivka   Email rivka         Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
Originally posted by BlackBlade:
I'm completely amenable to the indoor slippers concept. I personally do not have room for a shoe/slipper rack, so I just have people take shoes off and line them up by the door.

I also happen to think leaving one's smelly shoes sitting in public areas is both disgusting and rude. We de-shoe and slipper-up in the privacy of our bedrooms, thankyewverymuch.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Jhai
Member
Member # 5633

 - posted      Profile for Jhai   Email Jhai         Edit/Delete Post 
I wasn't an exchange student, but I did work as an aupair in Germany when I was 17, which can be quite similar.

I don't know if you've had a chance to speak or write to your exchange student yet, but remember that he's almost certainly not as good at speaking and listening to English as he is at understanding written English. Consider writing up a "guidelines to the household" booklet for him - things like when meals are, what chores he'll be responsible for (even if it's just keeping him room tidy), details about pet care, if you have any, what everyone's schedules and contact information is, how to get around town and where the major sites are, etc.

Remember that he's arriving from a pretty long trip - perhaps his first international journey - and he'll probably arrive tired and a bit shell-shocked from the grand adventure of it all. So don't plan anything crazy for the first couple of days - give him time to get his bearings, buy any personal items he needs, see what the local grocery stores are like, etc. If you have any Asian markets nearby, it'd probably be a good idea to take him there so he can pick up his favorite hot sauce or favorite snacks or whatever. When you're in a strange country where all of the brands and foods and clothing are just a bit off, it can be nice to have a familiar whatever - even if you didn't even eat it much back home!

PS it's really great that your family is doing this! I know host families are needed more than ever due to the recession. Abhi and I were thinking about hosting a kid this year, but we won't be able to until next year, probably, since we're moving out to California & he's going to be starting a new job at a start-up.

Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Scott R
Member
Member # 567

 - posted      Profile for Scott R   Email Scott R         Edit/Delete Post 
YAWP!
Posts: 14554 | Registered: Dec 1999  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
C3PO the Dragon Slayer
Member
Member # 10416

 - posted      Profile for C3PO the Dragon Slayer           Edit/Delete Post 
Thanks, Jhai! We have exchanged many emails, so I know roughly where his understanding of written English is at. The "guidelines" book is a good idea; I'll get my brother to prepare one with me.

quote:
Originally posted by Mucus:
Hmm, maybe the snow thing obscures it here.
C3PO: So what city/state is yours? (And what is his age? (I can't recall yours))

You don't recall my age because I never actually revealed it. He will be a junior in high school; you can do the math from there.

We live in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, where it is green for most of the winter, but certainly no stranger to snow. We have already exchanged information regarding the climate.

Posts: 1029 | Registered: Apr 2007  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Samprimary
Member
Member # 8561

 - posted      Profile for Samprimary   Email Samprimary         Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
Originally posted by rivka:
quote:
Originally posted by BlackBlade:
I'm completely amenable to the indoor slippers concept. I personally do not have room for a shoe/slipper rack, so I just have people take shoes off and line them up by the door.

I also happen to think leaving one's smelly shoes sitting in public areas is both disgusting and rude. We de-shoe and slipper-up in the privacy of our bedrooms, thankyewverymuch.
I'm generally okay with letting people take their shoes off in our house if they've been programmed to do so, but I've had to tell a couple of people, specifically, to stop.

Carpets start to reek when everyone pops off their shoes right as they walk in, and having a giant mass of shoes at the door doesn't help. mmm, foot oil.

Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
BlackBlade
Member
Member # 8376

 - posted      Profile for BlackBlade   Email BlackBlade         Edit/Delete Post 
C3PO: If you feel like you need any help translating your guidelines into Chinese I'd be happy to help.

I'll even condescend to type it all in simplified characters.

Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Mucus
Member
Member # 9735

 - posted      Profile for Mucus           Edit/Delete Post 
Hmmm, what would jump out about Washington DC to a Chinese person. Some total guesses follow. Well, the National Mall/Smithsonian is a must-do. Maybe some African American history/culture, thats a much larger demographic than might have been expected.

Mmmm, many Chinese cities are pretty safe at night with people going out for night markets, recreational dancing, and the like. You might need to assess the safety of your area and explain that especially if its near the 29.1 areas. Oh, gun culture might need some explaining.

Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
ambyr
Member
Member # 7616

 - posted      Profile for ambyr           Edit/Delete Post 
Incidentally, if anyone else in the DC area wants to host an exchange student for some reason, my local sci-fi club was just forwarded an e-mail from "AFS Intercultural programs" requesting volunteers to host a Turkish student "who is extremely interested in science fiction books and movies." (Their program seems to start in August, so I'm guessing this may be a last-minute request for someone whose original placement fell through?) I'd be happy to forward the e-mail to anyone interested.
Posts: 650 | Registered: Mar 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
katharina
Member
Member # 827

 - posted      Profile for katharina   Email katharina         Edit/Delete Post 
I take my shoes off, because 1)someone lives below me, and I have hardwood floors; and 2) I hate cleaning, and taking off the shoes eliminates a LOT of sweeping.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Jhai
Member
Member # 5633

 - posted      Profile for Jhai   Email Jhai         Edit/Delete Post 
Oh, DC! I'm in DC (but only for the next two months, or I'd consider that Turkish student, ambyr). DC is a great place for an exchange student to visit - so many things you can do, and most of them are free.

Well, one good DC resource for a non-American person is Tyler Cowen's Ethnic Dining Guide. While I can't vouch for the Chinese food he likes as being considered authentic by a Chinese native (I don't have any Chinese friends in the area), I can vouch that he's right on the money for Vietnamese, Korean, Indian, German, and Nepalese food - and the Chinese places I've gone to that he's recommended have always had the same atmosphere and food quality that I've seen in SF's Chinatown.

If you're out in NoVa, I recommend bringing the exchange student to the Lotte super! supermarket in Chantilly - again, I don't have any Chinese friends who have been able too judge its quality & breadth of Chinese products, but it's the number one place for my Vietnamese & Korean friends, and my (Indian) husband has found several fruits, veggies, and other products there that he hasn't been able to find in the US outside of Silicon Valley.

Don't bring the kid to DC's Chinatown. Just, please, don't. It's sorta embarrassing. [Smile] (At the very least, don't build it up as someplace very Chinese.)

Mucus, DC is actually very safe in pretty much any neighborhood you'd want to visit. The crime is very localized to certain segments of the city, which I doubt C3PO the Dragon Slayer's family lives in. And the burbs around DC are crazy safe.

By the way, the a good example of a "guidebook for exchange students" can be found at this blog, although, personally, I'd suggest also having more of a bullet-point type list, since that makes it clearer what the important points. The blog also has other good advice about hosting exchange students, although it's written from the host parents' point of view.

Remember that your student will get homesick at some point or another. Culture shock tends to go in waves, as does homesickness - sometimes you're really excited about being in the new place, learning about a new culture, sometimes you really want to go back home where things are normal. As a host sibling, you should try to keep him engaged with the outside American world (instead of inside, reading Chinese books/messaging with Chinese friends/emailing family, etc), but understand that he might have times when he needs to focus on his connections with home because he misses it a lot right then.

Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Mucus
Member
Member # 9735

 - posted      Profile for Mucus           Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
Originally posted by Jhai:
... Mucus, DC is actually very safe in pretty much any neighborhood you'd want to visit. The crime is very localized to certain segments of the city, which I doubt C3PO the Dragon Slayer's family lives in. And the burbs around DC are crazy safe.

Well, its all relative. But anyways, to be productive, it might be worth pointing out which neighbourhoods or subway/transit stops are unsafe just in case someone gets separated or some such.
Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Blayne Bradley
unregistered


 - posted            Edit/Delete Post 
He might be Hoklo, though there's many Min Nan Han people's.
IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Jake
Member
Member # 206

 - posted      Profile for Jake           Edit/Delete Post 
Keep in mind that culture shock is a very real thing, and that it generally proceeds in a fairly predictable way. It will help to be aware of the phases and have a plan in mind to help your exchange student cope with the second one, which is often pretty rough. It can involve extreme home sickness, paranoia, and disgust with the host culture.
Posts: 1087 | Registered: Jul 1999  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Annie
Member
Member # 295

 - posted      Profile for Annie   Email Annie         Edit/Delete Post 
My Taiwanese host family spent a month in the US this summer and when they came back their biggest thing was:

hot food.

Chinese people are NOT big fans of eating cold food. They'll eat sandwiches and salads as convenience items or quick breakfasts, but they really like having hot food everyday, including hot tea and hot soup. Even (especially?) in summer.

The most uncomfortable part about staying with an American family for them was the fact that all of the food they were served was cold (cereal every day for breakfast, sandwiches every day for lunch) and the first thing they did when they got back was take me out for hot soup. (Ironically enough, my American friend and I had been spending the past few weeks in Taiwan looking for a place to eat on our lunch breaks that didn't serve hot soup. It's 90 degrees! The last thing we want is hot soup!)

The other thing they don't like is American sweets - American cake, candy and soda are all too sweet for them. Since he's young, he might not mind it, but if you serve dessert try to make it yourself but add half the sugar or, even better, serve fruit for dessert.

Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Mucus
Member
Member # 9735

 - posted      Profile for Mucus           Edit/Delete Post 
I can verify both, at least for Hong Kong and Manchuria, we definitely prefer foods that are less sweet (and that are hot). In fact, my parents immigrated in the 60s and still can't have North American desserts, preferring to make their own equivalents with less sugar or buying from Chinese-Canadian bakeries.

(Ironically, Cantonese cuisine is generally considered sweet by Chinese standards)

Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Annie
Member
Member # 295

 - posted      Profile for Annie   Email Annie         Edit/Delete Post 
Wow - Hong Kong and Manchuria are rather disparate places. You're a true Chinese mutt! [Smile]
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Mucus
Member
Member # 9735

 - posted      Profile for Mucus           Edit/Delete Post 
Well, technically my girlfriend and her grandparents are from Manchuria, my grandparents were Cantonese on both sides.
Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Annie
Member
Member # 295

 - posted      Profile for Annie   Email Annie         Edit/Delete Post 
Ah. Well, here's to future Chinese mutt babies! [Wink]
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
BlackBlade
Member
Member # 8376

 - posted      Profile for BlackBlade   Email BlackBlade         Edit/Delete Post 
Too bad you and her weren't born two hundred years ago, then she'd be running China and you could be living high and large. [Wink]
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Mucus
Member
Member # 9735

 - posted      Profile for Mucus           Edit/Delete Post 
Eh, I bug her with 反清复明 when she tells me what to do.
Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Orincoro
Member
Member # 8854

 - posted      Profile for Orincoro   Email Orincoro         Edit/Delete Post 
Oh yeah, I haven't 吃水果的祖先 since, ohh, 1987.
Posts: 9912 | Registered: Nov 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
BlackBlade
Member
Member # 8376

 - posted      Profile for BlackBlade   Email BlackBlade         Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
Originally posted by Mucus:
Eh, I bug her with 反清复明 when she tells me what to do.

Ha!
----

Orincoro: I haven't heard it said like that. To my mind it sounds like you are saying, "I haven't eaten fruity ancestors since..."

[ August 14, 2010, 10:35 AM: Message edited by: BlackBlade ]

Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Mucus
Member
Member # 9735

 - posted      Profile for Mucus           Edit/Delete Post 
Fruity ancestors?
Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Jhai
Member
Member # 5633

 - posted      Profile for Jhai   Email Jhai         Edit/Delete Post 
Any update, C3PO the Dragon Slayer?
Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
JanitorBlade
Administrator
Member # 12343

 - posted      Profile for JanitorBlade   Email JanitorBlade         Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
Originally posted by Mucus:
Fruity ancestors?

Didn't see this. Yes "fruity ancestors."

I haven't 吃 (eat/eaten) 水果 (fruit) 的 (possessive indicator) 祖先 (ancestors).

If he'd written 祖先的水果 then it would have read "ancestral fruit" which would have made sense to me.

Posts: 1194 | Registered: Jun 2010  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Mucus
Member
Member # 9735

 - posted      Profile for Mucus           Edit/Delete Post 
*L* I wasn't really asking about the translation.
I was wondering why one would one would want to eat fruity ancestors.

Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
C3PO the Dragon Slayer
Member
Member # 10416

 - posted      Profile for C3PO the Dragon Slayer           Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
Originally posted by Jhai:
Any update, C3PO the Dragon Slayer?

Yes, he's arrived and he's adjusting very well! I would have gone more in depth and sooner but we have been sort of busy, so I haven't had enough time to write down my thoughts.

It is definitely a learning experience, and I don't mean that euphemistically. I have known many Chinese-Americans, some of which are first-generation immigrants, but that by no means prepared me for some of the unexpected details. A few things I learned about the differences between Chinese and American culture:

1. He has never consumed plain cold water. He says they always boil their water and drink it hot, like tea without the tea. He has since learned to accept cold water as an acceptable thirst-quencher.
2. Recreation is a guilty pleasure for Chinese students. On the second day he was here, my brother and I were invited to the park to play soccer with some friends, and we brought him along. Seeing people so shamelessly having fun without a care in the world was new to him: he said that in China, summer is for taking extra classes, and when Chinese students get together to do something fun, they always regret it later.
3. School lasts all day in China. I always knew that the Chinese education system is very... rigorous, but our new brother is so used to having so much work to do that he was stunned at our casual summer.
4. He has never heard of Star Wars. [Eek!] We have a lot of work to do...
5. Eggs cooked by a certain Chinese recipe are delicious. (I am not sure what they're called, but he demonstrated how to make them and it was one of the more satisfying breakfasts I have had.)
6. He is surprised by all the ways Americans find to waste money on fun. Board games? Why not just play one of the myriad games you could play with a standard deck of cards? We reconciled this when I pointed out that he used to collect Pokemon cards, so we're not so different after all. We had a good time playing a word game called Apples to Apples, which is fun, not competitive, and good for his vocabulary. He also seems to enjoy Wii Sports.
7. Books are cheap in China. A very small part of it, I'm speculating, is production cost: with Chinese characters, you can fit more words on a page and use less paper. But most of it is probably supply and demand.

So far we have attended two church services, one small group (with a member who speaks fluent Chinese), visited the Air and Space museum and briefly indicated a few other museums and monuments in D.C., took two round trips on the Metro, visited the zoo, played several games of ping-pong, and watched an entire season of M*A*S*H. We also watched the Pink Panther remake, where the plot twist is that Clouseau could actually understand the Chinese woman, and he told us that she was actually speaking a regional dialect that he could recognize, but not understand fluently. When he requested some "short novels" to read so he could improve his understanding of written English incrementally, I gave him some upper-elementary fictionalized books about the childhoods of famous Americans, starting with Benjamin Franklin. This has since been put on hold because he was just put into an English class yesterday, and he was informed by his offensively by-the-book counselor that he had to finish his summer reading on time like everyone else. This gives him three days to plow through Of Mice and Men, a short, but way-too-nuanced-for-him book. It's a good thing he's used to having a lot of schoolwork, because he's in for a busy weekend.

It hasn't taken him long to figure things out. Though he demonstrates an ability in rote memorization with his school transcript (let's face it; for all the work Chinese students do, much of it amounts to memorization. I know this from him), he also shows genuine intelligence and an open mind. I think he will fit in with us. [Smile]

Posts: 1029 | Registered: Apr 2007  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
BlackBlade
Member
Member # 8376

 - posted      Profile for BlackBlade   Email BlackBlade         Edit/Delete Post 
I'm glad both of you seem to be having such a good time. It didn't occur to me to bring up the hot water thing for that reason, it's still a widespread idea in China, but there isn't exactly universal adherence to it. I'm glad your fixing him. [Wink] Having said that, I find it hard to believe he's never once been outside and purchased cold bottled water or iced tea from a 7-11.

I had a friend mention to me in the US that when she moved here she had a really strong initial response to the American lifestyle. She came from a background similar to your student, tons of school work, very little free time, and yet she didn't feel smarter than the people here. It really discouraged her to put at least twice as much effort into her studies only to find that there were Americans who knew the things she knew. She learned to hold two pens in one hand for character writing assignments, and there literally were not enough hours in the day to finish her homework. She has since gotten over it, since she ended up marrying an American and changing her citizenship. But it's hard to predict how a Chinese person from that background will react to the often much more laid back attitude here in the US.

What was different about the eggs he fixed for you?

Books are pretty cheap in China, but that is because they have a flourishing underground industry. There are book vendors on the side of the road at most Chinese market places, and many of the books they are selling have not been printed and a licensed printer. But there is a voracious desire in China for the ideas found in books, both Western and Chinese.

Government school has hours very similar to hours. But many Chinese people go to what is called, "Cram School" after normal school, where they essentially continue to do what they did in school. Since everybody does it, everybody does it, (I know that sentence sounds retarded but it's true.) As indicated earlier, it's believed that all things being equal if one student goes to cram school and one student does not, the one in cram school is spending more time studying and therefore will get better grades, a better job, and will be better able to support the family.

Of Mice and Men doesn't seem like a great book for learning English.

Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
   

   Close Topic   Feature Topic   Move Topic   Delete Topic next oldest topic   next newest topic
 - Printer-friendly view of this topic
Hop To:


Contact Us | Hatrack River Home Page

Copyright © 2008 Hatrack River Enterprises Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.


Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classic™ 6.7.2