I admit that I might have had it slightly easy when I first arrived to China. My mother is Chinese, so I was familiar with some of the Chinese customs that the rest of H-23 might not have been. However, that does not mean that I was immune to culture shock at all. In fact, even in my last week here in Hangzhou, I observe new cultural habits that still surprise me.

Something that has really surprised me about China is the importance of “face”. No, not just your physical face—the Chinese mind sees face as sort of how a person is represented to other people. It is how other people basically see you. This idea of “face” is very important in Chinese culture, and it really helps you understand some of the things you will see if you travel around to any city. For example, one of the big things we have noticed here is the obsession with brand name items. There is definitely a preference for brand name items, whether be Louis Vuitton bags or Apple phones. And here in Hangzhou, BMW cars litter the streets everywhere. In fact, there’s an infamous scene from a reality dating show here in China where one female contestant stated to an unemployed suitor that when it comes to money and happiness, she would prefer to cry in a BMW than laugh riding on a bicycle.

Can you imagine paying for all these people?
The concept of keeping “face” is also seen when going out to dinner with Chinese friends. In America, whenever I go to a restaurant with my friends, we usually each select our own meal and then pay for it individually. But here in China, that is almost unheard of. Chinese dinners consist of people selecting multiple dishes and doing what we call “family style”, in which everyone shares whatever dishes were ordered. And instead of splitting the bill equally, usually one person will pay the bill. While the cheap college student in me cringes at the thought of being the one person who pays the bill for multiple people, Chinese people see it as respectful towards the person who pays. So if you ever have the chance to dine with some Chinese friends, don’t be surprised if one person offers to pay the bill. Instead of offering to compensate for your portion of the bill, just thank them and next time make sure you are the one who treats!