The Joys of Mid-Autumn Festival

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Bob

Experiencing the holidays is one of the best parts of cultural immersion. How a people group celebrates and remembers tells so much about their beliefs, history, and culture. The Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节,pinyin: zhōngqiū jié) is one such holiday that has been celebrated in China for well over a thousand years. The story of this holiday differs depending on which part of the country you are in, and who tells, it but it typically involves a warrior who shoots down nine of the ten suns in the sky, an elixir of immortality that his lover is eventually is coerced into drinking, she flies to the moon to stay near her lover, and once a year he sets out fruit and moon cakes (a very popular type of dense bread served in a large, round, disc-like shape).

Although the worship and sacrifices are rarely done, the aspect of thanksgiving for the “harvest,” unity, and family are still celebrated diligently. So, you could easily say, this is the Chinese “Thanksgiving” holiday, and it’s treated with almost as equal importance as “Thanksgiving” is treated in the US. I say “almost” due to so many students sticking around town instead of going home to be with family. Cooking takes place much of the day, and a large feast is eaten around 11:00 at night among the family.

Our partaking in such a festival is not quite as extreme as most citizens, but we did “celebrate” in some regards today with a group of Christian students. In the morning we went to the top of a local hill where we played games, sang, ate lots of fruit and moon cakes, worshiped, and even had a sermon given in Chinese on prayer. Despite my slight cold and Bethany getting a rather bad case of sunburn, the event was a very joyous occasion.

The greatest joy though came from building continued relationships with the students. Although most of these particular students are Christians, it is an honor for us to continue to support, encourage, and – hopefully – in some way strengthen them in their walk. After all, they’re going to be able to relate to other students much more effectively for Christ much better than we can.

Personally, I’ve grown attached to a young man in this group. Although his English is about as poor as my Chinese, as he’s not an English Major, we still seem to have made a kind of bond together. They say that body language is more than 80% of communication, and it’s situations and relationships like these that tell me just how true that really is. As the year goes on, I can find a way to continue to encourage him in his walk with Christ.

Bethany has kept herself quite busy as well with relationships and teaching. The Freshmen have finally started their classes just in time to be interrupted during their first week with the Mid-Autumn Festival. Her new Cultural Movie course has also started up, and will give her a chance to share many different aspect of Western Culture, and with it aspects of her Faith.

The Festival for us closes with our college’s Sports Festival on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Hopefully Bethany’s massive sunburn from today will settle down in time for her to play without any discomfort. Due to gifts from the School, teachers, and the group today, we now have tons of fruit and moon cakes to consume. I’m hoping to share this added joy with more students in the near future before they all go bad!

Here’s to the joy of friends, fun, food, and Christian family! May the thanksgiving and joy of Christ continue to shine through us!

Cultural Differences – Part 5 Formalities

Posted on September 2, 2013 by Bob

Over the years, Bethany and I have attended many dinner parties. Some have been casual with friends, and some have been formal. Yet none have been as formal and behaviorally complex as some of the dinners we’ve experienced in China. The thing we’ve come to realize is that a culture as rich and old as the Chinese culture is, the traditions associated with formalities have become quite elaborate, especially for someone growing up in Casual America. The formalities of the Chinese culture are often so elaborate and important that it can be nearly impossible for a Westerner to establish business here if they don’t understand the intricacies of it!

Appreciation

When someone with power does something for you – helps you work through the red tape of setting up your business, helps establish contacts for selling goods, performs a service for you, etc etc – it’s expected that you show appreciation for this action. However, a simple “Thank you.” or a card will simply not due here. At the very least, a gift is in order for the individual/organization. More common though, you’ll host a dinner for the individual, or a group of individuals.

Recently, a local business hired the local TV station to create a commercial for them. Through our Foreign Affairs Officer, I was asked to participate in the commercial – what a really neat experience! After the filming, a dinner took place by the company to thank the crew and station for the commercial that they were paid to do. The Vice President of the TV station attended this dinner! Man, was the dinner good, too – after all, you don’t want to insult your guests with a mediocre meal!

Dinners

All formal dinners occur at round tables, never rectangular. Most round tables can seat between 10 and 30 people. We’re talking BIG round tables! Do they take up more space, absolutely! But it’s not about efficiency, it’s about presentation. You present to your guests the best possible meal you can, and that starts with a big table everyone can be at.

Dinners in China start with the seating. The host will likely instruct you where to sit, with the most important person at the meal sitting in a position that directly faces the door, so as to see each guest that enters. The host will likely sit to the right of the Guest of Honor.

In the West, you often are served meals in an individual manner – food is served to you on a plate designated for you. This is not true in the Chinese culture. Food is served on plates and bowls that are placed in the center of the table. This table center piece spins like a “lazy Susan” kind of fashion, so as all food can be in arms reach of every guest. As the center slowly spins round, you have the chance to pick up the food you desire.

Toasts

One thing that I find very interesting is how big a deal alcohol and toasting are to the Chinese culture. I have experienced more toasts in one Chinese meal than I’ve experienced my entire life COMBINED in America. The more important the meal is, the more alcohol and the more toasting will take place. If it’s a smaller meal among friends or normal colleagues, there likely won’t be as much toasting or drinking. If it’s a business meal among partners, there will be a ton of drinking and toasting!

During the latter, everyone will at some point toast to the host. Many will also toast to the guest of honor if they feel they have some kind of connection with them. This is very important for a guest to show they are pleased and honored to be a guest. The host will often toast with the guest of honor many times during the meal as well. As a result, it is common to leave such an event highly intoxicated. This is actually preferred, as it shows the host you had a good time. So there will likely be one or two individuals at the meal who are designated drivers, and are socially permitted to toast with tea instead.

Networking

Unlike in the States where business cards are only worth the email address and phone number printed on them, business cards in China are prized possession. To receive someone’s business card means that you now networked with that individual. You are welcome to contact them for assistance, or to invite them to YOUR gathering. As a result, you take a business card with both hands as a way to show the host you value the importance of it. This can be a huge step for many people as networking is absolutely crucial to success in China.

This kind of networking is essential to form a strong business. If you want to expand your company to a new city, you’ll need to gain the approval of local authorities just to open shop there – likely through such dinners described above. If you don’t have their approval, they won’t even let you purchase the facilities, let alone open the doors! So, finding favor with important people already in that region is essential to creating success. Having a business associate that can help you through the bureaucratic red tape due to already having presence in the desired area can be a huge step in expanding and finding favor with the local officials.

You want to move up socially to a better job? You’ll need to network with – and gain favor with – people who have the power to help you get those jobs! These jobs don’t go to just anyone who meets the qualifications. This kind of networking often starts with family and classmates. Unlike in the States, your college classmates are people you typically stay in contact with the rest of your life. Families and classmates realize that they are essential to creating success. In this society you won’t be able to move up without relying on them, which is quite different from the West were you are almost completely responsible for your own success.

The reliance this requires often creates a very close-knit society. It also gives you incentive to continue to do well, as your success will likely make others around you look good or bad. If you continue to do well, then you can also continue to count on others who are doing well to give you a boost. Everyone helps everyone else.

Sure, it’s self-motivated helping. But don’t be too quick to place your cultural views upon this society. The culture in China is very different, but it’s not exclusive. It’s simply a way that they take care of family and friends. It very well might make it harder for non-connected people to rise up, but it’s certainly not impossible. There are people who rise up every day. Business people love to meet new individuals, especially those who are willing to work hard, because you never know where a new connection might take you! It’s a formality that encourages the sharing of success.

Closing Remarks

Some of these formalities may seem like “just showing off,” which very well might be true. It’s the West, however, that views “showing off” as a negative thing. Here, it is a sign of hospitality; a sign that I’m trying to give you and show you the best I have to offer. It’s certainly different, but not bad. The difference between “hospitality” and “arrogance” is often only in the cultural perception. In the States, we focus on making our guests “comfortable.” In China, they often focus on making their guests “important.” The differences aren’t wrong, just… different.

It’s through these differences that we begin to more fully understand how to relate to the various cultures. These experiences continue to separate the “good” and “bad” from the “different,” which is vital if we want to relate to those around us. We are constantly reminded throughout our time here that Christ’s love is not bound by cultural preferences, but only by our ability to show it. As we further understand the formalities of China, we create within ourselves new ways to serve and show Christ’s love to the people God has brought us to.

Cultural Differences – Part 4 Family

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Bob

An intricate of every society is the family, and China is no different. The family plays an important role in the life of every Chinese citizen. However, the way in which those roles are lived out can be quite different from that of the West. The Chinese recognize this, as well, and often have a difficult time understanding how these roles translate back and forth. As a result, they even have negative stereotypes about our family structure. Although our structures are a little different, it doesn’t change the fact that both societies have a strong love of family.

Background

There are few infrastructures that are more important to the Chinese than the family. This society has a long tradition dating back to Confucius. The well being and strength of the family shows the society how good and moral you were. It shows how good of a citizen you are. Fulfilling the roles in the family shows honor. As a result, it’s the centerpiece of the society itself!

Early Childhood

From a very early age, you are surrounded by many people in your life that take care of you. However, the mother and father are not always as involved in the child’s life as they are in the West. Sure, they are there and certainly take care of the child, but their main role in a Chinese family at this point is to work hard, makes lots of money, and save Save SAVE! As a result, the grandparents often take an important role in the raising and teaching of young children.

Often times, the father’s mother will move close, or move in, to show the wife how to raise the child and assist with most of the daily tasks. Since families often start much later here than in the West, the grandparents are typically retired when the baby comes along. The high involvement in raising the grandchild is typically seen as a great joy.

A side note here: Diapers don’t exist in China in pretty much any way, shape, or form. It is considered a great part of intimacy for a mother to KNOW when her child needs to potty at the earliest of age, and help them do so. Thus, nearly all young children’s clothing have split-bottoms in them for quick access. It’s common to walk down the sidewalk and see a child doing their duty right there on the side of the road, on the steps, or in the middle of the sidewalk itself, with the mother or grandmother holding them, or waiting patiently right next to them.

Childhood/School

Just as in the West, education is highly valued by all. As such, children are put into “kindergarten” (the equivalent of the US Preschool) as early as possible, assuming you have the money to do so. Many children will spend two to three years in these “kindergartens” learning the basics – including the basics of English – before starting Primary School. Just like in the US, these early childhood schools are private institutions and can cost quite a bit of money. Typically, the child will be here from about 7:30am until lunch break around 11:30pm, and then come back after lunch around 2pm until 5pm.

Primary school is quite similar to kindergarten in its structure, although many students are sent away to other cities for primary school. Big cities are often equated with bigger and better schools for children as those schools can pay for better teachers. Wealthy families will buy a second home in a big city, while other students will live with a relative in said big city to attend the better schools. That doesn’t mean that there are no good schools in small cities, but it does mean that the education system is EXTREMELY competitive.

Education treasured above almost all else in families, and they’ll do nearly ANYTHING to ensure their child gets the BEST education possible. It’s common for students to spend all day in their courses, and then have private tutoring sessions in the evening. Unlike in the States, private tutoring is not reserved for students who need to be “caught up,” but instead is a very pricey session to help your child get and stay ahead of everyone else. Much of the time out of the classroom – holidays included – are spent with private tutors. From a western perspective, Bethany and I often worry that the children aren’t given time to be children, but we try not to let our cultural bias color the situation.

Junior and Senior High school is very different than in the States, as it is at this age that the children will move into dorms on the school campus. It looks much the same way colleges are run, but with more students sleeping in larger rooms – usually 4-6 students in a room. For the most part, the students are on their own. It’s quite common to see children take the buses and taxis, shop, and eat out without any adults around.

Much of this is due to the fact that students from the countryside villages will also be coming into the nearest cities for this level of education, so they stretch the dorm settings to all students. Typically junior and senior high are seen as one combined level of schooling – “Middle School” – as it’s expected and desired that all students will go to college, even though many won’t.

Many students will still visit their families on the weekends, but for the most part, they are basically living on their own at this point. The family gives them money to live on, and the teachers and other staff keep an eye on them. Studies are still rigorous with some courses taking place as 6pm, 7pm, or even 8pm, although these late courses aren’t as common.

College

The life of a college student doesn’t seem to be too different from that of a Jr/Sr High school student. There is still a heavy reliance on parents for financial support, and lots of studying. Most students are even restricted from holding jobs while in College. Curfews are still in effect at this point as well.

It’s usually in College that students actually start dating. Before this point, it’s typically taboo, and even forbidden in some cases. In the past, most women are very careful about who they date, ensuring that the man comes from equal or higher socioeconomic background. This feeling is changing a little, but it’s still important.

Post-College

Up until now, the parents have been supporting the child financially through school, but it doesn’t stop there. Many parents have still been trying to save up money to help their child get a good job. Although it’s not really talked about much, it’s still pretty common to pay an employer to hire your child.

If your child is a son, then you’ll also want to help them buy a flat shortly after college. This is very important for them to find a wife. Women in China want a man that has a purchased home and will make lots of money, so this is vital if you want your son to find a wife in a country where single girls can be a little more scarce in some areas of the country than others.

Adulthood

Most people get married around the ages of 28 to 30, a bit later than most people in Kentucky. There typically isn’t anyone getting married after this point, as everyone wants to be married as quickly as possible by this point. Our friend recently summed it up pretty well for us: “If you reach 35 and can’t find the right person, then find the wrong person! Just get married!”

Married couples typically attempt to have their one child – or first child if they are in a minority group as minority groups are not as heavily subjected to the “One Child Policy” – pretty early on in their marriage, just like in any country. It’s been tradition for the husband’s mother to move in at this point and help out around the house, especially with raising the new child and teaching the young wife how to manage the house. However, this is changing in China as the younger generations are becoming more independent. Nowadays, the husband’s mother will get an apartment very close by the young married couple so as to be readily available when needed.

There are currently two differing views regarding the family in China. The first view says the parents need to work as much as humanly possible to make as much money as possible to provide for the family. The grandparent(s) will therefore take a large amount of the responsibility in raising the child.

The second view says that working hard is good, but you need to spend time with your child as well. Sometimes these two views can be found in conflict in the same home. I personally support the latter, but I also understand the reasoning for the former as it takes so much to raise a child in this country.

During the holidays, it is important that the couple visits the husband’s parents for several days. If the holiday is long enough, and/or the wife’s parents are close enough, then they will also visit the wife’s parents for a few days as well, but it’s typically not as common. The latter is relatively new to the society, and seen as a luxuary.

Stereotypes on Americans

As we have learned about the differences in families, we have also learned about various stereotypes that exist in China towards Americans. One of the big ones is that we don’t love our elderly due to the large number that are in nursing homes. You see, as grandparents get older in China, it’s often expected that their child will take care of them. Sometimes, this means moving in with the child and spouse. Sometimes this means hiring a nurse to stay with the grandparent in their home by day. The concept of the western nursing home is often viewed as cruel and neglectful by the Chinese.

Many also believe that Western grandparents don’t love their grandchildren because they won’t quit their jobs to take care of the grandchildren full-time. It’s interesting, and difficult to explain this cultural difference in a way they understand.

The Chinese also misunderstand the American teenage desire for independence as lack of care of our children. The fact that so many are on our own by the age of 18 is completely… “foreign” to them, as children here are relying on their parents through their 20s. The parents in China typically take great joy in caring for their children through these early years of adulthood to ensure a secure future. After all, your children are your retirement!

While the traditional view of family is still dominant in China, Western influence of independence has begun to have a great impact on the society here. I don’t see many of the family traditions fading away for several centuries, but the impact is still visible. We see much of the younger generations taking on more independent roles in their own small ways. It’ll be interesting to see how these changes begin to shape China’s future!

Cultural Differences – Part 2 Technology

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Bob

One of the measures of the status or “development” of a country is the state of their technology – what they have access to and how they use it. As a tech guy myself, this is something that really intrigued me about coming to China. What intrigues me isn’t necessarily what they don’t have, as much as it’s how they use what they do have. Sure, there are some technological limitations, but the reasons for these limitations and how they handle the limitations might surprise you.

Cell Phones

What some people don’t realize is that cell phones have become an integral part of living on this planet, no matter what country you live in. Even Haiti – the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere – has a high reliance on cell phones. I would argue that cell phone usage is more important in other countries than they are in the USA.

Cell phones in China is no different. No matter how rich or poor you are, everyone seems to have a cell phone. You want a smart phone? No problem! They have them here – Samsung Galaxy 3 and the iPhone 5 are easily obtained here… but expect to pay the same as you would in the States for them! With the income differences, that can be a huge chunk of change! Or you can choose one of the hundreds of knockoffs running the Android OS for about $160.

Cell phone usage, however, is a little different here. For example, in China it’s much cheaper to send a text than to call someone. Some people even have cell plans that have very little voice time at all. You text everyone. Once your monthly allotment of texts run out, you can still receive texts from others (you’re only changed to send texts), but you won’t be able to send texts until you head to the store and add more money to the account.

What amazed me most about cell phone usage was how they are used for nearly EVERYTHING in China. Sure, we use our smartphones for quite a bit in the States, but do you take customer orders with it while working at a restaurant? They do in China. What about communicating with your boss, fellow teachers, and students? In China, you don’t rely on email for these tasks, it’s cell phones. There is no piece of technology that’s more crucial to the Chinese than the cellphone.

Computers, Printers, and Prices

The computer is pretty important to life in the West. When it comes to business, it’s also important in China. But for personal use you won’t find one for every person in the house. You’ll probably see one that people will use to watch videos, but that’s about it. Sure people have email here, but I don’t find it being used that often outside of work.

It’s not that they don’t have computers here – many people have computers. Most of them are still running Windows XP on REALLY old hardware, but they have them. (You remember Windows XP – that operating system that released in 2001 that has so many security holes by modern standards, won’t run most modern programs, won’t support above 4 GB of RAM, can’t use Internet Explorer 9 or above, … yeah THAT one!) It’s just that computers are so expensive here! Although the incomes here are dramatically less than in the States, after the exchange rate the cost of a computer is nearly identical! So the percentage of income it would take to buy a computer here is SIGNIFICANTLY higher! However, as incomes rapidly change here, and currency exchange rates change over the long term, I see this situation changing as well.

As far as the students, there really aren’t any “computer labs” on campus for students to use. Many of them hit up the Internet Cafes or a few select teacher offices to use computers. Typing up papers? I doesn’t happen. All homework is hand-written and turned in as such. Teachers realize limited access students have to computers, and don’t even think twice about the hand-written assignments. I’ve never seen a college student here type up an assignment.

With that being said, Bethany, as a teacher, will still type and print assignments, study guides, and other things for her classes. When she goes to print it off at school or even at home, we realize the main cost in China isn’t the ink/toner like it is in the States – it’s the paper! The $3 ream of paper apparently costs much more than the ink that’s printed on it. “Sure you can use the printer. Just make sure you bring your own paper from your office.”

Electricity

In many ways the same “cost per income” analysis is true for electricity. Our school takes care of our utility needs, but the average Chinese resident deals with a significantly higher “cost per income” to pay their electric bill – and most people don’t use electric heating/cooling units!

This becomes a big deal when it comes to student dorms. Here, the University has keeps strict control on power usage. They have to keep their costs down, so they turn the lights on in the entire building at X time in the morning, and turn them off at Y time in the day. The same happen at night – they come on at X time, and they get shut off at Y time at night. This is true for the whole building. Wasting electricity is a big deal here.

Our Technology

Coming to China, one of my biggest fears was limited technological access. To be honest, there is still a lot of access to technology. What the area might lack in computers, they make up for in cell phone usage. We have Internet access, electricity, and cell phones. The school even supplied us with a computer for Bethany to use. Granted, it is an older computer by our standards, and we did bring our laptops to China with us, but it’s the gesture that counts. So many of those fears were unfounded.

Sure, in this small town, our electricity may go out once or twice a month, and our Internet access may be slower than those in the States, but we have it. That’s all we really care about. Things may be different, but they work.

For long-distance communication, we primarily use Skype and the Magic Jack we picked up in the States before we left, as well as a few other technologies. Those two specifically have been huge blessing for staying connected to our families and friends. We even use Skype to attend church with our community of Faith in Kentucky! Magic Jack is nice because it gives us a Kentucky telephone number that is local for our friends and family to call!

While there are some strong technological differences between our cultures, I’m impressed with the ways the supposed-limitations are handled here. It’s neat to me to see the new ways that common technology is used, and how the culture handles the associated costs of technology.

As China continues to improve it’s infrastructure, the technology will continue to change and grow as well. It may take some time, but they are improving here at a very rapid pace. It is that rapid pace that will propel China through those “development” ranks. Is it too fast? Are they moving too aggressively? Are the people even able to keep up with the changes? That depends on who you ask. Whatever the answer, it doesn’t change the truth of the situation: China is developing quickly!

Cultural Differences – Part 1 Food

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Bob

Whenever you move from one location to another, the first things you tend to notice are the similarities and differences between the two places. More common than not, it’s the differences that tend to stand out. It doesn’t matter if you go from the city to the country, from the South to the North, or half way around the planet – there are always differences to notice. And, boy do we notice them.

Culture differences can be a struggle sometimes, because they usually involve how we interact with other people. It involves behaviors and sayings. It involves our environment, and what we buy and how we live.

Now, “differences” doesn’t mean “good” or “bad,” it simply means “different.” Whether they are “good” or “bad” can be open to debate – and that’s not what this series is about. This is meant to be more of a factual, “Here is what we’ve experienced in our part of China,” declaration. And to start this first declaration will involve one of my favorite topics: Food!

Eating Habits

Every culture has different tastes and desires in food. The tastes of the citizens of China vary as greatly as the people groups. With 56 different officially recognized ethnic groups in China, there is no single set standard on what exactly is “Chinese” food. One of the joys this creates is that ordering the same dish in a different location can be a totally different experience! One experience that you should not expect, though, is for real Chinese food to taste like “American Chinese” food – these two are completely different, and have very little similarities (other than using rice and noodles).

Some areas of China rarely eat meat, such as in the south, whereas other areas of China tend to have meat quite often, such where we are in the North. Where meat is a staple for a most meals in American homes, meals here will always have rice, noodles, or a pancake – a kind of flaky flat bread made from flour, water, egg, and maybe a few other ingredients, but prepared very differently from a Western pancake – as a staple instead.

Another thing to understand is that the Chinese are a very health-conscious people. You could say they were “organic” long before it was cool in America. It’s not common to buy frozen or pre-made foods for meals, although the younger generations seem to be more open to the idea. To indicate that something might have been genetically or hormonally modified/altered/enhanced will completely turn them off to such a product.

Speaking of product turn offs, one of the biggest adjustments we’ve had to make in our eating habits here is ensuring that we don’t buy or order fish, unless we’re prepared to de-bone it ourselves. In China, the bones – and even the head! – are believed to be very nutritious, which may just be true, but it’s not something I’m willing to swallow (pun intended).

Restaurants

But, to be honest, ordering food at all can be difficult when you have trouble speaking the language, let alone reading it. Sure, we try to speak Mandarin Chinese, and we are getting better, but it’s certainly not a simple language – and it’s made more complex when the people group you live with speak a different dialect of Mandarin than you are learning. Yet, progress is still progress.

So, to remedy this language barrier problem, we tend to stick with restaurants that have picture menus. This creates an easy, point-and-order, kind of situation that makes everyone feel more comfortable. To be able to walk into a restaurant, see a dish with noodles, beef, potatoes, and vegetables, point at it, and know this is what I’m getting is a nice feeling. Playing “Menu Roulette” is something that doesn’t always end up very well. Ordering “cold lambs liver” may be a unique cultural dish, but it’s not a dish experience that Bethany would like to repeat.

Shopping

One thing to realize, though is that we don’t often eat at restaurants. Most of the time, we cook at home with food we buy from the market. Oh, how we love the market!

Where most vegetables come with a rather high price tag in the States, buying vegetables in China is extremely affordable! For less than $8 USD, we are able to pick up a weeks worth of vegetables for lunch and dinner, where the veges themselves make up about 50% of the meals! A $1.50 bell pepper in the States costs about $.50 USD here. A weeks worth of potatoes (being the staple ingredient about every 3rd meal) costs just over $2 USD. Eggs are about the same price – about $1.50 USD a dozen – but I’m confident that ours were gathered up probably that morning or the day before.

Most of the foods we buy are the same or similar to what you can buy in the States, but there are some differences. One such food that we buy is a Chinese cabbage called “bok choy” 白菜. Bethany really enjoys mixing this into our meals to give us some healthy green nutrition. Simply being able to afford to cook with such a large variety of vegetables is a great joy for us!

Western Food

One of the other big cultural differences with food comes in how the Chinese understand Western food. In our town, we have three Western restaurants to choose from: One is a nice, sit down restaurant, one is KFC, and the last is Dico’s (a Chinese version of KFC). So there’s “Fancy,” “Chicken,” or “chicken”.

Now, the KFC menu in China is NOT like the KFC menu in America. There main seller is not a big bucket of chicken. Instead, they primarily sell various chicken sandwiches. But they won’t be called “chicken sandwiches” here. I’m not sure why, but anything that is placed between two pieces of bread seems to earn the label “hamburger.” So, KFC sticks a piece of chicken between two pieces of bread, and that now is labeled a “hamburger.” Sure, you can still order that bucket of chicken if you want – it’s in a small square at the bottom right of the menu – but I have yet to see any Chinese order it.

One thing to be aware of is that drink sizes are quite different. Most places give you the choice of a small 12 ounce cup or a medium 16 ounce cup. You can’t find a 20 ounce cup here. This might be different in other larger cities – maybe at a McDonald’s for example – I don’t know. What I do know is that I haven’t seen it.

While there certainly a large amount of cultural differences between our countries, it has been a blast learning about them! Food is one of those things that not only divide people but also unite them. It’s through food and meals that many meaning conversations can happen. It’s through food and meals that personalities often come out the most. Jesus spent a lot of time speaking with and getting to know people through meals. As we continue to get to know more and more students and teachers here in China, there will likely be a lot of love shown over food.