I awoke to the blaring noise of my alarm clock and groggily rolled over to see the ominous red numbers flashing seven ‘o’clock am. Haphazardly, I stretched out my arm in search of the elusive snooze button and upon finding it, firmly pressed down and closed my eyes again to think. It was hard to believe that in a mere few hours I would be boarding a plane with group of people who I barely knew to venture off to a land I had only envisioned through the pages of books and television documentaries. My nerves were on fire with excitement and anxiety. I had never traveled outside the country before without my family, and of the limited number of places I had visited, almost all spoke English and held some thread of familiar social fabric. Traveling to China for a month of study and sightseeing was surely going to be an adventure, full of unexpected surprises and wonders.
The motives I established for traveling to China stretched beyond attaining units towards graduation, or checking off a dream destination from my lengthy bucket-list. China to me was going to be a journey of self-discovery and cultural enlightenment. Growing up in Orange County, I had lived a sheltered and comfortable life with my family. The exploration that I had done had been very much appreciated and exciting but at the same time limited. This trip would be a chance to stretch my wings and explore the world on my own, and ultimately form more independent thoughts concerning my own cultural values and those of people on the other side of the globe.
Traveling to China also presented an opportunity for personal growth and a chance to face fears that had held me back from my dreams. For years I had dealt with shyness, anxiety and a significant lack of confidence. For much of my life my fears had held me back from living my life to the fullest. So, when I opened the email invitation to the program I was more than a little hesitant to take up the offer. However despite my initial wavering I surprised myself and jumped on the opportunity. I had always held a deep love of Asia ever since reading the pages of my jr. high school history book, and I wasn’t about to let this opportunity pass me by.
For years I had immersed myself in book after book of Chinese history, tried my hand at a few Mandarin lessons off of the ever helpful YouTube and watched a few kung-fu movies to boot. The more I read, the more curious I became about the people and places and traditions that comprised these cultures that had survived for thousands of years. The thought that I would have the opportunity to walk through the courtyards of the Forbidden City and ascend the heavenly stairway of Tai Shan was thrilling. However despite my enthusiastic self imposed studies, no book or documentary could fully prepare myself or capture the rich and complex tapestry of Chinese culture.
It didn’t take long after arrival at Beijing International Airport to discover several of the differences that set China apart from the familiarities of home. After packing our belongings into the bus we departed for the university. Just outside the window awaited an unfamiliar world of towering, monolithic apartment complexes, glitzy office building and winding streets filled to the brim with perpetual motor and pedestrian traffic. I had traveled to major metropolitan areas before, but nothing seemed to compare to the size and scale of Beijing.
It was easy to tell from the endless lines of traffic stretching for miles in a perpetual gridlock and the towering skyscraper like apartment buildings that Beijing was a city on the brim of overflowing. Its original ancient design layout was not flexible enough to accommodate this busy modern city. In the past few years Beijing has experienced a shift towards a culture that preferred automobile transportation and seen one of the fastest growth rates of cars in the world. This rapid introduction of motorized vehicles also accompanied a trend in rapid urbanization. As overpasses were layered one atop another the skyline began to fill with towering monolithic apartment complexes. It is clear that Beijing in its current state has reached its limit. Neglect towards thoughtful and flexible planning had ultimatum run Beijing into a perpetual gridlock.
The busy urban pulse of Beijing and Shanghai weren’t he only unfamiliar experiences to my deeply ingrained suburban mentality; the people that composed the cities were just as fascinating. It was hard to imagine a land with so many dialects, traditions, foods and religions could make up one unified country. From comparing the tradition focused and proud capital of Beijing, to the glamorous shops and hi-tech skylines of Shanghai, it was easy to see that my preconceived notions of Chinese culture were naively conceived.
One of the most significant cultural differences that I came across throughout my travels was the unique and sometimes bizarre food selections. Growing up with a Midwestern food pallet, my taste-buds were not so adapted to spicy foods or any meat outside of the standard chicken, beef or pork. The Idea of eating animals some people considered as pets seemed mildly grotesque at first. Traveling to china presented a chance to expand my culinary horizons. I quickly learned that Panda Express and other Chinese food I had enjoyed at home lack much of the quality and authenticity of a freshly made bowl of noodles from the on campus restaurant or a basket of piping hot dumplings in Shanghai. I also took the opportunity to eat foods I would have never considered a menu item, such as donkey meat sandwiches, jokingly referred to as burritos and snake, both of which turned out to be very tasty indeed.
After living abroad for a few weeks I also noticed another cultural aspect that was significantly different from home. Despite China’s immense size and large numbers of Asian ethnic groups much of the country was very homogenous. Traveling within the larger cities made me feel like I stood out a little too much. I quickly realized how accustomed I was to living around people of various ethnic backgrounds, that I could easily distinguish. I also learned what it was like to be on the minority end of the scale. Despite standing out, many of the Chinese were very welcoming, friendly and curious. On several occasions I felt like a movie star having my photo taken with exuberant Chinese families. Having limited communication was also a challenge that I accepted as part of being a foreigner, however many of the people were helpful and our Chinese partners were much appreciated translators and friends.
Learning to adapt to a different lifestyle was also a rewarding experience gained from my travels. Living with a roommate was a whole new experience I had never had before, and ultimately attributed to making myself more independent. I also learned about the lifestyles of our Chinese partner friends. Lu, one of the Chinese students who helped with our team told me about growing up in Beijing and studying hard to get into college. She also told stories of childhood outings with her parents. One of which she traveled to Inner Mongolia to visit the nomadic tribes and ride horses across the planes.
Total immersion into the fast paced Chinese culture helped me grow as a person. I experimented with new foods, some of which I had never known were edible, felt the experience of being a social minority with few options for communication, made new friends and learned about several lifestyles that differed greatly from my own. My experiences living and studying in China for a month, greatly influenced and changed my perceptions towards my own culture and foreign cultures. I had grown up believing that a western, "American", suburban lifestyle was the most comfortable and accepted model of living, but traveling through China made me realize that lifestyle is not always accepted or applicable. Living in large cities was also a life style that many Chinese citizens had come to accept. From the perspective of a landscape architecture student I realized how important open green space and the arrangement of built environments was for people in dense urban spaces. On several occasions I witnessed parks being used for anything from dog grooming, to a quiet get away for couples. Open space wasn't only a place to exercise the body or release the mind from the trepidations of life in a sleepless city, it could also be transformed into a very private space. My Studies and traveling in China was an eye opening experience in which I learned that I was capable of embarking on a journey into the complete unknown and having a successful, enjoyable and enlightening experience.
Exporting China's Image: Using Physical Scale At Shanghai World Expo
Navigating the sprawling and crowded expanse of monolithic awe inspiring and outlandish pavilions at Shanghai's 2010 World Expo was an experience beyond what I could have ever imagined. As the hosts of the World Expo the city of Shanghai and China did not skip any opportunities to instill a sense of awe into visitors from around the globe. With China's recent world debut in the 2008 Olympics, and its rise to economic stardom as the second biggest global economy, it was no surprise to see China strutting its national image once more at the World Exposition in Shanghai.
One of the most noticeable ways in which China took the opportunity to make their World Exposition venue grand was through the use of massive scale. Everything about the World Expo was enormous. The physical site, national pavilions, elevated promenades and crowds all radiated with a sense of profound enormity which instilled in me a sense of awe and claustrophobia. Upon first arriving I was taken aback by the shear masses of humanity filtering through paths between magnificent and unusual buildings.
Each National pavilion presented itself in a dazzling array of colors, shapes, and textures, but what was most apparent was the use of scale. The design of the pavilions seemed to indicate a battle to see who could build the biggest and grandest structure. Ultimately the Chinese Pavilion, located in the direct center of the site took the prize for the grandest in scale. The intentional central placement of the Chinese Pavilion and its enormous scale made it imposing and the centerpiece of the Expo; an example of China's technological and economic prowess.
