My student told me how she experienced culture shock when she came to China so I thought I would share some of her stories:
Entering Walmart. Walmart is completely different from the ones in the US. The food in the stores are completely different with many Chinese products she had never seen before. Not to mention, Chinese Walmarts have 2 stories with food on the second level and other items on the first. The aisles are much smaller and more crowded with people. Not to mention, when she went back to the US she felt like she was slapped in the face by freezing air when entering Walmart (reverse culture shock), because the ones in China are keep much warmer in the summer.
2. People cutting in line. In the US there are very strict rules to stand in line patiently and not cut others. If you do cut someone it can result in conflict or angering the other customers. It is often in China that people will cut in line or stand very closely and not in a straight line, which results in cutting. China has a huge population and people are impatient to get done, they also assume standing patiently will result in them not ever getting what they want. It is not considered polite in China to skip, but it is still considered something that is more normal. Also, Chinese people don’t have an idea of private space or the “invisible bubble” and do not mind to stand close together and even physically move someone aside.
3. Feeling like a Celebrity. If you are a foreigner in China you are going to get stares and people will ask to take your photo etc. Chinese people are very curious about foreigners, especially the ones who have never met any or been outside of China. The further away from big cities you go the more attention you will get. The good news is that this attention is not generally negative, and you will be rained upon with compliments, girls often being told how beautiful they are by both males and females (and not in some perverse way). Tall people can expect to be called in for a photo.
4. Everything simple becoming hard. My student did something not many do, and that is submersing herself in Chinese life. That means renting her own apartment in Chinese, calling the plumber herself, using all Chinese apps, pretty much completely independent, whereas for many foreigners who come to China, they have a Chinese friend or colleague do all that for them. (If you want that for yourself, I suggest learning Chinese online with a native Chinese teacher(
https://www.echineselearning.com/free-trial/).)
5. Completely different business ideals. She said to me “it seems like Chinese people love to just waste time. They work all day at the office even if they are not getting anything done and still work overtime, just because the boss is there. They have meetings where nothing is discussed and run around with clients not moving forward on any decisions. It all seems like a bureaucratic game and waste of time by American standards. We care about efficiency and high-quality work without a moment wasted.” In Chinese culture, face and connections are very important and what might seem like silly politeness or time wasting by western standards is just a part of the way business is done in China. Time is allotted to giving others face and following specific procedures. Even when foreigners understand this, they can find it frustrating because they don’t see the value in it the way a Chinese person does.
Reverse Culture Shock. Being able to use both plugins in the same outlet (in China just the top one has American-style plugins, the bottom one is Chinese). Buildings being cold in the summer and warm in the winter. Lack of crowds and slow, easy pace of life. Everyone speaking English and the how easy it is to do everything (from no language barrier.) Laundry getting done so fast (in China clothes have to be hang-dried). Going back to apologizing for bumping into someone and making small talk with cashiers etc.