Cultural Chameleon, even at 176 and blonde

Pictures: Singapore & Hong Kong

As early as entering the airport in Singapore (or even in Hong Kong), when coming from Mainland China, one can just sense the increased organization and civility. Let me explain what I mean by this by sharing some of my observations…

When the subway train rolls to a stop and the doors open in Singapore people can actually get off the train. This is a novel concept in China: people in Singapore wait until those getting off have done so, and then they proceed to get on. In China, those getting off feel like fish swimming upstream as they face the onslaught of people clamoring for the–often non-existent–empty seats.

In Singapore, the Chinese (94% of Singaporeans are ethnic Chinese) actually put diapers on their babies. In China, by comparison, the baby’s pants are split along the seam to allow easy access for the child’s wastes to the sidewalk. My friend Aana (a New Zealander who has been in Singapore for 5 years) told me, in Singapore they have to put diapers on the babies. Singapore is famous for being meticulously clean (generally true, except in Little India), while China is notorious for being dirty. Of course, this means you won’t find any spitting in Singapore, nor will you find the bus assistant throwing 2 days worth of trash out the window. (Note, this behavior is not characteristic of every Chinese person–I know plenty who are refined, educated, and sophisticated–but it represents the behavior of the masses.) So why, you might wonder, has Singapore been so successful at curbing the obnoxious habits of Chinese people, yet Mainland China can’t seem to do the same?

There are many reasons:

1. Singapore is a much smaller place with far fewer people;
2. Until 60 years ago, Singapore was a British colony;
3. Singaporeans are better educated and more cosmopolitan than they average Mainlander;
4. Laws in Singapore are very strict; and
5. Singapore has some of the most effective public service campaigns of any country.

Singapore is well-known for its strict laws and harsh punishments. Tales abound of being lashed for chewing gum and executed for possessing drugs. And these certainly have been effective; however, laws are essentially meaningless if no one knows about them. Therefore, education, along with laws, regulations, and enforcement, are necessary. To educate the public and promote a better society and life for Singaporeans, public service campaigns are a common fact of life in Singapore.

Aana explained to me that each year the Prime Minister selects an issue of social concern that he wants to focus on. For example, I noticed on many of the food stalls, signs that said, ‘you can ask for more vegetables and less oil’ or ‘you can ask for less sugar and less cream.’ And I wondered who was so health-conscious. She explained that this was a previous public service campaign. The current public service campaign is customer service, such as is provided in hotels, restaurants, retail establishments, and hospitals. These public service campaigns are so effective partly due to their multi-faceted approach. The government uses traditional advertising mediums, such as TV, radio, outdoor signage, and presumably newspapers as well. But they also enlist businesses for support and cooperation. In the example of encouraging healthy choices of food, clearly the government exerted influence on the food stalls. For improving customer service, the government had segments as part of the traditional news program demonstrating how to improve employer-employee relations at service establishments. By working directly with businesses to promote the ideals of the public service campaigns, the government not only reaches those specific employees, but also multiplies its impact through the customers those businesses deal with. The influence of the government on Singaporean society is stunning, as is the difference between social norms in Singapore and China.

However, such heavy government influence and such successful public service campaigns come at a price. Aana suggested that the strict government rules and regulations stifle innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. She also mentioned that freedom of speech is rather limited. Individuals can not own property (land); they can only lease it for a certain number of years. As Westerners, we consider these last 2 issues fundamental human rights: freedom of speech and the right to own property. As you can see there are definitely trade-offs to the Singaporean system. (On the other hand, Singapore is one of the best examples of a peaceful pluralistic, multi-racial, multi-religion society.)

Nonetheless, I believe China could learn from Singapore. China has various approaches to cleaning up its people’s obnoxious behaviors. However, needless to say, these have been less than successful. For example, China requires travel agents to tell their outbound tourists not to spit or litter in foreign countries. But if only 100 to 130million Chinese travel abroad each year, the other 1.2billion will never hear of this concept. As TV is the most popular form of entertainment in China, the government needs to follow Singapore’s example and reach the masses through TV campaigns. TV is further a valuable medium because it doesn’t require literacy nor travel nor individual ownership. And since the government controls all the media (namely TV) anyway, there is no reason why appropriate public service messages couldn’t be shown on television. The government should also influence businesses and public servants to set a good example. For instance, 2 of Shanghai’s taxi companies are government sponsored, so those taxi drivers should be the first to respect pedestrians and stop spitting out the window. A more committed effort on the part of the Chinese government would result in greater success than its current approach.

Though far from perfect itself, there is a lot Singapore could teach China about refinement of peoples and society, and about the effectiveness of education, laws, regulations, enforcement, and public service campaigns.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Traffic in Shanghai and Beijing, and presumably in all overcrowded megacities in China, is dangerous, maddening, frightening, bordering on death- defying. Due to lax enforcement, traffic laws are little more than suggestions and lanes no more than distracting lines on the street. The only regulator of traffic seems to be stop lights but motorscooters, bicycles, and right-hand turners don’t even seem to heed the lights. And honestly, I often walk when the ‘Don’t Walk’ sign is lit.

With scooters and bikes swerving in and out of traffic and taxis stopping without warning, one begins to develop respect for the drivers who avoid crashes and become awed by their awareness and responsiveness. Though seeing accidents is Shanghai seems rare, China actually has a very high accident rate as a whole. The rate sounds low when compared with the US; however, when compared with the US’s rate as a per car ratio, China actually has a serious accident rate that is 10-times(!) that of the U.S.

For pedestrians, it isn’t any easier. As bikes and motorscooters come around the corner at full speed, even though they have a red light, with the only warning being another loud noise, its pedestrians beware. Sidewalks aren’t safe either as bikes and motorscooters and 3-wheeled carts often think the sidewalk is there highway. They also zip in and out of seemingly abandoned driveways and alleyways that cut across sidewalks. Though most major intersections have crosswalks and indicator signals, again, these are merely suggestions.

When, as a pedestrian, facing the onslaught of vehicles, I asked my Shanghainese friend, how do you tell whose turn it is? Her perfectly serious response, “Whoever has more power.” I laughed, thinking that’s a scary way to decide, not to mention if that’s seriously true, pedestrians would never get anywhere (which, of course, is not the case). So we discuss it and eventually decide whoever goes is whoever dares to go. Of course, taxis can’t purposely run down pedestrians and pedestrians don’t willingly walk in front of a speeding taxi. So ultimately it comes down to whoever dares to go in the expectation the other is less aggressive and so will avoid a collision. It took me about 2 weeks of being in Shanghai before I was able to leave my apartment without expecting to die every time I crossed the street. Needless to say, the fear of Shanghai traffic is not easily overcome.

In many ways the traffic (at least in SH & BJ) is a microcosm of Chinese culture itself. Its selfish, aggressive, impatient, high-pressure, and defiant of laws and regulations in the absence of enforcement. Is this an adolescent phase in Chinese culture (transitional period in China’s traffic/driving development) or this a permanent characteristic of Chinese society (destiny of China’s driving conditions due to lack of planning)? ?

Popularity: 3% [?]

More and more friends and acquaintances are asking me what’s going on, what can we do this week, where to eat, and where to buy something (at least this one makes sense, given my company). I’m not sure why, maybe its because I’ve been here longer than many of them (shocking isn’t it, considering I’ve been here a little over 2 months, but that just shows the turnover of expats–or half-pats–in China) or maybe its just because I make a point of being ‘in the know.’ Its definitely flattering to have people ask me for advice and I’ve always been one to enjoy being knowledgeable about something, so I shall have to try to keep up this role. Just to show my knowledge of and involvement in the city, I’ll tell you a few highlights of what I’ve done in the last week: I’ve been to 2 art/photography shows, I went out drinking 5 of the last 7 nights, I went to 2 networking events, and I’ve tried 4 new restaurants. If this isn’t enough for you, here’s the schedule I made for Rola to show her all the events we could go to last week:

Monday: Swing dancing at Tanghui Bar. No cover. 9:30pm til late. Also, Zapatas–free Margaritas for ladies

Tuesday: I Love Shanghai (on the Bund) Tuesday night, b/c ladies drink free all night.

Wed: California club for ladies night. Also, Zapatas–free Margaritas for ladies

Thursday: Oriented Happy Hour is Thursday this week, so register online. There’s also Fabrique (for after, maybe) with Latin, Arabic, & African music and RMB15 vodka martinis. Or alternatively, movie night at the US Consulate on Nanjing Road. Or, EPWS networking and membership renewal night at Sasha’s.

Friday: Watch the USC football game on Friday from 6:30-9:30 at Big Bamboo (I think its just north of Nanjing Rd, 132 Nanyang Road, near Tongren Rd).

Saturday: Macy Gray is in concert at the F1 opening ceremony on Saturday, Sept 23 at 9p. tickets from RMB168-1588. tel: 6212-2929

Of course, I don’t find all these events & activities by myself and neither are they listed all in 1 place. The main way I find out about them is by reading That’s Shanghai, City Weekend-Shanghai, and SH (see Blogroll. Yes, I know blogroll is for blogs, not magazine websites, but they update their content, so it works). I also hear about them through email listserves I’ve subscribed to since being in Shanghai.

Anyway, whether you’re a tourist coming to Shanghai or newly arrived expat/half-pat, the magazines are great resources. They are mostly free and are available in bars and restaurants, or checkout their website.

P.S. Half-pat (a term I picked up from City Weekend) is derived from the term expat (expatriate). An expat is someone who is sent overseas by their employer with full benefits including housing, extra compensation, children’s private school tuition, and in China, car, driver, maid/nanny, etc. A half-pat is someone who goes overseas and then finds a job. City Weekend defines ‘”half-pats” as the new foreigners coming to China with half the luxuries (or less, in my case) of a traditional ex-pat. Half-pats left their home countries looking for something and found it in China. They’ve started careers here (instead of being sent over by a company), are generally more interested in Chinese culture and language and have a deeper connection to the Chinese community.’ Of course, I am one example; other examples include Ian, Andrew, & Jeffrey. Best of luck to all the half-pats out there.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Since Shanghai is situated in a delta (the Yangtze Delta, to be exact) the natural landscape is extremely flat. Also because of its location on a delta and because people have been living in the region for hundreds of years, there are small ‘water towns’ in Shanghai’s suburbs and in the surrounding region. These water towns vary in size, popularity, and familiarity to Westerners. Today, Elva and I visited one of the smaller, lesser known water towns. We went to Qibao, which is mostly south and a little east of the Hongqiao airport, already itself way in the southern part of the city. Nonetheless, the water town wasn’t too far away as we were able to take a standard city bus almost all the way there and it took less than 45min.

The town itself has been largely reconstructed in old Chinese style to be more appealing to tourists. Nonetheless, it is fairly charming despite the crowds. There are about 3 or 4 bridges spanning the river, also in the old Chinese style and a few boats were taking people up or down the very short river. It seems like a win-win situation: the town can attract day visitors and generate revenue from people who go there to lunch, shop, and appreciate the old Chinese architecture, while the people can step into their past and leave the modern city without actually traveling very far. The government has done a good job making it into a special tourist spot.

Hopefully in the next few months I shall be able to take longer day trips to the other surrounding water towns such as Songjiang and Zhouzhuang.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Ways that I’ve benefitted from spending time abroad:

• Independence: Spending significant time in time-zones vastly different from that of my parents’ has allowed me to develop into my own person. Without their nearness, I have become more independent, resourceful, and capable. I also now have my own aspirations, hopes, dreams, views, and opinions.
• Name Brands: I’ve become far less concerned with which brand of clothing, shoes, handbag, etc, I or anyone else is wearing. Though as Americans we may think our brands have a global presence (and many do), American clothing brands mean far less overseas than they do at home. Like any young girl in the US, I used to care who was sporting which designer brand but after spending time in Europe and realizing that brands can and do change their image across countries, the whole concept seemed far more fluid. Especially in Asia, where the same factory can produce for multiple labels and there is such a proliferation of brands and knock-offs of brands its nearly impossible to tell what’s real and what’s fake, it doesn’t seem to matter to me or anyone else. As long as you’re smartly dressed, in quality clothes, that fit you properly, it doesn’t matter to me. Its actually quite a relief to not be a brand whore and instead just enjoy shopping for clothes because of their style and affordability.
• Calmed mind: As someone who always had 50 things running around in her mind telling her to keep busy and do the next thing, before going abroad, I could never relax. However, with the change of pace I encountered in Europe, particularly the lifestyle of the Spanish, I slowly was able to calm my mind and just enjoy being. Lazy afternoons at a cafe, people watching and enjoying the setting used to be painful as my mind kept telling me, ‘you’re wasting time, get busy.’ However, now I feel this is one of the most enjoyable ways to spend an afternoon. The appreciative nature of traveling also helped this as my sole purpose was to see, enjoy, and appreciate the sites, people, culture, and cuisine.
• English: In going abroad and learning about global business, I’ve learned that English is the language of commerce and beyond that, it is fundamentally important to traveling. English is the common language between people from Japan and South America or between the Thais and the Europeans. No other language is as widely spoken as a second language. For example, there are more people studying English in China than in Great Britain. I believe this random fact speaks to the importance of English as the accepted global language. Therefore, I’m glad to have mastered English.
• Languages: While English may be the accepted 2nd language on a global scale and ensure basic communication between diverse groups of people, its nothing like the sincere appreciation a native has for a foreigner who genuinely attempts to speak their language. Learning a second language offers a far more profound experience than simply ‘getting by’ with English. In speaking both Spanish and Chinese in countries who call these their native languages, I’ve been appreciated more, treated better, and altogether had a better experience in the country. Because of this I know the experience can only get better by becoming completely fluent in a second language. As such, I hope during my time in China I will become fluent, as there’s no better way to learn a language than to live in the country and speaking everyday with native speakers. Already my Chinese has improved significantly since arriving.
• Cosmopolitan: Through going abroad, I’ve become more sophisticated, educated, and worldly. My geographical knowledge has improved immensely, I have a much broader understanding of various issues, I’ve learnt from diverse perspectives, and I’m more conscious of living in a global society. My roommate from Suzhou enlightened me to many preferences of the Chinese (worth another post entirely). A conversation I had with Spanish soccer players made me realize the disgust they had for President Bush, especially in the aftermath of the 2004 Madrid subway bombings. It was really an eye-opener to find out how deeply Americans were disliked at every level of society (at least in northern Spain).
• Friendships: By spending time in other countries and as others have come from far away countries to the US, we have all built friendships that span the globe. I am trule grateful to have friends in as far away places as Ireland, Brazil, Qatar, the Netherlands, Singapore, and many more countries and locales. Its an amazing thing to be able to call such a diverse group of people my friends.
• Aesthetics: Through seeing so many different places, I’ve come to appreciate nature, architecture, and other beautiful things. Seeing the diverse forms of architecture worldwide, I have fallen in love with architecture. Seeing nature in its many diverse forms has led me to appreciate nature in its infinite, timeless beauty. And by seeing some of the most picturesque places on earth, I can truly say I can appreciate beauty. Instead of thinking everything looks the same, I appreciate diversity and diverse forms of beauty and these I seek to capture on my camera. In seeing many things and places, I’ve come to understand aesthetics, which brings joy to my world, and through the more appealing photographs I’m able to take canalso inspire others to seek out beauty in their own world.

Well, initially I sought to write about some of the more surprising ways I’ve benefitted from going abroad, but the list turned very conventional, so I’ll stop and just let you imagine the many ways I have and anyone else could also benefit from going beyond the borders of their own country.

Popularity: 1% [?]