Before I left for China, some people advised me to take a cultural course. So the difference in culture wouldn't be so big. Many people warned me for cultural shock and having problems fitting in. Arriving in China, I had no problem with the culture. No shock, but fitting in was an other problem.
Now being back in Los Angeles, again surrounded by Chinese. It doesn't look that different. They have the same problems with traffic, the same kind of markets, the same language. Most Chinese speak Chinese, most Americans speak English. The few some in the overlapping area speak both. And some think they speak the other language.
Mai's definition: Ching·lish Chinese English, when a native Chinese speaker thinks they're speaking English.
In the end, still nobody understand each other. There are still to many dialects. Where the people in Chongqing don't understand the Beijing dialect. Here in-laws can't communicate, or grandparents with their grandkids.
up: Bowl, cups and teapots in Tongren, Chongqing, China - June 2013
down: Bowls and tongs in Rosemead, Los Angeles County, California, USA - December 2013
Everywhere I look I still find the same kind of scenes. It is in the way they hang their laundry, arrange their kitchen, stack their shelves, their kitchenware, their movements.
The biggest difference between LA and CQ is not the culture, not the language barrier. The difference lies in the fitting in. China is a country build on family and connections. I think this strong believe in family and bounds is rooted in all raised Asians. So the difference between LA and CQ isn't something visible, it is family. The key element of fitting into an Asian community, something that wasn't there in Chongqing. But will always be here in Los Angeles.
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