A semester in Beijing
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Marlene McManus’s path to China began on a spiritual note. After taking a class on Asian religions, the Clark University junior found herself drawn to classes in Chinese language, which eventually led to her spring semester at Beijing Institute of Education in a language immersion program. McManus detailed her trip more fully on her blog: marleneabroad.travellerspoint.com/.
IT’S CALLED IMMERSION: “The dorms we are in have actually been modified to cater to Westerners, so we have Western toilets and large rooms. We’ve actually switched campuses since January. In January our dorm had Chinese squat-style toilets and three broken showers per floor. In our current dorm there aren’t any dryers and only one washing machine for over 50 people, so most students follow the Chinese tradition of buying a large plastic bowl and washing clothes by hand, then hanging them on our enclosed porches to dry. You can’t flush the toilet paper or drink the water, but we have a portable water heater, and really live quite luxuriously compared to the average Beijing citizen.’’
IT STICKS WITH YOU: “I’ve come across a number of odd dishes. The most commonly seen is fried duck/chicken head. Frighteningly skeletal. Also food on a stick. Anything you want, fruit, vegetables, cubed meat, whole fish, insects, rice balls, anything - it’s sold on a stick and the Chinese love to eat it.’’
FAMILY TIES: “I really haven’t had to adjust my mannerisms too much in Beijing. I only try to be as polite as possible, especially to elders. I suppose the system most different from American etiquette is calling complete strangers ‘uncle’ and ‘aunt,’ as long as they are your elders. I myself have been called ‘aunt’ by numerous children. I like this system though; it instantly shows respect and a warm connection between two strangers.’’
BODY LANGUAGE: “From what I’ve seen of Chinese couples, they love to look as alike as possible. Both boyfriend and girlfriend will have the same haircut and wear the same clothes. To a Westerner it’s very odd. PDA [public display of affection] is also not OK in China; I’ve only seen it on very rare occasions.’’
TRAINING GROUND: “Children in Beijing about 8 years old and younger use the middle of the sidewalk for a toilet. Babies pants are open at the rear, and they don’t wear diapers because China can’t spare the resources for them, and this doesn’t bother me. But older children, when they have to go, alert their mothers, who then stop them in the middle of the street, amidst a mass of people walking around them.’’
PAUL MAKISHIMA 
