Experiencing Rural China

Travel Story by Donna Spalding, PhD

Tuan Li, China

Before I left for China I envisioned myself easily adjusting to a new culture and confidently imparting knowledge to the university students I would be teaching. After spending three months there, I left with a totally different perspective; one that grew out of my first opportunity to be not just a tourist, but a participant in a different culture. My previous view of China had not included the people; it had focused on the place. But after leaving China, I had a new vision of both China and myself, and I was certainly more impressed with the people of China than I was with myself.

The area of China where I taught is located approximately 50 kilometers from Beijing in a village called Tuan Li, which is home to a very small population of permanent residents and about 1000 students. Tuan Li has ten small residential streets and a business section comprised of three restaurants, a store, a post office, a shop where you could get your hair done and your back massaged, and a market. The village economy had been growing because of the college.

The nucleus of the village was the local store. It had all the goods of a convenience store and more. It was the village hangout, where people squatted (Chinese usually squat on the floor rather than stand around) to discuss local news and chat about the peculiar people who were teaching at the college. My social life there began when I was unpacking and realized that I had left my deodorant at home. I went to the store to buy some but could not find any on the shelves, so I approached the lady at the counter and tried to use body language instead of words to communicate my problem. I kept moving my hand up and down my armpit, repeating the ritual on each underarm in turn. She was very puzzled by my actions and conferred with the other people in the store. Each person tried to interpret my performance and advised her to bring me various merchandise such as hair spray, hand lotion, and shampoo. After much laughter on their part I left the store empty-handed.

As soon as I got outside, it occurred to me that I had not paid attention to the route from my residence to the store, and now had no idea where I was going or how to get back "home." As I wandered up and down the streets, I began to realize how many dead-end streets there are in Tuan Li. I also noticed that people I passed on the street were not walking on the sidewalks, but on

the road. I soon learned why. Not paying attention to where I was walking, I skidded on something slippery and landed in canine droppings. There are many dogs in the streets of Tuan Li, and apparently the pooper-scooper has not been introduced there yet. As I sat on the sidewalk in the dog droppings, my situation suddenly seemed very funny, and I cannot imagine what people passing by must have thought of this person, sitting in you-know-what, laughing uncontrollably. But eventually I happened upon a fellow teacher, and with her help I found my residence. So on my first day in China, I managed to get lost and doubly smelly at the same time. That evening I discussed my deodorant problem with another teacher, who informed me that they do not use deodorant in rural China.

The village store eventually became a focal point of my social life too. The owners of the store and their friends were as curious about me as I was about them, and they tried very hard to communicate with me. I realized that if I wanted to communicate, I must get to know Chinese words. The word for "hello" is spelled h-a-o-k-n-e-h-a-w, and pronounced "nee haw." For some reason, I kept saying "aloha." The Chinese do not in any way look like Hawaiians, yet for the first week I continued to greet everyone in this manner. My attempts to pronounce Chinese words were a great source of entertainment for them. The most important Chinese word I learned was that which meant "stupid." Much to their amusement, I used this word to refer to myself whenever I was unable to communicate. Every day I would attempt to learn a new word, and off I would go to the store feeling very proud of myself. In the store, the local people would point at different objects and name them for me. Then I would give them the English word for the same object they had named for me in Chinese.

Many people in Tuan Li would go to a village restaurant for their evening meal, as the prices were very reasonable and food was served in very large quantities. When I was young my mother used to urge me to eat all the food on my plate because children were starving in China. Mother was obviously mistaken, if the amount of food they serve (and the amount thrown away) is any indication. Because refrigerators are in short supply, people shop daily at the local outdoor market. You can imagine my amazement at seeing foods such as scorpion, sea horse, and mouse fetus barbequed on a stick. In North America we snub many types of food that Chinese people enjoy, such as snake soup, fish eyes, fried chickens' feet, and pigs' intestines. They say people in China live longer because of their diet. I think I would rather die young.

In rural China, toilets are referred to as "squats." I had my first squat experience shortly after I arrived in China. The squat is rectangular in shape, made of porcelain, and is almost flush with the floor. Picture this: I am in my first real Chinese bathroom. I bend down, lose my balance, and . . . guess what? It was not a pretty sight. Picking myself up, I had to start all over again. The problem was complicated by the fact that they do not use toilet paper in China. In our rooms we had a Canadian-style toilet, but with a major difference: toilet paper was not put in the toilet, but in a wastepaper basket.

Young people's lives in China are very controlled, possibly because when there is only one child in a family, more focus is placed on this child. In high school, if the students dye their hair, wear it too long, or have spikes or a crazy style, they are taken from the school by a teacher and end up in a barbershop where they are made to look like everyone else.

Our classroom discussions on different family forms led to further discussion of family size, and the "one child policy" of the Chinese government. The general consensus among the students was that this policy should be changed. They feel a great deal of pressure to succeed because they are one of the first generations to grow up since the policy was instituted, and under Chinese law, adult children are responsible for the support and care of their parents. They are understandably worried about being able to look after their parents, because there are no seniors' homes or facilities that specialize in caring for the elderly.

Time passed all too quickly during my stay in China, and before I knew it, I was arranging a farewell "Kraft Dinner Party." Foreigners living in China consider Kraft dinner a luxury, even though they would probably not eat it at home. Later, after the dinner party, I brought some Kraft Dinner to the store, but the owners were not impressed with my food. I promised I would return again some day to cook them some moose meat, and then spent the next half hour trying to explain what a moose is.

While I enjoyed the sights of China, it was the people I met that made the greatest impression on me. In retrospect, I can see that the friendly people in China taught me to laugh at myself and to relax and enjoy life. Being in China made me aware of the cultural differences the Chinese students will experience when they continue their education in Canada. I hope their experiences will be as rewarding as mine.

Read more about the author of this story:
Donna Spalding