Taking on Beijing as an Asian American

It’s been four full days since my arrival in Beijing, and I’ve got to say that I’m enjoying every single second of it so far. I’m from Cupertino, California, and go to Penn State for college, but I flew in from Taiwan (I was there for vacation since May) and have never really lived in China for over two weeks. I’ve gone on tour groups with my parents while visiting before, and speak fluent Mandarin from conversing with my parents and going to Saturday Chinese school growing up (I’m first generation Asian American), but living here has been a different, but a better experience than the ones I’ve had so far of mainland China.

Our internship accommodations are spacious and amazing!

I’m hoping to become a forensic psychologist, and am currently interning at Jin Rui Law Firm since it’s beneficial to have a strong foundation in law. Here are some of my tips to tackling China as an American, or more specifically, as an Asian American:

First, the customs that are considered polite and rude in the America are different in China. I struggled with this the very first time traveling to Guangzhou; at the airport my mom and I were trying to figure out how to turn on the water faucet, and a lady behind us said “我来” or “I’ll do it”, and instead of helping us turn on the faucet like I thought she would, she pushed past us and used the sink herself. This time around, although things like that do happen, whether it’s in the restroom, restaurant, or subway, I’ve realized that there are simply too many people in China, so everyone is left to fend for themselves.

Second, the food in Beijing is more westernized, and a lot of it is what you’ve seen at Panda Express (minus the orange chicken and Beijing beef; I’m not very sure where or how those two dishes were created). Beijing is well known for the noodles (Northerners eat more noodles and Southerners eat more rice) and dumplings, so definitely try those out. There aren’t many exotic dishes you may find, but beware that Chinese people like to eat 臭豆腐 or stinky tofu as a side for meals, so if you’re ordering food at a restaurant and they serve tofu, they will most likely ask if you would like to add it on.

Lastly, be careful when crossing the road. Driving in China is a free-for-all, therefore pedestrians don’t have the right of way. Don’t listen to music when crossing, and try to follow locals as they cross. People walk whether it’s a red or green light, and there will probably be a lane of traffic that is turning at any given moment.

The view of Beijing

 

Overall, it’s been a wonderful start to the program, and I love how welcoming and accepting my colleagues and supervisor have been to me. I didn’t expect Beijing to be so big, so my commute to work takes about an hour and a half, but when I arrive, everyone tries to get to know me and show me around the area. I’m looking forward to settling into my company more and exploring different parts of Beijing more. That’s all for now, thank you for reading my first blog post!

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