tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6874494569496450990.post7278370925074367184..comments2023-05-15T09:04:26.870-05:00Comments on she's taking notes: Culture ShockEJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10601159355319913990noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6874494569496450990.post-90094670576941393132012-07-01T02:24:04.406-05:002012-07-01T02:24:04.406-05:00I hear ya! The bad parts definitely seemed very ba...I hear ya! The bad parts definitely seemed very bad this month when thinking about all of them at once.<br /><br />Honestly though, I think I can deal with just about everything here, even the big loogie hocking noises in restaurants, the incessant scooter alarms going off all hours of the day and night, the constant jack hammering due to endless construction, and countless other things that are pretty annoying... but I think a couple of things that may make it pretty difficult to grow any roots here long term will be the inability to find Chinese friends who are somewhere near my age and even remotely like-minded. But I realize that may just take time. Maybe a very long time. It's not the language barrier (I will eventually overcome that), but it's the deep-rooted cultural differences that I think will eventually get the best of me. I've always realized to some degree how independently minded we are in the West, but I've never appreciated that aspect of our culture more-so than since living here.<br /><br />I still want to live in other countries eventually. I am really hoping to spend at least a couple of years here since I'm putting in the time and effort to learn the language. I just hope I can hold out that long :) It's funny because the very thing that makes it difficult to think about living here long term, is the very thing that makes this place so fascinating... the mind-blowingly-huge cultural differences.EJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10601159355319913990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6874494569496450990.post-53942572757061439922012-06-30T23:29:06.989-05:002012-06-30T23:29:06.989-05:00I know there are a ton of good parts to your livin...I know there are a ton of good parts to your living there, but honestly, I don't know how you deal with the bad parts. Because the bad parts just seem really, really BAD. Starting with the mold. And then the humidity. And the the bugs. And so forth. I would die, just simply up and die.Johttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06857292122475238818noreply@blogger.com