Why China thinks Americans are crazy

[dnoblett]

I saw this in the NY Post the other day and we all can relate to this...

• Drinking tap water
  
  
  
  Many Chinese are surprised to discover that Americans are willing to drink water straight from their kitchen faucet. Back in China, where pollution has made water safety a major issue, most people drink bottled water or at least boil the water they draw from the tap.
  
  China’s demand for bottled water has grown sharply over the past several decades, a trend that has only increased due to a series of water-safety scares.
  Shanghai saw a tap-water panic in 2012, prompting a bottled-water shortage, preceded a year earlier by a similar scare involving electrolytic-manganese pollution in the western province of Sichuan.
  
  In fact, bottled water represents the biggest category in China’s soft-drink market, accounting for over 35 percent of the total share, according to a 2014 report by Chinese industry-research institution Forward Business and Intelligence Co.
  
  ....
  
• A lack of parasols
  
  
  
  Chinese tourists traveling in the US during the summer — especially older visitors — sometimes express surprise that no one seems to have a parasol.
  
  While parasols enjoyed some popularity in the West before the early 20th century, their use has since dwindled. The likely reason for this is that Westerners have come to see a suntan as a sign of health and beauty, while Chinese culture prefers paler skin.
  
  China is currently one of the world’s largest manufacturers of parasols — and umbrellas in general — in part because of the use of parasols, but also because China is currently one of the world’s largest manufacturers of pretty much everything.
  
  ....
  
• No post-maternity rest period
  
  
  
  Despite what you may have read in Pearl Buck’s “The Good Earth,” Chinese mothers don’t generally rush back to work moments after giving birth.
  
  Just the opposite — in China, women traditionally spend the month after childbirth, known as the “yuezi,” sitting in bed. And when the British Duchess Kate Middleton was seen in public less than a day after giving birth, it caused an explosion of discussion in Chinese social-media circles.
  
  The yuezi has a long list of rules for the new mother to follow in order to safeguard her health, including not washing her hair and not so much as touching cold water, as well as eating a diet of traditional “post-maternity” foods.
  
  China has an entire business segment catering to such women — the maternity-service industry — mostly unknown in the West.
  
  ....
  
• Senior-care facilities
  
  
  
  If maternity-service centers are a particularly Chinese phenomenon, the opposite seems true for elder-care/senior-care facilities.
  
  Sometimes known as “nursing homes,” such businesses are anathema to China’s Confucianist principles, which call for children to care for their aging parents personally.
  
  That said, however, the popularity of senior care is on the rise in China. In some respects, Chinese consumers pick this option for the same reason as Westerners — to secure 24-hour medical attention for an ailing parent, or when geography or work schedules prohibit their children from providing such care at home.
  
  ....
  
• So much ice
  
  
  
  Chinese visitors to the West are sometimes surprised to find the locals drinking ice water year-round.
  
  In China, by contrast, many people prefer warm water, or even hot water, as Chinese medicine warns that cold beverages can hamper digestion and the body’s metabolism.
  
  This is probably why ice machines are not very popular in China. Or at least right now — the use of ice is on the rise, partly as a result of the popularity of Western fast-food restaurants such as McDonald’s and Yum Brands KFC.
  
  If this trend continues, the ice machine could prove to be a hot item — no pun intended — for the China market.
  
  ....
  

http://nypost.com/2015/05/08/why-china-thinks-americans-are-crazy/

 

[Thomas Promise]

The three great American vices seem to be efficiency, punctuality and the desire for achievement and success. They are the things that make the Americans so unhappy and so nervous... Chinese proverb.

[RobertH]

I like Ice Tea.......... When we visit China there are 1 billion people drinking hot tea and one guy bitching that them putting 1 ice cube in my glass dose not Ice tea make! The I shut up and go buy a bottle of Milk tea (YUM)

[Thomas Promise]

I have received some good natured teasing about having a Chinese Spouse. Here are some funny quips I have received.

 

 

You only buy Christmas cards after Christmas, when they are 50% off.
You keep a Thermos of hot water available at all times.
You boil water and put it in the refrigerator.
You beat eggs with chopsticks.
You have a drawer full of old pens, most of which don't write anymore.
You're a wok user.
You always cook too much.
Your parents use a clothes line.
You own your own meat cleaver and sharpen it.
Your mom drives her Mercedes to the Price Club.
You reuse teabags.
You've eaten a red bean popsicle.
The condiments in your fridge are either Price Club sized or come in
plastic packets, which you save every time you get take out or go to McDonald's.
Your snacks are always dried. As in not just dried plums, dried ginger,
and beef/pork jerky, but dried cuttlefish (SQUID).
You've been on the Love Boat or know someone who has.

[Randy W]

I like Ice Tea.......... When we visit China there are 1 billion people drinking hot tea and one guy bitching that them putting 1 ice cube in my glass dose not Ice tea make! The I shut up and go buy a bottle of Milk tea (YUM)

 

 

Next time you go, look for these Cool Lemon lemonade ice tea stands - seems like no matter where you go these days, there are 2 or 3 within shouting distance of each other. And VERY refreshing!

 

[shadeOgray]

I dislike most hot bevrages and the wife still has the mind set that anything cold is bad for you. Recently she admitted she does prefer cold drinks now.

[Randy W]

 

I like Ice Tea.......... When we visit China there are 1 billion people drinking hot tea and one guy bitching that them putting 1 ice cube in my glass dose not Ice tea make! The I shut up and go buy a bottle of Milk tea (YUM)

 

 

Next time you go, look for these Cool Lemon lemonade ice tea stands - seems like no matter where you go these days, there are 2 or 3 within shouting distance of each other. And VERY refreshing!

 

 

 

 

I just saw FIVE of these (similar) portable stands on ONE street corner, some right next to each other. They are VERY popular.

[Catherineli]

I like this topic!

American people change "goodbye" into "I love you" or simply "lovey" when ending their conversation or emails.

"I love you" is weighed less in America;Chinese people don't say, "I love you." Americans address people honey, sweetie, sweetiepie, sweetheart, Chinese people call people Comrade, brother, sister,----

 

American people like to adopt children or adopt me. There're people who make me their daughter either in China or in America. Chinese people don't easily adopt anyone or they keep the adopted one unknown to the world because they trust the blood-born more than the adopted.

 

American people eat more raw or cold things like salad or iced drink.

Their stomach becomes an icebox while their body still needs to cool down.

Chinese people are filled up with hot tea but their body still needs to warm up.

 

Americans need a mat in each room as if they will slip down to the floor in every room. Chinese people never fall down in any room. Americans use a mat by the bathtub, door way, under the washed dishes, cups, glass

 

Americans can't afford to buy a pair of slippers so they have to stand on their pretty carpet with outside shoes on. Carpet in China makes Chinese people OCD.

American men lose hair at a young age. Chinese people's hair turn grey at a young age.

 

Americans need ordorant. Chinese people have never seen ordorant.

American people are good at making different kinds of cakes. Chinese people are good at making "man tou".

American people buy second hand car. Chinese people buy brand new car. American people are believed "rich". Chinese people are believed "poor"

why? because Americans are paid twice a month, Chinese people are paid once a month.

 

ahahahahahha let me stop being silly

have a good Monday holiday!

Catherine