Thailand vs. China (Part One)

Ok, I’ll admit it.  The title of this post isn’t really fair.  As a cross-cultural researcher, one of the first ideas my field teaches is that you can’t exactly compare cultures on a list.  Cultural variations are so different, it’s really like comparing apples and oranges.

Culture stems from worldview (note: this is an idea my husband Phil is going to address in another post, since worldview studies are one of his passions) and, as such, we have to understand the underlying factors of one’s worldview before we can attempt to understand that culture.  In other words, it’s not just an easy comparison.

But I wanted to spend some time addressing why Thailand and why not China any more.  After all, for many I’ve talked to, leaving another country for yet a different one seemed like a strange move.

This post may end up in several parts since this became a complex situation.  Where else to start?  The beginning, 2008, when I was alone across the world, fresh off the plane.

Literally.  I was not even in China yet when my expectations about the experience started to unfold.  My flight started in Minneapolis, took me to Chicago where I waited several hours to board a late night flight to Korea.  I was on a long, long flight, longer than I had ever experienced, away from my husband and cats, not to mention my life and all I had known.

When I was finally off the plane at at amazingly modern airport that I now consider my favorite airport in the world.  I saw, with fresh eyes, signs with both English and an “Asian” language that previously I had not seen before. 

Now I know it’s Korean and can pick it out  in the midst of many other languages.  But at that time, I was in awe, as I was trying to process what this new experience would consist of and what it would be like.

I saw signs talking about being able to drink the water.

I saw new fangled, crazy looking public phones that seemed to somehow not only reach international numbers but access the internet.  I desperately wanted to use one to call Phil and let him know I was safe, but I couldn’t figure it out.

Thankfully, I remember I had Skype on my computer.  I could call Phil using it.

Which I did.  It was such an amazing experience to hear my husband’s voice across thousands of miles and be able to connect with him for a short while as I waited on my layover.

The airport was clean, had amazing technology and modern conveniences.  I saw Korean shops alongside places like Burger King, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Quizno’s Subs.  I saw a Korean cultural center that looked like it taught about traditional Korean. I even saw a Caribou Coffee there. This connection back to MN made me smile. I didn’t drink anything there at that time, since I didn’t have any Korean won and I didn’t know I could use my American cash (which I learned eventually, as the Korean airport is often a hub for us).  So in this short visit to the airport, I saw a true sense of “East Meets West” and “Old Meets New.”  I saw the state of the art technology that one hears is common in Asia.  And I was truly excited about what was waiting for me in China.  Surely if I was seeing Korea as this awesome of a place, China would be the same. wouldn’t it?

I was becoming an ex-pat.  I was doing something new and amazing.  I had a taste of one Asian culture in the airport and I was ready for more.

And yet…….I never found what I was looking for in China.  Cold, hard reality set in almost instantly, making me want to leave moments after my landing. I’ll save that for Part 2.

~Shawna