Status Quo

At home I love going to thrift stores! I love looking at what other people don't want anymore and using it for myself. I can get it at a discounted price and have an awesome outfit! Its also great getting hand me downs from other people. People don't want a certain item anymore bam its mine! In China this idea is seen as almost an insult...

I was going through some clothes the other day I didn't wear or didn't want. I thought, oh I will take them to work and see if any of the girls (foreign or local) want the clothes. I then realized that was a big mistake once I got to work. The girls thought that was hilarious! They were like haha why would we do that. I told them we did that in America. They thought it was funny.  I had forgotten an important aspect about Chinese culture... Status Quo.

In China a person's status quo is very important. You want to be seen as a higher class person. This concept stems from ancient culture. As many people know, Chinese people want their skin to be white. Being white is a sign of being royal. In today's culture its almost the same thing. If you are brown it means you are working in the fields, you are not rich and can have an inside job. Girls will hold umbrellas, wear hats, and put cream on their faces to maintain pale skin. Yesterday at the beach someone got a bit darken in the sun and it was a major freak out!

 Same concept goes with clothes. If you were secondhand clothes it means you can't afford to buy new clothes. If you buy clothes at the market then it means you can't afford department store clothes. You need to show everyone that you are rich, higher class. You need to have a smart phone.  One of my friends here as a credit card bill that is so high that she can't almost afford her rent. But she wants to make sure she can afford material things so she looks upper class.

Same  goes at restaurants.  At home its usually one dish per person. I have been out with the locals and they have seriously ordered half the menu. You want to order a lot of food to show that you can afford it. They you are not pinching pennies!

It is polite to leave food on your plate, it shows that you are not leaving hungry. Rice is seen as a filler food, so you hardly ever order rice. Its a cheap filler food. Same with noodles. Its better to get vegetables and meat. It show you can afford to eat more of than that then filler food.

Status quo is very important in China. Keeping this thought in mind, I will nevertheless continue to mix my Western ideals into everyday life while respecting Chinese culture.