Coming to America

This summer, Randy has had a lot of work-travel within the US, more than he has in years past for his current employer. For two weeks this month he's being joined by one of his Chinese engineers, Mr. H, on his first trip outside of China. Randy and Mr. H have worked together for several years. Mr. H's command of English is very good, and he has had quite a bit exposure to American culture through television, the Internet, and even friendship with our family. However, nothing is quite like experiencing things first hand. As someone who has spent the last many years as a foreigner myself, I was really looking forward to hearing some of Mr H's first impressions.

I went with Randy to pick Mr. H up from the airport, and together we drove back to Clarion, a town close to where Randy's parents live. The plan was to stop through the town of Foxburg where Randy's son and daughter-in-law were participating in a fund-raiser for their trail association. Mr. H was particularly curious about rural life in the US, and this route would allow him to see some of that in Western Pennsylvania.

Some of his observations after the jump

• The houses were made of wood! After we passed a few dozen wood-sided houses, standard small-town Pennsylvania homes, he was surprised that they all appeared to be made of wood, a material he did not consider sturdy enough for the job. We explained to him that nearly all the houses he would be seeing, regardless of exterior materials (wood, vinyl siding, brick, etc), would be framed with wood, and also likely have wood or wood-material flooring. He asked about how long these could stand. When we told him easily 100-150 years, and longer with proper maintenance, he was satisfied that wood was not an unwise choice.

• The size of the farms we passed also surprised him, but I think we expected that response. The average farm in China is 1 to 3 acres in size, and even the Pennsylvanian hobby farms we saw were at least ten times that. We were fortunate to be able to show him as well some "typical farms," with the old farmhouse, at least one large, two-story barn, and fields of corn or grain.

• Also on our way around the small town of Foxburg we saw a small, rural school campus that housed all the school buildings for grades K-12, plus all of the playgrounds and athletic fields one would expect at even a small public school. Mr. H was completely shocked at how small the school was, even more so when we told him it was primary all the way up to high school. Without boarding for students or teachers, and the usual American limits on busing distance, the schools we saw serve a much smaller population than many Chinese schools. Our swing past this school led us into a further discussion on a topic that has often come up with Mr. H when we are in social situations--differences between the Chinese and American methods of education. He often brings it around to American students permitted (and often expected) to ask the teacher questions in the classroom, especially if it means the student is demonstrating a lack of understanding. In his experience, this is not common in China, while we in the US admire the students who are willing to admit they don't understand and take the initiative to engage the teacher further.

• In just those first few hours, Mr. H learned about some American marriage and burial rites. When we stopped to see Randy's son and daughter-in-law at the Foxburg Inn and Winery, I told Mr. H how it was a popular wedding spot. There was a ceremony rehearsal in progress near some neatly lined-up white chairs, and Mr. H said he felt "lucky" that he got a peek into how Americans get married. Later, after we passed so many recognizable churches, he pointed to the rows of headstones in one churchyard and asked me what those were.

• We stopped briefly at Randy's parents' house, for as long as Mr. H could stay awake that first day. He had seen pictures of it before, when Randy has shared them after one of our trips home. Randy's parents have a modest house on an acre-plus of land, and in the next next lot over is Randy's brother's house and his acre. With a heavily wooded area just behind the homes, Mr. H said to him it was like living in a park. 

• Coming into Randy's parents' basement, he could not help but notice the mounted antlers, the mounted fish, and the collection of bows and guns. I was surprised his only real reaction was admiration of the skill necessary to bag these animals. Well, that, and he wanted to know if the antlers were truly real. To further underscore the real-ness, Randy took him over to his brother's house to see the full head-mounts of two of his brother's biggest deer. Of course, Randy reminded him the goal of hunting is the meat.

• At a stop where Randy was filling the gas tank, Mr. H took the opportunity to get something out of his backpack. He had been to Wal-Mart near his hotel the night before and bought a few bottles of something he thought he recognized. Showing it to Randy, he offered to give him one of the bottles for himself. Randy looked at the White Vinegar and immediately stopped him from drinking it. It is nothing like Chinese vinegar drinks he was used to, which are sweetened beverages believed to be good for digestion and hydration. Randy cautioned him to take a small taste to see, adding that I often use this vinegar for non-food purposes like cleaning. One drop was all it took Mr. H to realize that Americans don't have the same vinegar.

• Later in the week, Randy and Mr. H were driving from one customer location to the hotel near another. It was not yet dark, and an acrid smell, unfamiliar to Mr. H, filled the car. Randy congratulated him on his first exposure to the North American skunk. Mr H at first had difficulty imagining a mammal could produce this scent, believing initially they were driving past a chemical plant. 

• As they have been able to fit them in between meetings, Mr H has also visited a few historical sites along the way. At Fort McHenry, he noticed that some of the American flags flown had only thirteen stars, and others fifteen, rather than the much larger number he has seen many times before. He had never known what the stars represent on our flag, or the stripes for that matter. I am guessing he will be noticing those for the rest of his trip. 

These are just a few from his first week. Some are rather small, but, again, as someone who lives most of the year as a curious foreigner, I enjoyed his first impressions.