TheauthorandhisgirlfriendenjoywinetastingatavineyardonOldMissionPeninsulaneartheauthor鈥檚hometowninMichigan,U.S.A.courtesyoftheauthorRecentlyItookatripbackhometotheUnitedStates.
Foralmostfouryears,IhadbeenlivingandworkinginXi鈥檃ninwesternChina,onlytakingshorttripstootherlocationsinChinaorsometimesotherplacesinSoutheastAsia.Whysolongwithoutatriphome?Well,duringmyfirsttwoyearsinChinaIworkedasateacheratahighschool.Workingtheregavemeplentyoftimeoffduringsummerholidays,butnotmuchofabudgetfortravel.AfterIswitchedtomycurrentjobatasoftwarecompany,whereIdoEnglishlanguageandWesternculturetraining,Ihadmoremoney,butlesstimeofftouseit.WhenIheardthatoneofmynephewswasstartingtowonderwhetherImighthavedied,IrealizedIhadbeenawayfortoolong.Besides,IhadbeendatingmyChinesegirlfriendforaboutayearandahalf,sowefigureditwastimeforherandmyfamilytomeetandspendsometimetogetheronthesamecontinent.
So,withmoneysaved,plansmadeandticketspurchased,wepackedourbagsandtookawhirlwind,two-weektriptotheothersideoftheworld.
Iwascuriousabouthowitwouldfeeltofinallyreturnhome.Woulditbefamiliarorstrange?Ihadheardstoriesofreversecultureshock,wherepeoplewhohavelivedabroadformanyyearsreturnhomeandfinditdifficulttoadjust,soIwonderedwhatitwouldbelikeforme.Afterall,livinginadifferentculturecangiveyouanewsenseofnormalcy.
Asitturnedout,thethingthatfeltmoststrangewasspeakingEnglishinpublic!AfteryearsofusingChinesetoorderfood,excusemyselfandaskfordirections,itfeltoddtouseEnglishandheareveryonearoundmedoingthesame.OftenIwouldopenmymouth,findChinesewordsonthetipofmytongueandhavetomentallyswitchlanguages.
Butasidefromminorlinguisticwhiplash,thetripgotmethinkingalotaboutwhat鈥檚similaranddifferentbetweenlifeinChinaandtheU.S.Becausemygirlfriendwentwithme,shewasabletoaddherperspective.
Anysortofcomprehensiveorin-depthcomparisonoflifeinChinaandtheU.S.wouldtakeyearsofresearch.Instead,Itookaquicksnapshotofafewthingsthatstoodoutduringourtrip.
MoreTreesintheU.S.
Onethingwecouldn鈥檛helpbutnoticewastheairandwaterqualityintheU.S.Everywherewewentwasfilledwithblueskiesinthedaytimeandaclearviewofthestarsatnight.ThewatersofLakeMichiganandLakeSuperiorwereimpossiblyblueandcrystalclear.Everysunsetwasspectacular.
Wewereimpressedbythesheernumberanddiversityoftreesandplantswesaw.Mygirlfriendsaideverywherewewentfeltlikeaparkoragarden.Wecouldn鈥檛sayforsure,butitfelttousliketheU.S.hasalotmoretreesthanChina.Whenwegotback,Ilookedupsomestatisticsonforestation.AstudypublishedinthejournalNatureconfirmedoursuspicions:Whilebothcountrieshavealotoftrees(wellover100billioneach),theU.S.isestimatedtohaveabout90billionmoretreesthanChina,andismuchmoretree-dense,withabout10,000moretreespersquarekilometer.So,intermsoftreesatleast,itseemstheviewsreallyaregreenerinmanypartsoftheU.S.Withthatsaid,Chinahasbeenmakingbigstridestoplanttreesandfindwaystofightpollution,sothecountrymaybeonitswaytoamuchgreenerfuture.
BetterPublicTransportationinChina
IntheU.S.wedidalotofdriving.Infact,afterpickingupourrentalcarinChicago,weputover2,000milesonit鈥攏earlyenoughtodrivefromonecoastoftheU.S.totheother.AllthetimespentontheroadgotusthinkingaboutthewayspeoplegetaroundinChinaandtheU.S.
Inrecentyears,atsunamiofcompetingdocklessbike-sharingserviceshassweptacrossChina,bringinganewwaveofconvenientcommutingtomillionsofurbandwellers.Bike-sharingserviceshavehelpedreducecongestiononotherformsofpublictransportationinChinesemetropolises,nottomentionreducingvehicleemissionsandpromotingexercise.Thebike-sharingstart-uptrendbecomessopopularthatmanycitiesarecurrentlydrowninginasurplusofbikesfromdifferentcompanieswagingwarwitheachother鈥攕omuchsothatbikesareoccasionallyfoundpileduponsidewalksandstreetcorners.MunicipalgovernmentsinChinaareworkinghardontheissueandwilllikelybeabletofindbetterequilibriuminthenearfuture.
AlthoughsomeU.S.citiessuchasChicagohaveexcellentpublictransportationoptions,muchofAmericaisbuiltfordriving.Asaresult,peopleandplacesaremorespreadout,andmanycitiestendtoofferpoorerpublictransportationandaremuchless鈥渨alkable鈥漷hanisoftenthecaseinChina.InmuchofChina,it鈥檚easytogotowork,buygroceries,takeatriptothemallorgoouttoeatsimplybywalkingorusingpublictransportation.Thoughattimesthebusesandtrainscanbecrowded,it鈥檚stillacheapandeffectivewaytogetaround.IntheU.S.,allthosethingstendtobehardertodounlessyouhaveacartodriveyourself.
Forme,drivinggenerallyfeltalittlelesscutthroatintheU.S.,andtrafficrulesseemedmorestrictlyenforcedthaninChina.Atthesametime,IwouldsayChina鈥檚publictransportationoptionsareoftenbetterandcheaper,anditscitiestendtobemorepedestrian-friendly.Ultimately,wefeltthatbothcountrieshaveplusesandminusesintermsofgettingaround.
WhenmygirlfriendandItalkabouttheseandotherissuestotrytoseepastourdifferences,weoftenfoundmoreincommonthanwethought,evenifthemethodsweusetotrytoreachthemsometimeslookquitedifferent.
Partsofmyheartbelongtobothcountries.Iwanttoseebothplacescontinuetodevelopandovercometheirrespectivechallenges.ChinaandtheU.S.havealottooffertoeachotherandtheworld,andthere鈥檚alotwecanlearnfromeachotherifwetry.
Weeachhavealottoshare,solet鈥檚keeptheconversationsgoing.
August27,2018:AtrainfortheLine9andLine10ofthemetroinnortheasternChina鈥檚ShenyangCity.VCG
KayakersonLakeHuroninMichigan,U.S.A.courtesyoftheauthorTheauthorisaseniortrainingspecialistatObjectivaSoftwareSolutions.