Geat Japanese Lockin Dance Video

So wanna share this video to everyone.

It's a great dancing performance combining lockin and martial arts. And great ideas!!!

Enjoy!

Geat Japanese Lockin Dance Video

The Chinese concept of sharing

Several weeks ago, I have a french who was having her birthday celebration. She invited my friends and I to go to her place and have a birthday dinner together. That were three Chinese people and she was very into Chinese food. So we Chinese girls decided to cook a Chinese style dinner for her birthday. It was very interesting cooking Chinese food in a French friend's home. We had to bring all kinds of sources and foodstuff to her place.

We prepare like four or five dishes. Usually in a Chinese way,  we got everything prepared and all the dishes cooked and then we will start dinner. This might be a little different from western diet. She assumed that we serve the dishes one by one. So every time we had one dish ready she tried to serve it on the table for everybody to eat. And when we explained to her how we did in our own culture she seemed very surprised.

That reminded me of another story I read on some book. A Chinese girl who was studying in the U.S. was having lunch with some American friends in a Chinese restaurant. She thought each one of them will pick one food and they share. But what it came out was that everyone was only picking their own dish and eat their own.

In Chinese culture, lunches and dinners are not just for meals. Those are times that people get together to enjoy the good food together and talk about what is going on in life. Usually both in homes and in restaurants, there will be round tables with people sitting around with a bowl of rice in front of them and we share the dishes together.

In this way, each of us can try various kinds of food. Besides, as we sit at a round table, we can see each one's face which is a very friendly way for open converstations. When I am at home having dinner with my firends, we always talk about things that happen in our life to share. Chinese culture values harmony and sharing very much. We think big familes are good and big get-togethers are good all because we have a lot of people together to share the food with and to share the conversations with.

I like this side of my culture and think that it might also work well in a American context. Maybe American people can try it too.

The Chinese concept of sharing

Spectacular Chinese Government Buildings

I was googling about differences between China and the U.S. the other day and was surprised to find there were a lot of pictures comparing Chinese and American government buildings.

In China, the government is playing a very important role in the society. I have heard a comment that in China we can be oppsed to famous scientific theories but we can't be oppsed to political leaders. But in the U.S. the situation is exactly the opposite. So in China many government buildings are especially spectacular compared to thosed in America. Here are some photos.

And then take a look at some of the government buildings in the U.S.

Seems like they look just like smalls churches few blocks from home. Many people don't even pay a lot attention to them when passing by.

Spectacular Chinese Government Buildings

White skin and tanned skin

There is a very interesting phenomenon I noticed about skin color.

In Asia, especially many countires in east Aisa, people like to have very white skin color. In China, we have a saying that having a white skin is powerful enough to hide some faults.So in those countries, girls try to do a lot to have a whiter skin. We are holding unbrellas in a sunshine day with a lot of sunblock cream on. And usually in our concept, having white-colored skin is a big advantage for girls. There are all kinds of skin care or make up products in the market trying to help the girls look whiter and whiter.

Many of the opinions and phenomena might seem very unbelivable for westerners. I never see people holding umbrellas in the U.S in a sunny day. People here seem to enjoy the sunshine very much. Different from Asian girls like me who is always trying to avoid being exposed to the sun, people in the U.S. are very happy to embrace the sun and they even have something like sunbathe. As a result, very white skin is not always seen beautiful for them. I have a language partner who is originally fron Vietnan and was born and brought up in here is very in to tanned skin. She thinks that tanned skin makes her look healthy and beautiful.

I always find it very interesting to see how differently eastern people and western people view beauty.

White skin and tanned skin

Cherry Blossom in Japan

It's finally the cherry season!!

People from all over this country are rushing to DC to enjoy the beautiful sights of cherry blossom. I wish I could go!! But many people here might not konw that cherry blossom in Japan is even more beautiful!

Two years ago, when I visited Tokyo, it was in May. Very sadly, I missed the cherry blossom season. I have always wanted to visit Japan again during sakura season and enjoy some of Japan's traditions. Although this year Japan was hit by the tsunami and earthquake, sakura is still blossoming! Anyway, as I cann't go this year, I'd like to share some pictures about cherry blossom in Japan.

A map indicating when cherry will blossom in different cities

Sakura and Tokyo Tower

Cherry and the symbolic Fuji mountain

Traditional Japanese style house

Beautiful!

ゆかた traditional japanese clothes

I am really hoping that one day I can be there to see all the beautiful sights!

Do you like cherry? Have you ever been to Japan? Would you like to visit it one day to enjoy the beauty of cherry as I do?

Cherry Blossom in Japan

Interesting Videos about China

Just to share with you two funny videos taken by an American who is living in China. He talked a little bit about what he loved and did not like about China.

1. What I do not like about China.

2. What I like about China.

Dan makes them very funny watch. But the videos do give some ideas about people and the culture in China.
If you have some experiences in China, what do you think about the videos and China?

Interesting Videos about China

Used to think....And then I find out about this country

I have been learning English and culture for more than 10 years. I used to think that I knew this country pretty well. And I had a lot preconcepts about the people and things in the U.S. But when I finally get here, studying and staying with local people, I find out that actually many things are not the same as what I expected.

1. I used to think that student in America spend very little time on study and they don't work very hard. But I find out that they are very diligent. If you are in the librarary around mid night, most of the students who are still studying are locol.

2. I used to think that Asian students must be way better than American students at maths. But then I find out that there are a lot of American students who are very clever and good at maths.

3. I used to think American schools are like the ones in Gossip Girls. Parties, alcohol and intricate relationships. Well, some of them might look a little similar to the students in Gossip Girls. But most of them look different. Many of my classmates and friends treat relationships very serious and some of them get marry at a very young age!!

4. I used to think that New York city must really be a metropolis. But it turned out to be a messy and crowded city with disappointing subway system. Yes, it does look fantastic from the top of the Empire State Building, but it's far away from the one in pictures and TV.

5. I used to think that there must be many obese people here because American people eat a lot of junk food. But I find out that many people actually have very good figures. They go to gym a lot and pay much attention to keep fit. There are many obese people, but very interestingly they look free and natural, and live their live with their with attitudes.

6. I used to think that people here must be more stylish than China cause fashion industry here is more developed. However, what I see most are plain colored hoodies with university logos and slacks. People don't seem to care a lot about how they look, but how whether they feel comfortable in those clothes.

Anyway, things always look different than expected. That's the fascination of experiencing and traveling. I still like this country very much. I have been here for 7 months now. There are a lot of things that I still have experienced. Maybe some of my understandings are still wrong, but I can get to know more as time passes.

Used to think....And then I find out about this country

Respecting the old and loving the young

In China, we have always put a lot of weight on traditional virtues. As children, we are told to be obedient and respect senior members of the family. When we grow up as adults, we bear great responsibilities to take care of the young and elderly members of the family. Because in our culture, the young and the old are the people who are comparatively more vulnerable and need more help from the society.

So in buses and subways in China, you can always see a lot of signs to remind people to give up their seats to people in need. So it's pretty common to see young people stand up and let people in need to sit in buses.

But when I came to the U.S., I remembered one time I was on the bus with my friend. There was a old lady getting on and the priority seats had already been taken. My friend had been staying in the States for a long time, she reminded me that if you see something like this, don't just give your seat to senior people as you did in China. Poeple here don't like to do it this way. Man people here think they can do it without others' help.

This is another cultural difference between the two countries. The societies see individuals differently in these two countries. In China, the culture values collectivism much more. It sees individuals as part of the society and and society should do a lot to help and benefit the society. In contrast, in the U.S., individualism is valued more. Each individual has his or her own ability and uniqueness. You don't have to be similar to other people around.

Respecting the old and loving the young

Uniform Culture in China, Japan and the U.S.

I remember when I was in school, there were always discussions about whether students should wear uniform to school. Some say that dressing all the same shows no personality as a student but some argue that students can be less distracted with uniforms.

I am actually a supporter of the uniform culture. There were a lot of good memories about commenting on uniforms and cutting out the uniforms to make it better looking but not too much to be discovered by school officers.

In Asia, the uniform culture might be more prevalent. I seldom see students wearing the same in the U.S. In China, most schools have uniforms, some cities have their unified uniforms too. And we wear uniforms to school everyday to look trim. The same thing happen in Japan and Korea.

In China, the styles of uniforms are always pretty conservative and drab. Most of the time, uniforms are designed in a very sporty way. The color will most likely be blue, black and white. Here is a typical Chinese style uniform.

And although throughout the years, the uniforms in China still tend to be comparative more conservative, many students are getting very creative to make their uniforms more stylish.

It looks great, but you always have to be careful to wear like this to school because you might not be allowed to enter. Luckily, I have heard that many schools in China now are thinking about reform their uniforms and make them with more style. Great news. Hope to see some surprises.

Even though,  the uniform culture in Japan is still much more colorful. Japan is always very famous for its uniform culture. Every school in Japan has its own designed uniforms. Some of them are more beautiful and stylish. Many Japanese students even choose a school to attend based on the style of its uniform. So Japanese schools make a lot of efforts to design the uniforms beautiful.

 I think every girl would be very happy to wear uniforms like this. But are you brave enough to wear skirts this short even in very cold winter like the weather here in Boston? I know Japanese girls surely will!

However, here in the U.S. uniform culture is totally a different picture. Most public schools do not have uniforms. Students can basically wear whatever they like. Uniforms may exist in some private schools or mission schools.To be frank, altohugh I have been here in the U.S. for more than 6 months, I have never seen students wearing uniforms. I tried to google "American uniforms" and all I got were military uniforms. So like most of other Chinese people, my knowledge of American's uniform comes from TV. America is not really a country of fashion. Compared to Japan, France or Italy, people might be less likely to describe American as stylish. However, the uniforms in some TV series, for example Gossip Girl, are very enjoyable to watch.

But people usually say that dramas are the exaggeration of real life. So I guess I still have very limited ideas about the uniforms in American schools.

If you love your uniforms in school, tell me about it and share with me.

Uniform Culture in China, Japan and the U.S.

Sleeping Asian in Library

I am an Asian, I have ever slept over the table in library. And I find it normal to sleep for a while if I get tired.

This is actually a very normal situaltion you can see a lot of people do in libraries in many countries in Asia. It is very common for Asian people to spend a lot of time in the library. Some of us even spend the whole day staying in the library. So we take a rest after a certain period of time.

However, I seldom see people do this in the U.S. American people usually come to the library only when they have things to do, like they have projects or assignments to finish. And they come, finish the work, and then leave. So basically they won’t sleep in the library.
This is another cultural difference between Asia and the U.S. Asian people spend more time per day on study while American people have a more “work hard, play harder” concept.

Recently I was googleing this topic on the internet and very surprisingly to find that actually a lot of American people are also very interested in this topic. So I got to find a lot of interesting and true pictures taken by them about sleeping Asian in library. I’d like to share some of them with you.

USC Orientation


Univesity of Michigan


Washington University at St. Louis

Whether from Asia or local, have you ever tried that? What do people around think about that?

Sleeping Asian in Library

Cultural communication

I saw a video named Chinese and Taiwanese on facebook yesterday.It brought me to think a lot about how different people can think about the same issue. I wanted to share the video with all others but I suddenly found that it was actually deleted and I now have no access to it.

Like many Chinese people, because of the education we have had in the past, I have always hold it so steadily that Taiwan was, is and always will be part of China. This is the comman opinion about Taiwan’s political position held by the majority of Chinese people. That’s how we were taught by teachers and what we see in the news.

However, after I came to the U.S. and had some interaction with Taiwanese people, my perspective changes. I still wish it in my heart that Taiwan is part of China, but I do see the how we talk in different ways,  and how we think of each other in didfferent ways. It is much more complicated than simply categorize Taiwan as a province or as a country. I guess a lot of us have already noticed the differences, so most of the time my Chinese friends try to be less active in expressing their political standpoint. We try to be quiet and observe and think. Like stated in the video, Chinese people think very positively about this issue. Maybe that is because that we are always told and taught that Taiwanese people are part of our family.

But most of the Taiwanese I met in the U.S. tend to have a strong standpoint about their political independence. There are a lot of times, I heard Taiwanese express their political opinions in presentations, converstaions and class discussions casually or purposely. I am not sure whether the Chinese people they meet are the same as they thought we could be. Do they see the difference or they just do not want to admit the different and insist that we are the same as they were taught as self-centered ad dangerous.

When there is no communication between two cultures or people of two nations, the cultural differences can be exaggerated and might cause misunderstanding. That is the case of China and Taiwan, and also North and South Korea. I like very much about what one girl said in the video, sometimes it is hard to get an answer. Probably we cannot even see a solution in our whole life, but the answer does not matter. What matters is the communication and exchange between, that is more that simply an answer.

Cultural communication

Brand obsession in Japan

This is my favourite video about Japan and some Japanese cultural phenomena. For those who do not have access to youtube, here is another link for this video: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTYxNjg0MDM2.html
When it was posted in youtube, many people criticisized it as a racism video. But actually it was made by a Japanese man. I personally don’t think it is that bad and it reveals a lot of interesting facts about Japan and Japanese people.
It actually reminds me a lot about the things I saw in Tokyo when I traveled to Japan in 2009 especially how Japapnese girls are obsessed with luxury brands. Here are more statistics.  In Japan, 94% of the women won LV handbangs in their 20s. 50% of the LV sales were achieved in Japan. I remembered when my friend fist visted Japan, she described to me that every girl in Ginza was holding a LV bag. This is a very interesting scene.


Most my Japanese friends in Japan have their part-time jobs after school. Most of the time, they can afford a LV bag after working for about a month. So money is not a very big deal. What makes it important is social recognition. Japan is a typical Asian country where people care very much about how they are viewed by others in the society. This psychology is especially notable in Japan as it is an island country where people are very insecure.
Anyway, Japan is indeed a strange and intesting country. There would be more to talk about next time.
If you are an Asian, do you have similar obsession about brands? If you are not Asian, how do you view this? Share with me.

Brand obsession in Japan