For the first month of my time in Beijing I found myself constantly making comparisons to life in Canada. I did this in an effort to better understand my surroundings. Everything was subject to my mental juxtaposition. I divided quoted prices by five to find the Canadian dollar equivalent. I noted the similarities and differences between the apps on my coworker’s phones with the Western apps on my phone. I would contrast the governance, laws, and customs in China with those in Canada. I was learning a ton from studying my environment but I was missing an important perspective.
After the initial excitement and fascination of living in a new place wore off, I had more time to think. I no longer had to worry about my daily commute, where the stores are, and what food eat. Once I settled in Beijing, the comparisons I made early on stopped. I was no longer scrutinizing every detail of life in China in reference to life in Canada. In that moment my reference point shifted and I began thinking about life in China in reference to my own life.
In a short time, I learned a lot about who I am. Living in a new place is much like an experiment. The independent variable is your new environment, the dependent variable is how you react, and finally the control is who you fundamentally are. While it’s important to examine how you behave in different circumstances, I found it just as important to take a closer look at the part of you that doesn’t change.
Which values do you hold dear regardless of where you live?
What rules do you still follow even though no one else cares, what new rules are you willing to break?
What are the obstacles you can live with and what are the things that you can’t live without?
Another lesson that I’ve learned from this great experiment is what’s truly universal. When you change the dependent variable to how people around you react, you quickly recognize the things everyone can understand. You learn about the kind of humour that can make anyone smile, the motivations we all share, and the pain anyone can sympathize with.
It’s easy to become an observer when you are just passing by. But once you plant yourself somewhere new you quickly run out of the shiny things to look at and you begin appreciating the more intimate details about your own life and the life around you.
