Cultural Differences Between China and America

Recall to 8 years ago, I remember there was a lot of cultural differences that astounded me when I first came to America, especially on the education system. I remember when I had my first class in elementary school, everything was fresh to me. Unlike the classes in China, there was very few student and the desks were scattered in the classroom. During the class, the student did not have to stand up or rise up to answer or ask a question. It took me awhile to get used to this kind of course setting. At first, I comprehend this phenomenon as lack of politeness to the teacher. However, I noticed that this will facilitate a closer relationship between the student and teacher. As a result, I was more confident of asking questions and have conversations with the teacher.

On the other hand, the careless learning attitude and habit of American student had also shocked me and influenced me simultaneously. I notice that students did not value homework seriously as the paramount subject for school.Their explanation for their absences on school work was “I didn’t feel like to do it.” Also,I had noticed that they consider extracurricular activities more important than schoolwork. In contrast, I had never had a thought of missing the homework when I was studying in China, because the student in China will receive punishment from the teacher if there are missing assignments. However, I was somewhat influenced by this and sometimes procrastinate on my works too.

Another difference I had noticed between China and America was that car is the most important transportation in most cities. Little things such as going to grocery shopping require cars. Also, every time when my parent wanted to buy Chinese groceries, we had to drive all the way down to Los Angeles to purchase Chinese food. This was unusual to me because in the small city I grew up in was not necessary to use motor vehicles. It was convenient to buy most of the daily supplies around the living area within a walking distance. At first, I thought that an hour drive is long and boring, but now, I got used to this long distance driving on road. Especially after I had learned how to drive, long distance drive became a part of my life.