Different Culture Between US and China
I’ve been to Santa Barbara for a whole month. As an international student from China, I’ve noticed many culture differences between United States and China. In this article, I’d like to focus on the distinctive treatments of disability as the benefits given to disability in US attracts and surprises me when I first came to America.
I live in a dorm that is outside the main campus, so I have to go to school by bus. One day, a girl sitting on the wheelchair wants to take a bus. The bus driver gets off the bus immediately, help her get on the bus, pack up the seats in the first few rows to leave space, arrange her wheelchair and fix it. The driver does the whole process with smiling and full passion. Meanwhile, all other passengers wait at the bus stop with patience and no one get on the bus before that girl. Although I know that people shall care disabilities, I still think it’s not a wise decision to let the disability occupy minutes’ waiting time of all passengers, their seats and a large standing space on bus. It’s definitely unavailable in China as there’re so many people. Sometimes buses can’t even hold one more person, not to mention a wheelchair.
Besides buses, desirable parking spaces are reserved for disabilities; supportive installations are set up in toilets to provide them convenience; even in campus, the school pays student for taking notes for the disabilities in the class. I also notice an interesting scene that, instead of the disabled ones, most beggars in US are healthy people, at least seemingly healthy people.
In contrast, China focus more on education of blind and deaf-mute. Some who can’t hear can dance proficiently, some who can’t see have read more books than the mass; some who can’t speak have successfully learned to talk frequently and even sing. The education enables them to live like normal people and live on themselves.
China is crowded with people, so any decision will affect a lot. If China and US can learn from each other, and pay more attention to improve the life quality of disability, the whole world will benefit!
