Language and Culture

During my past six months here in China I have observed and read up about a "few" differences between language and culture in regards to the West and the East. Here is a metaphor to help understand how these two things function together and separately.

1. Language is flesh, and culture is blood. Without culture, language would be dead; without language, culture would have no shape.

2. Picture an ice berg. Language is only part of the tip that is above water; the greater part, lying hidden beneath the surface is the invisible aspect of culture.

3. Add another component of communication. Communication is swimming, language is the swimming skill and culture is water. Without language, communication would remain to a very limited degree; without culture, there would be no communication at all.

Another example of the two thought processes:

Western medicine divides the human body into different parts and treats them accordingly. In a Western hospital, patients have to go to different departments to get treated and lots of different tests are done to come to a conclusion. A traditional Chinese medicine doctor, however, looks at the patient as an organic whole, always taking into consideration the connections of different parts of the body. As a result, a patient suffering from a severe headache may get some foot treatment, as some acupoints are believed to be connected with certain parts of the head. This difference reflects the differences in the world views and thinking patterns of the two cultures. (Intercultural Communication)

I recently was sick with the stomach flu and felt that I should see a doctor to make sure it wasn't anything serious. Luckily there is an international clinic here in Kunming that has western doctors who speak English. I am very grateful for this because otherwise, I would have had to gone to the Chinese hospital. I am not afraid of Chinese doctors but they do things very differently than western doctors. For example, Chinese doctors give their patients an IV for everything and I mean everything. My friend had to get a couple of screws removed from his ankle, (he broke it a year ago and had the screws put it), and he was stuck in the hospital for 3 days with an IV, for a simple ankle surgery. Chinese doctors also give tons of antibiotics for everything. I am sure if I had gone to the hospital for a simple stomach flu I would have been given an IV, lots and lots of pill and probably would have been ordered to stay overnight. Thankfully it was just the stomach flu and I was better after a few days. The western doctor just told me to rest, drink lots of fluids and eat simple foods for the next couple of days...and all was well :)

Holiday Fun

My co-workers and I in front of our delicious Thanksgiving feast

In the spirit of the holidays, I wanted to share the holiday spirit here in Kunming. I had the advantage of enjoying two American style Thanksgiving meals, one with friends and another with co-workers. A western cafe sold cooked turkeys, most of the ovens in China are too small to bake a whole turkey in, and the turkey was surprisingly moist and delicious. I made deviled eggs with my mom's secret recipe and it was a great success. Lydia, the 4 yr old girl in the picture even snuck an extra into her mouth when her mom wasn't looking, thats how I know they were a big hit.

Cutting the turkey, and yes, that is a Lion's jersey

Yesterday I put up our Christmas tree. It might be small but it carries plenty of Christmas spirit and lots of sparkly lights. I put a wreath on my door and decorated the rest of the apartment with passed down decorations of past foreigners (thanks Whitney :). I've been playing Christmas music and deciding which kind of cookies to make. I am not sure how China will celebrate Christmas, if they will at all. The shopping malls have their lights up and ornaments hung, but I doubt I will see many trees in people's homes.

This Christmas season I am very blessed to have my family come visit me and spend Christmas in Kunming and Beijing! They will finally get to see what my life here is like and then we will all travel to the Great Wall together. I hope everyone is getting into the Christmas spirit and remembering the real reason for the season! G-d Bl-ss.