Conversation Number 4!

After our wonderful conversation on Wednesday about food, Alex and I decided to meet for dinner at Market Square on Sunday at 6:00pm.  Sometimes food and talking combined can have awkward moments; you know, the whole ask a question right when the other person is stuffing food in their mouth and then can’t talk due to the food in their mouth and the proper rules of etiquette.  Well yes, there were a few of those occurrences, but for the most part our conversation went smoothly!

Alex was interested in learning more about my major and future job.  To someone who has no idea what physical therapy is, it is doubtful he would know about the even more obscure field of occupational therapy, which was the case with Alex.  Luckily, I am pretty used to having to simplify this topic in order to explain the field of occupational therapy because even most Americans do not know about the field; they are only familiar with physical therapy.  So explaining the field of occupational therapy was challenging and Alex did not quite understand it at first.  He didn’t understand the rehabilitation aspect and that I would be helping people in a clinic type setting.  Eventually though, he did understand (or at least pretended to understand) what I was explaining to him.

Our other topic of discussion on Sunday was about some cultural and development differences between China and America.  Our first subcategory was in regards to TV shows and movies.  Alex told me about two shows he is really invested in watching since he came to America – Lost and Walking Dead.  I have not seen either of these shows which he was surprised about!  But honestly, I haven’t seen many shows or movies; it is definitely an area where I lack knowledge.  We did discuss superhero movies and how they are so big in America, but in China the comic is not.  After that, we talked about movies that were huge successes in America that were also popular in China such as Star Wars and Harry Potter.  The other subcategory we discussed, this one in regards to the development of the countries, was transportation.  It is amazing how dependent we Americans are on automobiles to get from place to place, where in China people walk, bike, or heavily rely on the public transportation system.  My one experience abroad was to London where we rode the public transportation system basically everywhere.  And honestly, I loved it!  Everything went smoothly, and all I needed was a map to guide me!  Here though, the roads can be confusing and after traveling this weekend realized how dependent I am on Google and the internet maps to get anywhere new or unfamiliar.  We also talked about the cycle we have experienced in regards to transportation.  When America wasn’t as “developed” we relied on trains to transport us places.  And then the car was invented and we saw that as an important invention that every family should utilize and sure enough became the mode of transportation with railway a dying way of traveling except in regards to products and goods.  However, now we are pushing public transportation on people due to our nonrenewable energy sources depleting.  Now the “old-fashioned way” of mass transportation is actually the best mode in order to save fuel and be eco-friendly.  It is amazing to see how our country has come full circle, and the fact that an outsider from the U.S. has noticed this.  This, in part, is due to the fact that he is unable to travel easily or get to places he wants to since he doesn’t have a car and the public transportation cannot get him everywhere he desires. 

I especially enjoyed our conversation on Sunday, and loved learning about some cultural and lifestyle similarities and differences in American and China!