If you are not from the United States, you may not be interested in this article. Then again, you may find a similar experience upon returning to your home country. When you go to China, you will experience some culture shock. You probably already expect this. What you may not expect is culture shock when you return home. There are some things I never really noticed until I returned to the States from China.
No People
No matter where you go in Shanghai, you see people. On any street, you can walk for five minutes and count no less than fifty people, not including those driving cars. In the city center, you may see more people than you can count. I grew accustomed to this and when I returned to the US, felt as if I was walking in a ghost town. Occasionally a car would drive by, but I could walk around an entire neighborhood without seeing another person. For me, this was eerie.
Cold and Quiet Supermarkets
Actually, even the word “supermarket.” In the US, I always called them grocery stores, and now, having lived in China and had most of my conversations with non-Americans, I’ve come to call them supermarkets. Anyway, in China, especially if you go in the morning, on a weekend, of after work, the supermarkets are teeming with people. You can barely move through the narrower aisles of food. Perhaps all these people heat the large room, but when I returned to the states, I also noticed how cold the supermarkets- I mean, grocery stores, are. And how empty. With fewer people, I could hear the music whispering over the intercom.
Churches Everywhere
Okay, maybe this is just true in the Bible Belt, but I felt as if I saw a church on every other street corner. In China, you won’t find many (surprise, surprise).
People are Friendly
Yes, I know it’s a stereotype that Americans are loud and gregarious, but compared to the stoic and insular people in Shanghai, this really hits you. I’m a quiet, introverted person, but this is refreshing whenever I return home. Another plus about home: no one tries to cut in line.
Everything is Spread out
The population density in Shanghai is 3854 people per square kilometer. Now compare that with Denver, which has a population density of 1561 per square kilometer. Every block in Shanghai has apartment buildings stretching 20, 30, 40 stories into the sky. In a city like Denver, people live in houses, separated by spacious yards.
You Need to Drive Everywhere
One thing I love about China is how convenient transportation is. Outside of large East Coast cities, you almost need a car to get around in American cities.
China Notes 