Answer

Immersion Project Paper

The world is not only composed of natural features and climate, but also many cultures. The diversity in nature is equivalent to that in society and history. Culture refers to the beliefs, practices, rules, and artifacts that distinguish human populations or how they think and perceive the world (Corey, Corey, Corey, & Callanan, 2019). Social scientists frequently talk about socialization procedure, which refers to the influence of parents, education, friends, and the relations with other cultures as the basis for one’s beliefs. As a result, the influences cause better forms of activities mutual to members of a given culture (In Zang, & In Zhao, 2017). However, they differ regarding education system, cultural history, religion, and their perception of other cultures. I selected the Chinese culture to observe for this project. I did the project at my residence in California with my neighbor Yang Yunxiang, in a one-time setting. I have always been interested in understanding other cultures and beliefs to study what the fundamental similarities and dissimilarities were as a way of understanding others who are from diverse nations better.

Culture is the collective forms of our behaviors and communication, which are understood through socialization. Every culture is characterized by endless alteration. As an active occurrence, cultures change constantly and they must adjust to ecological variations (Corey, Corey, Corey, & Callanan, 2019). This is one of the common structures of civilization. It is good to appreciate the things people have in common with other cultures even if we learn that other cultures are completely different. I intend to be culturally sensitive and this assignment will enable me to prepare well and understand other cultures better and continue working with them in future. 

Observations

Yunxiang explain that his cultural history is vast range and it has several special features that are very stimulating for other cultures to acquire. Chinese culture is among the oldest beliefs in the world. Chinese has a rich culture due to their delicious cuisine, opulent art and distinct festival only experienced in China (Tang, 2015). Over the years, I have learned that knowledge is most time overrated. Genuine cultural study is the only method to appreciating the dissimilarities.

Chinese believe in Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, which have left a communal and permanent belief on the Chinese values and customs. Confucianism spread “Ren” (Affection) and “Li” (rituals), demonstrating admiration for culture and societal power structure (Tang, 2015). Taoism encouraged the contentious viewpoint of indecision. Buddhism, on the other hand, gives emphasis on the requirement to accomplish self- freedom through moral activities. The three are major religions in China, even though it is accurate to state that Confucianism is a philosophical school instead of a belief. My early interpretations of Chinese were that they were Indians, until I learned that they speak a different language, I quickly recognized that they were not Indians though they are in Asia (Tang, 2015). Language relations comprise Austro-Asiatic, Sino-Tibetan, Indo-European, Austronesian and Altaic. Yunxiang is bilingual and speaks Chinese and English fluently.

My interest in this culture is to discover their experience living in the United States, if rituals are a mutual exercise that everybody identifies, for instance, it is authorized that young people must know martial arts. There has been a challenge knowing more about Yunxiang’s culture because there are certain topics that he does not want to reveal about his culture or nation. 

Dialogue

Yunxiang explained that a classic family structure in China is equivalent to a nuclear household in the United States. Yunxiang shared that he has two siblings and their family is free. They can discuss with his parents anything of concern. He also shared that his parents are strict with their culture and their family is based on Chinese customs (Corey, Corey, Corey, & Callanan, 2019). His parents believe that it is their responsibility to take care of the children by making sure that they do not forget their culture and pass the customs to the next generation. He said that their parents are also strict on their religion, as they want them to grow to cherish their belief. The authoritative parent style in their family gives them room to be independent with their decisions as the children explore more about their tradition (In Zang, & In Zhao, 2017). I have learnt that Chinese young children must learn Kungfu to remain involved in their tradition and consequently, it is a tendency that has been retained from previous generation to the contemporary one. These customs symbolize their spiritual beliefs and consequently, the exercise of most of the values here is considered holy. Some traditions such as Kungfu are trained for security purposes and the fight is usually practiced amongst the Chinese. Confucianism is also significantly impelling their beliefs that is very vital as it emphasizes on the significance of obedience to the traditions and customs. Confucius in place, which is vital as it, emphasizes on the meaning of honor to the leaders. Confucius is maintained for educating policies linked to Chinese civilization.

Yunxiang confirms that his culture esteems family life and it the basis of their traditions. The children tend to stay with their parents even after they get married and have children of their own, so that you often see three or four generations living under the same roof, unlike other cultures where the kids that have grown up try to get as far away from the parents as possible. However, everyone is well organized within this compact family each member of the family help each other when there is any problem and they will suffer together (In Zang & In Zhao, 2017). Most of the customs in China are interlinked around the family system and social structure that they have developed over some centuries. It adopted a patriarchal structure of heritage, and it believes that the eldest male is the head of the family. Extended families are common cultures, and the general order determined a request for leaders and educators. In China, the decorum of all women was part of the culture; nevertheless, limitations on women were not linked to those experienced in Middle East nations (Tang, 2015).

Family life in China is quite different from North American’s method, since North Americans tend to be independent and largely separated from the rest of the family members. The elderly in China do not like staying alone and therefore they consider it vital to live with the rest of the family and relatives unlike in America where the old can live by themselves. Chinese have great respect to the old generations, who are also considered the most important out of all the generations (Gu, Ma, & Teng, 2017). They love to take care of their grandparents and support them in their final years. This is quite important for Chinese family. Parents take care of their elders (their parents) somewhat as a payment for the care their parents gave them (Tang, 2015). This causes the middle aged parents to require their children to care for them when they grow old. You cannot only observe this kind of bond just in China, but also all around the United States.

Chinese encourage marriage and family life. They are social people and can bond with other cultures easily. They are nurtured to respect other cultures in a family setting (In Zang & In Zhao, 2017).They honor the traditions of every culture as they expect the same from other people. However, they are not always open to every culture they meet. Yunxiang was shocked when he never found the same hospitality they receive in China. When he first came to California, he was discriminated against just as the African Americans are seen through acts of stereotyping and racism. He was shocked by the rude reception he received from the American culture on how they relate to people and cultures different from theirs.

Yunxiang emotionally shared how their culture teach them to be nice to people. One of the traits that Chinese culture cherish is respect. Therefore, being nice to people is a form of love and it helps them embrace other cultures and raise their children the right way (Gu, Ma, & Teng, 2017). Chinese serve their client calmly, their daily activities do not change. They continually bow and appreciate their customers (Tang, 2015). This is more connected to their system of education, where manners is tied to being educated the right way. Parents continually encourage the young ones to love education and further their learning beyond college. Therefore, corporate approaches towards having a profession or employed are affirmative features Chinese people maintain (Gu, Ma, & Teng, 2017). China celebrate the Ching Ming festival every year. This is a holiday amongst the Chinese and it usually takes two days. Customarily, individuals enjoy themselves through partying, dancing around, and sharing their experiences. 

The Chinese have formal social structure where they expect everyone to fit in somewhere and respect the set rules. People expected to maintain a certain social structure and not interfere with others. Yunxiang explains that the society expects people to live in harmony and honor because disagreements may lead to misunderstandings and rivalry especially to those visiting China for the first time. This is also seen in the way Chinese people solve conflicts. When a businessperson is planning to do business in China or supposing to stay for a long time in China, it is important and useful for them to understand that Chinese solve their problems differently (Gu, Ma, & Teng, 2017). They approach issues differently as they do not always use direct confrontation to solve issues. They rely on the respect, honor and truth. To prove anything and demonstrate pride to other people is considered shameful and must be avoided.

Yunxiang confirms that their culture love doing things collectively like solving an issue in a group of people since one will get many ideas on how to solve an issue. This has promoted peace and unity among them unlike in America where individualism is embraced in every area of life. This has been a source of conflict between Americans and other cultures. People from China tend to care about other customs and cautious of how their acts might affect others rather than how it might affect them personally. Yunxiang shared that Chinese people are more willing to quit and forfeit to maintain a good relation or peace.  America’s self-centeredness has been the cause of its achievement as a super power, but when going to China it must be reined.

Overview Experience

I have learned that to know a culture, one must ask the right people, especially an individual from the country. Meeting Yunxiang has taught me to respect other cultures and not just judging them by what I usually read and hear about them in the internet. I knew Yunxiang is from China but never took time to understand his culture. The language and vocabulary used in China is Kanji, the sign letterings in Japan have a similarity to the Chinese characters, and can really be the mutual connection between a Chinese and Japanese (Gu, Ma, & Teng, 2017). Chinese individuals are as direct as American people are and very aggressive as opposed to the Japanese. Chinese serve their client calmly by continually bowing and appreciating their customers with gifts. Japanese; however, attempt to be professional every time. Through this experience with Yunxiang, I have understood more about cherishing one’s culture and other people’s culture. I have become too considerate to different people and their opinions. I do not want to be ignorant of other people’s culture or rely on rumors. I have developed a tendency to research more about other cultures or ask the right people about their way of life since it is a great approach to remain aware of different cultures. This project is a great approach that encourages cultural sensitivity, which can be developed overtime.