Source: Yiwu sourcing agent Author: YOYO Date: 2012-05-08
"Are you a Chinese?"
That question is one of the most difficult questions that I usually receive when they know I couldn't speak chinese very well.
I usually don't have time to explain whether I am Chinese or not.
Let me explain as short as I can. I'm pure overseas Chinese who was born in Indonesia and having Indonesian nationality. But I spent my life living as a student in United Kingdom before I came to Yiwu. So in one sentence, I can describe myself as"Chinese body, Indonesian Nationality, Western Minded".
If you couldn't imagine what my family life in Indonesia looks like, I can say it's just as the same as Korean people living in China who meet another Korean people, marry and then having children with still having korean culture. Some Overseas Chinese in my country are forgetting their ancient Chinese culture, but some including my family, are still following ancient Chinese tradition. This was where I learnt "The Eastern Minded".
Another part of my life where I learnt"The Western Minded" was before I graduated as Chemical Engineer from University of Birmingham in British. It was worth learning, not about the knowledge, but about western way of thinking and culture. For example: it is disgusting when someone burps; it is normal for students to hang out in a bar every night; and sex, creating extra background sound every night, is allowed and legal in student dormitory.
The first time I told my parents about my experience of going into a bar, they got panic and couldn't sleep the whole night and worried about me who lived far away from them.
Bar and Nightclubare in some way in their mind connected with getting drunk, drugs, sex etc.
There are confrontations of cultural view in here, just like Eastern Culture socializing during dinner in the restaurant, when western Culture socializing inside a Bar. In Business contexts, in the West friendship grows based on business, but in China Business grows based on friendship.
It was really difficult for me to choose who I'm sided with. But at least, I still can see from two sides point of views, in some extend, what I know that the combination usually creates powerful decisionmaking.
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