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Jiaqi Cheng
Professor Jon Beadle
English 113B
11 May 2016
When Chinese culture meets American culture
With the development of society and technology, the blend of cultures gradually
becomes a trend. This is good because different countries can communicate with each other.
Also, people broaden their horizons through the communication between different cultures.
However, it is hard to cross into a different culture and people will find many problems
during their communication. As an international student, I totally have the feeling that there is
a gap between me and foreigners. When I first came to America, I lived in a host family who
affected me a lot. In general, Chinese culture is totally different from American culture.
According to an article named Chinese American Culture in the Making: Perspectives and
Reflections on Diasporic Folklore and Identity, Each individual and group had its own
distinctive identity. Yet this identity could never be known directly; it could only be
approached through its expressions (Zhang 13). My identity is Chinese, and my expression
of a Chinese behavior and thought is different from my host family who is American.
Sometimes, we did not understand each other because of some different behaviors and
thoughts. There were many differences in daily life between me and my host family, such as
cooking and the method of washing clothes, and I faced many difficulties as I was trying to
adapt the environment.
When I came to America at the first time, I was not used to the American culture. I lived

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in a host family which only has two people---mother and daughter, and two dogs. They were
not rich people so that the hostess had to do two jobs to earn more money. The daughter is
two years younger than me, but she also needed to do a part-time job after she finished
classes. I did not talk with them so often not only because they did not have time, but also I
did not know what I should say. For example, I always ate dinner with my host family. It was
inevitable that we chatted with each other. The result was that they had a good time during
the dinner time, but I could not join them and I found that there was not opportunity for me to
talk. Maybe the reason was that I still had the problem of speaking English, so I could not
chat with foreigners very well. Sometimes, the hostess asked me some questions about school
lives or my lives in China or something about China. When I answered, I realized that it was
hard for me to express my true meanings. What was more serious was that sometimes I did
not understand what they were talking about.
From that time on, I realized that the language was really important and it was of vital
importance for an international student to speak English well. In a book named Rhetoric for
Radicals, Take a moment and try to think without using language. You may be able to
summon up images, emotions or experiences. But you cannot think about those things--identify, comprehend or understand them---without language (Gandio 105). I can not image
that if I do not know how to speak English, I will have nothing to communicate with other
people in a different country. It is necessary for me to learn English well. Therefore, I did not
want to be silent in the host family, and I started to communicate with them so that I can
improve my English although the time of communicating was very limited. After 4 months
that I lived with my host family, I felt that my English was much better than before. When I

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spoke Chinese, I was a Chinese. When I spoke English, I felt I was like an American. If I say
that I was more like a Chinese at the period of first coming to the United States, I felt that I
was more like an American after my English was improved.
Besides, there were some different hobbies between me and the host family. For example,
my host family believes in Christianity, but I do not believe any religion. On a Sunday, they
invited me to go to the church with them. At the first time, I did not want to go because I
thought that if I go, I will do nothing and it will be helpless for me. Even so, I still went with
them finally. I thought that we were family and maybe I could learn something. For instance,
I could get along with them and learn some knowledge about religion, especially Christianity.
Besides, I had known that many American believe in Christianity, which may helped me to
know more about American culture. In the church, everyone made me feel that god is very
sacred. Everyone has spiritual sustenance, and they are devotional.
During the period of living in the host family, I realized that many habits were different in
the daily life. First of all, sometimes the hostess cooked rice for me because she knows I am a
Chinese. However, after I ate, I felt the rice which was cooked from the hostess was different
from Chineses cook. She used butter to fry rice, but Chinese use oil or soy sauce. I can
understand because they had never cooked rice after all. I always thought that if they go
travel to China and live in my house, I also need to cook Western-style food to them, and
maybe they also think that my cooking is not good. Although the butter rice was taste no
good, which was difficult for me to accept it, the host family was so nice that I could not
refuse. After a few weeks, I was getting used to it, so it was not terrible for me.
Furthermore, when I came to America, I found that there were no balconies in

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peoples houses, which represents that people who live here do not hang out their clothes. So
is my host family. Normally, they wash clothes once a week and they use dryer to dry their
clothes. At the first time, I felt strange because I thought that the sunshine in Los Angeles is
very good. Therefore, if they hang out clothes, clothes will be dry very soon. Afterwards, I
experienced some days of bad weather that it rained for several days in a row. I realized that
the dryer was really convenient, so I was used to use the dryer. I can wash anytime, even at
night, on rainy days, because I do not need to worry about the weather. In the winter vacation,
I went back China. My family almost washed clothes everyday and then hanged them out.
However, the weather was so bad that it always rained all day. My grandma needed to worry
that if clothes will be wetted, which made me feel really inconvenient. I started to think of
those days of using the dryer, so I suggested my parents to buy a dryer. Unfortunately, the
dryer they found was strange and different from what I used in America. In my opinion,
maybe this is because the culture or life style is different between Chinese and American.
Besides, American does not care about generational relations. However, in China,
respecting the old and cherishing the young is a traditional virtue. When I lived with my host
family at the first day, I asked the hostess that what I should call her. She said that just called
her name---Diane. Also, I found that her daughter also call her name in sometimes. I felt
shocked because she was elder. In China, young should respect their elders. If I call elders
names directly, I will be a young adult who does not respect them and they will criticize me. I
asked the hostess that why I could call her name and I made some explanations about this
Chinese tradition. She also felt shocked that there was such a tradition in China. In the
beginning of few days that I lived in the host family, I was unaccustomed to call the hostesss

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real name. I still had Chinese traditional culture in my mind. But I did not have choice; I only
can call her real name. My culture changed a little to American. Although I was used to call
her name directly, I did not call my parents real names after I went back China. Maybe it is
because this tradition has been ingrained in my mind for a long time. I still need to follow my
own culture though it has changed a little. I need to change identity and culture in different
spaces.
Because of my host family, my identity is affected. The place in which I lived makes
me feel that I am like an American though I am not a true American. Although many
differences are between Chinese culture and American culture, I have integrated into this
society throughout my experience of living in the host family. Self-Identity and Culture says
that The significance of place for identity is often connected to the memories or cultural
understandings that are attached to the place rather than the place itself (Jackson II, Glenn
and Williams 3). Sometimes, we went to some place together and we have value memories
with each other. For example, my favorite singer who is from China came to Los Angeles to
open a concert in November of last year, and my host family took me to see it. Also, I made
an introduction of the singer to them. At that night, we had fun and I will never forget the
precious experience and memory. That place is not attractive, but every time I pass that
concert venue, I feel the place is nice to me because the beautiful memory comes up to my
mind immediately. Not only did I think that it was nice to go with my host family, but also I
saw my favorite singer. It had a great significance for me because I and she are Chinese, and
normally I can see her in China. But I saw her in a foreign country, which made me feel
fantastic and wonderful.

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Now I live nearby the campus because my host familys house is really far away from
school. It is inconvenient for me to go to school everyday. Even if I do not live with my host
family, but I really appreciate to them. They let me know more about American culture and
help me to pass the adaptation period of coming to America at the first time. I also
successfully overcome these difficulties of different two cultures by my efforts. An author
named Ceng Ma said that In modern society, culture is constantly changing over time;
culture of a particular group may vary in different periods of time (Ma 10). I think that my
culture and identity have changed a little during the period of living with my host family.
Also, I have a feeling that I am not only a Chinese, I am also a half of an American.

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Works Cited
Del Gandio, Jason, Rhetoric For Radicals. Canada: New Society Publishers, 2008. Print.
Jackson II, Ronald L. and Cerise L. Glenn and Kesha Morant Willliams. Self-Identity and
Culture. Kurylo, Anastacia. Inter/Cultural Communication. Los Angeles: Sage
Publications, 2013. 117-139. Print.
Zhang, Juwen. "Chinese American Culture in the Making: Perspectives and Reflections on
Diasporic Folklore and Identity." Journal of American Folklore, 128.510 (2015): 449475.
Ma, Ceng. Beautiful Characteristics: A Symbolic Visual Analysis of American, Chinese, and
Japanese Cultures. n.p.: 2015.