Aussie in China: What Shocked Me Most? My Honest Thoughts After Living Here

Summary

In this video, Jake shares his experiences and surprises after living in China for a year and a half. He discusses the contrast between his initial perceptions, shaped by Australian media, and the real China he discovered. Jake touches on daily life, cultural and social nuances, and the convenience of technology in China. He also highlights the differences in societal mindset, privacy, and driving behaviors, offering a nuanced perspective on adapting to life in a vastly different culture.

Highlights

• Jake is surprised by the normalcy of life in China, contrary to media portrayals. 🤔✨
• He appreciates the high convenience of living in China, like mobile payments and fast trains. 🚄💳
• Socially, Chinese people are friendlier and more welcoming, especially about their culture. 🌟🎎
• Safety is high, but privacy trade-offs exist with abundant surveillance. 🔍🔒
• Cultural differences include a more direct approach to personal questions, contrasting indirect business dealings. 💬🤝

Key Takeaways

• Jake explores the contrast between media portrayals of China and his real experiences. 📺👀
• He finds China's convenience in technology and daily life surprising. 📱🏃‍♂️
• Cultural and social openness in China challenges Jake's initial perceptions. 🤝🌍
• The collectivist mindset in China contrasts with Western individualism. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦🤔
• Jake notes intriguing differences in privacy norms and driving behaviors. 🚗📸

Overview

Jake, an Australian living in China, delves into his experiences that defy one-dimensional media portrayals. Initial concerns of an overcrowded, restrictive life in China gave way to discovering a society where life is surprisingly normal and people are genuinely content. He emphasizes the stark contrast between the media narrative he knew and the reality he encountered.

The convenience in China astounds Jake, with mobile payments and high-speed trains making everyday life remarkably simple. He notes how adapting to China's advanced tech conveniences, like not using cash or even a smartphone to pay, was a pleasant surprise. Moreover, the social warmth and cultural diversity in various provinces enrich his experience.

Contrasts in societal values also stand out. Jake touches on how China's collectivist culture, with its family-first mentality, contrasts with Australia's emphasis on independence. Meanwhile, driving in China presents a new set of challenges with its unique road customs. Jake's insights offer a refreshing take, urging others to engage directly with the culture for genuine understanding.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Purpose The chapter begins with the narrator addressing a question from a subscriber that they have been pondering for some time. The topic is controversial, which is why the narrator has hesitated to discuss it publicly. However, they feel that their experiences living and traveling in China for a year and a half provide them with a unique perspective. Motivated by the subscriber's inquiry, the narrator decides to tackle the question and explores the differences between Australian media and another unspecified subject.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Question from Subscriber The chapter titled 'Question from Subscriber' delves into the theme of Western propaganda vs. the reality of living in China. The narrator acknowledges the diversity of experiences within China, suggesting that one's experiences vary widely based on location and activities. The narrator promises to share personal perspectives and surprises they encountered, contrasting these with the preconceptions shaped by media portrayals. This sets the stage for a personal narrative on cultural shocks and evolving perceptions after living in China.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Preconceptions vs. Reality The chapter explores the difference between preconceptions and reality, focusing on the author's experience with cultural shocks upon moving to China. Initially, the author's understanding of China was shaped by media representations in Australia, which tended to be limited to political stories, trade issues, human rights, and sensational stories of pollution and overcrowding. These preconceived notions were challenged upon experiencing China firsthand.
• 01:30 - 02:30: Convenience in China The chapter 'Convenience in China' explores the common misconceptions about life in China, emphasizing that daily life is quite normal and similar to what people experience elsewhere. Despite occasional overcrowding, people engage in everyday activities such as working, dining out, spending time with family, and shopping. The overarching sentiment is that people generally appear happy with their lives, countering the stereotype of a restrictive and stressful environment.
• 02:30 - 03:30: Social Atmosphere The chapter explores the modern conveniences experienced in today's society, focusing on advanced technology in everyday life such as mobile payments, high-speed trains, and food delivery. The protagonist reflects on the seamless, cashless experience where transactions are made using simple, touchless methods, like paying with a hand. Booking cross-country travel is highlighted as fast, easy, and affordable, illustrating the significant technological advancements and accessibility present in today's social atmosphere.
• 03:30 - 04:30: Safety and Privacy The chapter discusses the speaker's experiences in China, highlighting the convenience of living there, especially with fast services like bullet trains and quick food delivery. The speaker also appreciates the friendly social atmosphere and the positive reception from locals when showing interest in their culture.
• 04:30 - 05:30: Collectivism and Family Culture This chapter focuses on the richness of cultural diversity within provinces, highlighting the distinct ethnic minorities, languages, architecture, and food found in different areas. It emphasizes the openness and hospitality of these cultures, noting how they enthusiastically introduce outsiders to their traditions by inviting them into their homes and villages. An example is given of the author's personal experience being invited to a village to participate in a significant holiday celebration.
• 05:30 - 07:00: Driving Culture The narrator shares a positive experience attending the Dragon Lantern Festival, highlighting the openness and kindness of locals in sharing their culture with foreigners, which was a pleasant surprise. The chapter also discusses cultural differences, particularly the balance between safety and privacy in China, observing that despite some adjustment challenges, the country feels remarkably safe.
• 07:00 - 09:00: Direct Communication The chapter discusses the heightened sense of security in certain cities due to the presence of surveillance cameras and the general communal vigilance among residents. The narrator feels comfortable leaving their belongings unattended in a public place, highlighting a sense of trust and safety. However, this also raises concerns about having to adjust their perception of safety when traveling to other parts of the world where such conveniences may not exist. The chapter explores the balance between feeling secure because of constant surveillance and the potential downsides of becoming too accustomed to it.
• 09:00 - 10:30: Media Representation The chapter entitled 'Media Representation' discusses the cultural and societal differences in the perception and acceptance of digital tracking technology between China and Australia. It highlights how digital tracking is more prevalent in China where it is generally viewed positively for its convenience and safety benefits, contrasting with Australia's more privacy-focused society. The speaker reflects on the adjustment period needed when transitioning from an individualistic culture like Australia to a more collectivist society such as China.
• 10:30 - 11:00: Conclusion and Call to Action The chapter "Conclusion and Call to Action" discusses cultural differences between individualism and collectivism, particularly focusing on the comparison between Western cultures and China. It highlights how in China, the family and community play a significant role in decision-making processes, contrasting with the more individualistic approach typical in Western cultures. This chapter emphasizes how family members often live together and decisions are made collectively, reflecting a more unit-based approach rather than individual based.

Aussie in China: What Shocked Me Most? My Honest Thoughts After Living Here Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 So, I got this question from a subscriber recently, and honestly, it's something I've thought a lot about, but at the same time, I've been putting off talking about it because mainly it's a little bit of a controversial topic, and I typically don't get my kicks out of discussing topics like this. But I do feel like I have quite a unique perspective from living and traveling in China for the last year and a half. And since the question came from one of my awesome members, I decided to answer it today. They asked, "What is the difference between the Australian media
• 00:30 - 01:00 propaganda about China and the real China with your own eyes? What about the cultural shocks since you came to China?" Now, this is a bit of a tricky topic because China is massive and people's experiences here are totally different depending on where they go and what they do. So, I can't speak for everyone. But today, I want to share how my perspective has changed since living here. What has surprised me? what was different from what I expected based on what is shown in the media and also
• 01:00 - 01:30 share some of the cultural shocks I've had along the way before I moved here. My view of China was mostly shaped by what I saw in the news on social media and in general public discussions back in Australia. And to be fair, a lot of that coverage was pretty one-dimensional. um mostly political stories, trade wars, human rights discussions, and occasionally some crazy videos of extreme pollution or some huge crowds in some of the major cities. So, naturally, I had some assumptions before
• 01:30 - 02:00 coming here. But when I finally got here, one of the things I realized was just how normal life is here. It's not this super restrictive, high tension, overcrowded, loud, noisy place. Although it can be overcrowded at times, people are just living their lives, working, eating out, spending time with family, scrolling their phones, shopping, traveling, you know, the same stuff people do everywhere. And people actually seem pretty happy with their
• 02:00 - 02:30 lives here. Another thing that hit me was the sheer convenience of everything. Mobile payments, high-speed trains, food delivery. It is actually just on another level here. I can go weeks without using cash. In fact, I don't remember the last time I used cash here. Nowadays, I just use my hand to pay for things, which is something I never saw coming, but is super convenient. You don't even need to bring your phone anywhere anymore. I can book a crosscountry train ticket in seconds for a pretty reasonable price, and it will get me there extremely fast
• 02:30 - 03:00 cuz they're all bullet trains here in China. If I order food, it's at my door in like 15 minutes, 20 minutes. Living here is definitely very, very convenient, or at least more convenient than I had expected. And then the final thing that I realized since coming here is regarding the kind of social atmosphere that they have here in China. I was expecting a much more closed off society. Um, but people are super friendly, especially if you show interest in their culture. Their culture really resonates for me. Like you can
• 03:00 - 03:30 just go to a different province and they have completely different ethnic minorities. They have different languages. They have different architecture, completely different food. Like it is so interesting to me. And if you take an interest in that culture, they are more than willing to introduce you to the culture, take you in to their home, invite you to their villages. In my previous v video, a guy just invited me to his village to experience quite a personal and important um holiday, the
• 03:30 - 04:00 Dragon Lantern Festival with him. And he was so kind and so warm-hearted. And yeah, I just I really didn't expect them to be that open and willing to share their culture with foreigners. So that is definitely something that surprised me when I came here. Of course, there have been things that took some getting used to. One of the biggest differences since I've been here has been the balance between safety and privacy. China does feel incredibly safe. Like I
• 04:00 - 04:30 can walk around at night um in almost any city without worrying. Like there's cameras everywhere. People generally look out for each other. Like I'll be working in a coffee shop. I'll just leave my laptop there. I'll go out and get some food, come back. Like I never even think about it anymore, which could be a bit of a downside if I want to go travel anywhere else in the world. I need to kind of readjust my uh my safety sort of gauge. But at the same time, you know, there are there is a lot of surveillance here. There's a lot of
• 04:30 - 05:00 digital tracking. And it's much more present here than it is in Australia. Although people here don't seem to mind as much because it makes life more convenient and safe. But coming from a more privacy v focused society being Australia and the west in general, it definitely took some uh time to adjust. Another thing that surprised me was just how much more of a collectivist mindset the culture is here in China. In Australia, we have a quite large emphasis on being independent. um moving
• 05:00 - 05:30 out when you're a little bit younger, making your own way, being self-reliant. But in China, it seems like the focus is more on family and community, and that plays a much more bigger role. Parents often live with their kids. It seems family decisions, I think, are often made as a bit of a a unit instead of just an individual. Um say if you're selecting where you want to go live, it family plays a much more of a bigger role. Um although there are a lot of
• 05:30 - 06:00 people who move to cities in search of work and then send home send money back home to their families. I know that does happen a lot. Um but it it seems in general there's like a quite a strong responsibility or sense of responsibility to take care of the group instead of just the individual. That being said, since doing some long trips in China, I can say that the collectivism mindset doesn't quite extend to the driving culture. Uh here in China, give way doesn't really exist
• 06:00 - 06:30 and cutting people off is just the way it's done here. If you want to cross at a crosswalk, you have to simply go you and you know just hope that someone's going to stop for you. And it kind of seems like it's a bit of every man for themselves mindset when you're on the road. Um although that might just be due to the sheer population of people here and if you don't go and cut someone off then you'll just never ever get to your destination cuz you'll just be letting people in all the time. There might be that mentality to it. So that was
• 06:30 - 07:00 definitely another thing that I had to get used to. But I feel like I've adjusted quite well to that. I am cutting people off right, left and center when I drive now. But there is actually one thing to be said about that. There is much less road rage here than back in Australia. Um, if you cut someone off in Australia, they will be up your ass and flashing their lights and honking you for like the next kilometer or two. But here in China, it's just so common to do that people
• 07:00 - 07:30 just don't mind. Like no one gets angry. It's just assumed that that's the way everyone's going to do it. So yeah, I found that quite interesting as well. The final cultural difference that I found here is that people are much more direct when it comes to certain topics. Within the first minute of meeting people, usually cab drivers, I mean, meeting people on the street and stuff, they often won't ask these questions, but cab drivers just seem to be very, very direct in the way that they talk to you, and they will often ask about my
• 07:30 - 08:00 salary, how much money I make, or how much money I made when I was in Australia. Uh whether I'm married, whether I have a girlfriend. Some of them might even ask about my weight, um, my eating habits, that sort of thing. But obviously in in Western culture, that's not, you know, that seems quite invasive to ask those sorts of questions. So that's not typically done. But here, it's just just simply small talk for some people. And I am completely used to it now, but when I first got here, it was a little bit of a a cultural shock, so to speak. But at
• 08:00 - 08:30 the same time, it's kind of funny because uh when it comes to like business discussions or serious discussions about contracts or working together, um the language here can be quite indirect actually. Uh people don't typically say what they mean straight off the bat. Like I don't I don't think it's quite unless you're bargaining with someone on the street. Um there you might say, "Oh, the price is way too much." But here I think in a business
• 08:30 - 09:00 context it's more indirect the language. They won't just come straight out and say that is too expensive bring it down. It'll be some sort of roundabout way that they might insinuate that something is a little bit uh too much like the price is a little bit too much for them to handle or something. So it's an interesting kind of contrast between those two situations here in China. Now, does all this mean that Western media has been completely wrong about China in all of its coverage all the time? I
• 09:00 - 09:30 cannot say that for sure. But I do think that the focus tends to be more on political and economic issues rather than like just the day-to-day life that most people here actually experience. On the flip side, Chinese media obviously has its own narratives as well. I think there are plenty of things that aren't covered in depth here either. No country's media is 100% objective. I feel like biases are always
• 09:30 - 10:00 going to show through. That's just human nature. Um there's always different angles and perspectives. But what I've learned in China um so far is that this country is way too big, too diverse, too complex to fit into a single headline. And the reality is that the only true way to understand a place is to go there yourself, meet the people, and see how life actually works on the ground. So, I'm curious, if you have been to China,
• 10:00 - 10:30 what surprised you the most? And if you haven't, what's something that you'd love to learn more about? Drop me a comment below and maybe I'll cover it in a future video. Also, if you've enjoyed this video, consider joining as a member to support the channel. I would really appreciate it and uh you will get access to more discussions like this and until then I will see you in the next video.