The Boston Globe had an interesting article about a girl who studied at Fudan University for a semester.  I lived in Shanghai for only 4 years but I didn’t get an article in the Boston Globe.  She was there for a semester and she has become an expert on Shanghai.  She mentioned it was hard to find Pizza in Shanghai which is not true but of course depending on where you live.

“Turturro craved cheese pizza. But the Western treat was neither easy to come by nor to order.”

Maybe she was studying too much.  Pizza is all over Shanghai.  Perhaps she really meant GOOD pizza… that IS hard to find.

Another observation she made was all about girls and boys in China.  This is not the most accurate comment but I have seen this in younger students.  When I taught in Zhengzhou Middle School in the Henan Province and sometimes in University it was difficult to have the girls and boys get together.  But this is changing.

“Chinese young adults don’t date until they are at least 20 years old . . . A boy came to our door one time, and I stood there talking to him. [My Chinese roomate] April came out of her room, and saw the boy in the doorway. She gasped, and literally backed up against the nearest wall. She stood there, awkward, embarrassed, and slightly curious as I finished my conversation with him. When I introduced her, she was incredibly shy and giggled, and then scurried away to her room. Mind you – this girl is 23 years old. Chinese girls and boys are sheltered from each other, resulting in April’s reactions.”

You can’t just make blanket statements like this.  This is not what all girls and boys are like in China.  If you don’t believe me, check out this post from a Chinese BBS.

Boston Globe Link.

M and MX relationship Cartoons:

1.  Finding a foreign boyfriend.

2.  Who gets the money in the relationship?

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