Mitten-hand and other cultural differences

Last week in one of my classes with older students, we were talking about cultural differences – how we do things in America differently than they do things in China. 

I asked them whether, when they got into a taxi, they sat in the front or they sat in the back. That was one of the very first things I noticed when I got to Shanghai. Driving into the city in a van provided by the hotel, I kept seeing taxis with the lone passenger in the front seat, not in the back. 

I told the students that most Americans would sit in the back seat of the cab and the only time you’d probably sit in the front is if you have four people in your group and someone was forced to sit in the front. 

Some of the students explained that they thought this was because Americans see the driver as lesser than us because he’s working for us. 

I think I agree and disagree. Certainly there’s some truth to it. We treat a lot of people who “work” for us in a lesser manner. Think about employees at department stores or waiters in restaurants. 

But I think we sit in the back seats of taxis because that’s just the way we do things. I sit in back seats of taxis because at some point in my life (not having grown up in cities where one would take a taxi) I started seeing movies and television programs where the characters got into the back seat of the taxi, not the front.

By the time I ever actually took a taxi, the idea of sitting in the back seat of a taxi was reinforced by seeing people sit in the back seat – not because someone told me, or that I think, the driver deserves less respect than I do. 

I’m sure I’ll eventually get tired of it, but I still find it really fascinating to talk about the differences between the cultures. 

I actually even find it fascinating to talk to other westerners not from America about the differences between our cultures. 

Recently, a South African co-worker pointed out that when asked “Where are you from?” American expats are more likely to say what state they’re from and nearby large-ish city. 

“I say I’m from South Africa,” she said. “Not Atholl or Bryanston or Johannesburg.” 

I’m definitely guilty of the state thing. When I first got here and people would ask where I was from, I would say U.S. But the next question was always “Where in the U.S.?” So to save time, because you get asked where you’re from a lot, I say “From Michigan in the U.S.” 

During orientation I also whipped out the Michigan mitten map and I’m not ashamed. The “where are you from” conversation with someone had progressed as far as me telling him I was from near Detroit. He, from the UK, said “That’s on Lake Michigan?” So, I explained the mitten-shaped nature of Michigan and pointed out, using my mitten-shaped hand, where Lake Michigan would be and where Detroit is. 

He didn’t seem at all impressed that I was from a state that allowed me to use my hand as a map. He was probably just jealous. 

Not a cultural difference, but definitely different – every time I cross the street I’m in danger of getting hit by a scooter. It’s a scooter bonanza here!