I met uncle Wan
at the airport when he traveled to Atlanta this spring. Uncle Wan owned an
international trade company in Shanghai and he traveled to America very
frequently because of his business, so I wanted to have a lunch with him and
asked him more about his experience.
We found a genuine Chinese restaurant on Buford highway and we started the conversation after some formal greetings.
“So after so many years, you always eat Chinese food whenever you can,” I asked.
Uncle Wan laughed and answered : “It is my culture and my blood. No matter how many years I have spent in America, certain things don’t change.”
I nodded to show consent and continued my question, “so why did you want to come to America at the beginning?” Wan burst into a laugh and turned his eyes trying to recall the details. Then he answered: “Believe or not, my first motivation to come to America was your aunt.” I understood why he laughed earlier and tried to inform him my real question. Wan laughed again and said, “she was not the whole reason but she did help me greatly. When I graduated from college and moved to Shanghai from my hometown, I was really amazed by this international city. Foreigners walked around on the street and many western café and restaurants. As every other young people, I wanted to achieve something big by myself. However coming from a small city, I had a limited view about the world and how business worked. When I met your aunt, she was an artist and traveled around the world to paint and take pictures. She told me so many interesting encounters and inventions in America and motivated to see the western world by myself. I joined a foreign company and after two years I visited the headquarter in San Francisco and studied there.”
Confused by his response, I questioned, “so your actual purpose was to achieve something?”
He nodded and confirmed me. “Yes. If you have experienced that period, you would understand my feeling. After opening to the western world only for decades, China was in its development phase and experiencing a state of both modernity and poverty. Foreign investors poured in their capitals in big cities such as Shanghai and Beijing and every foreign company seemed to make a good fortune with their advanced technologies. People had a strong preference over American products and looked up to American society. There were opportunities everywhere and everyone could make a fortune out of China’s growing needs. When I realized the advancement of western countries, I did not hesitate and made my choice to study in San Francisco when I had a chance.”
I wondered if his view has changed after so many years and asked, “So has your view about America changed over so many years? What was your impression of America back then and how about now?”
“That was a tough question,” he answered. “Before I came to America, I used to admire everything about western countries as everyone else. You see, back then, American TVs did have the best quality and many foreigners in China lived a life of luxury. When I was 20, I saw America simply as a map that would lead me to the treasure chest. I wanted to bring the technology and managing system back to China and use my learned knowledge to flourish in China. Indeed I did. I have learned a lot of novel knowledge in UC Berkeley and saw advanced technologies that I have not heard before. After getting a master degree, I returned back to China and received a much higher salary. I traveled to America frequently and became more involved in American culture. However, after several years I began to learn that the real difference between America and China was not just about technology but also the whole social structure. When I talked to American friends about the big picture and social structure of China, I was both optimistic and worried. Though China had developed substantially over the past decades, we needed to learn that a country not only needed to improve its economic and military power, but also the social welfare and life condition of people. I have faith in my own country and hope to use what I have learned to help it”
We found a genuine Chinese restaurant on Buford highway and we started the conversation after some formal greetings.
“So after so many years, you always eat Chinese food whenever you can,” I asked.
Uncle Wan laughed and answered : “It is my culture and my blood. No matter how many years I have spent in America, certain things don’t change.”
I nodded to show consent and continued my question, “so why did you want to come to America at the beginning?” Wan burst into a laugh and turned his eyes trying to recall the details. Then he answered: “Believe or not, my first motivation to come to America was your aunt.” I understood why he laughed earlier and tried to inform him my real question. Wan laughed again and said, “she was not the whole reason but she did help me greatly. When I graduated from college and moved to Shanghai from my hometown, I was really amazed by this international city. Foreigners walked around on the street and many western café and restaurants. As every other young people, I wanted to achieve something big by myself. However coming from a small city, I had a limited view about the world and how business worked. When I met your aunt, she was an artist and traveled around the world to paint and take pictures. She told me so many interesting encounters and inventions in America and motivated to see the western world by myself. I joined a foreign company and after two years I visited the headquarter in San Francisco and studied there.”
Confused by his response, I questioned, “so your actual purpose was to achieve something?”
He nodded and confirmed me. “Yes. If you have experienced that period, you would understand my feeling. After opening to the western world only for decades, China was in its development phase and experiencing a state of both modernity and poverty. Foreign investors poured in their capitals in big cities such as Shanghai and Beijing and every foreign company seemed to make a good fortune with their advanced technologies. People had a strong preference over American products and looked up to American society. There were opportunities everywhere and everyone could make a fortune out of China’s growing needs. When I realized the advancement of western countries, I did not hesitate and made my choice to study in San Francisco when I had a chance.”
I wondered if his view has changed after so many years and asked, “So has your view about America changed over so many years? What was your impression of America back then and how about now?”
“That was a tough question,” he answered. “Before I came to America, I used to admire everything about western countries as everyone else. You see, back then, American TVs did have the best quality and many foreigners in China lived a life of luxury. When I was 20, I saw America simply as a map that would lead me to the treasure chest. I wanted to bring the technology and managing system back to China and use my learned knowledge to flourish in China. Indeed I did. I have learned a lot of novel knowledge in UC Berkeley and saw advanced technologies that I have not heard before. After getting a master degree, I returned back to China and received a much higher salary. I traveled to America frequently and became more involved in American culture. However, after several years I began to learn that the real difference between America and China was not just about technology but also the whole social structure. When I talked to American friends about the big picture and social structure of China, I was both optimistic and worried. Though China had developed substantially over the past decades, we needed to learn that a country not only needed to improve its economic and military power, but also the social welfare and life condition of people. I have faith in my own country and hope to use what I have learned to help it”