Q8 - How do the "locals" treat you & Cybr? Specifically Americans?

Another good question, Heather!

Cybr and I read some customs and etiquette books before we ever came here. One of the things we read is that Chinese people are quite often misconceived as being rude. This is often a perception based on behavior. Westerners tend to perceive many behaviors of this eastern culture as being rude.

When we first visited here last year, I did not stay long enough to encounter this "rudeness". I was only here ten days, during which I found most everyone to be pleasant and extremely accommodating. We received a few stares when we would enter "local" restaurants and be the only white faces amidst a sea of Asian faces, but these were not uncomfortable stares nor did they last more than a moment.

During our visit I spoke to a native Australian that had been living here for a decade and she asked where we had been during our visit and the "local" dining came up in conversation. She was shocked and appalled! She said "We just don't do that", meaning that if you are not "local" then you don't dine with "locals".

This struck me as odd and rude. Beyond rude, really. I mean, the food was good. The people were nice. So why not? The only answer I have is...we just aren't like the "everybody else" that she lumped into "we".

What I learned from this is that "locals" are mostly very considerate and accommodating. I have seen some "non-locals" behave in rude and appalling ways. Mostly Europeans, Americans and Australians to be specific.

During our initial visit, I did not experience any "local" rudeness; however, since living here on a day to day basis, I can honestly say that there have been moments that it was made clear that my presence was nothing but an annoyance. But mostly, there is just the realization that it is okay to butt in line if there is a gap between people and it is okay to sit at an already occupied table in a restaurant and it is okay to push your way down a crowded street if you are from here. It is not rudeness, just the way things are done here.

These have really been few and far between, though. Overall I would say that strangers in St. Louis have been more rude to me than anyone here. Hell, I have had so-called friends and family treat me worse than any of the locals here have!

More than likely, after adapting to life here, we will ourselves be considered rude upon returning to the U.S. and butting in line or pushing through a crowd. But we won't see it that way any longer, hehe! Our horizons have definitely been broadened in this area.