Author: Nick Rubnitz

During a class discussion, it was a subject based on the very broad difference between good and evil. It revolved around how do you constitute between good and evil. This is an interesting debate since it can be based on certain ethical standards and boundaries that some people may interpret to be good and others may have a different opinion on that matter. There can be levels of extremity to constitute what is really good and what is really evil. For instance, there is a level of extremity for evil when it comes to stealing someone’s pencil and stealing someone’s car, or for a “good” example, would be saying bless you to someone sneezing and saving someone’s life or donating to a charity. I believe there is obviously a fine line one the good to evil spectrum, but again, some people may have differing opinions.

A second discussion was brought up, still on the difference between good and evil, about are people born either good or evil. Again, there were many differing opinions, but I saw this as more of how do you learn a language. You’re raised to learn it by people around you otherwise you won’t know how to speak or whatever to say. The same applies to people born good or evil. It is how you are raised and brought up because when you are born, you’re born with no knowledge as well as a “veil of ignorance” that there is no “ultimate position or decision” and no one is biased. Once people learn how to act and speak a certain language then they arrive in the “original position”. So, I believe that it’s all about how you grow up and are influenced by the people you surround yourself with.

I spoke up in this discussion and gave my opinion about how I dislike the comparison between good and evil as I saw it as too extreme. I believed that a better comparison between people who are selfish and people who are unselfish resonates with people all over the world. It can be as simple as whether or not to hold the door for someone or tip the waiter at a restaurant. People use these examples to determine whether or not they may like or dislike an individual based on how selfish or selfless they come across. Again, there are certain levels of extremity like theft or stealing to make someone be evil or selfish, but there are also debates like if someone were to rob a store in order to pay for medicine for a sick friend or family member, is that considered selfish or evil? These are the real questions that go up for debate, and how I perceive it as to whether it’s selfish or unselfish to act on this. This was a very fascinating class discussion, and I enjoyed participating.

The first time our group met for our ICR, Kwan came to speak and teach our class about the very famous and well known Lion dance. As I mentioned in my first ICR blog post, this traditional Chinese dance brings good luck, health, and fortune to many people not only around China but around the world. It brings the community together and represents peace and solemn. Not only did he teach us about the dance, but he brought an actual lion costume that is operated by two people. One of the people operates the movement of the head as the head is supposed to be moved rapidly up and down and side to side as well as shake. There is must exert energy that goes into operating the head. The other individual in the costume operates the body, and this part does not exert much energy, but they must bend over at a horizontal level and sway its arms up and down to act as though the Lion is alive and breathing. They also must keep the same pace as the individual operating the head. There is also a lever, in the head, for the lion to blink to make the Lion seem very real. Not to mention, there are two so-called cheerleaders to guide the lion and be very energetic to keep the individuals in the lion energetic.

The Lion dance symbolizes power, wisdom, and superiority. It helps bring good health and fortune and pushes negativity and evil out of peoples’ lives. It is seen as more of a “good luck charm” in the Chinese culture. The Lion dance is divided into two styles and they are a southern style and a northern style. The difference between them is that the northern is related to kung fu and other Chinese martial arts, and it is best to see them at martial arts theaters. The southern is more based on the lion’s behavior, and it’s seen as more comical being shown usually on the Chinese New Year. Overall, I am looking forward to learning more about Chinese culture as this event was fascinating.

https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/special-report/chinese-new-year/new-year-lion-dance.htm

The first time our group met for our ICR, Benny and Kwan came to speak with our class. It was a very informative discussion about how they came to the U.S. years ago and got acclimated and learned English and our culture through education and many different experiences. We then shifted to how they believe our ICR and our volunteering can benefit society as well as learning and embracing the Chinese culture better. We talked about the possibility of doing this Lion Dance, which is a traditional Chinese dance that brings good luck and health to many people. This interests me very much since I went to China for an internship two summers ago, but I wasn’t there long enough to embrace more of the culture as I wish I did. Learning this dance and other aspects of the Chinese culture is something that I am looking forward to now and for the rest of our ICR. Not to mention, Kwan is a very understandable and nice man who teaches us the right and wrong ways about learning the Chinese culture and explains each very well. He understands that we are college students who are new with learning about a new culture, which makes him a very qualified teacher, especially for this subject matter. I am looking forward to the other events to embrace their culture some more, as well as better the Indianapolis society for other potential events that come forth.

As seen in the diagram, both Confucianism and Taoism have revolved around China and created their values and society for centuries. However, there are differences as they signify two differentiating philosophies. Confucianism represents more of a social balance that is achieved through rules and citizens, or older and younger siblings, or ancestors and non-ancestors. It is about social order as the older person is wiser therefore they must give the orders to the younger or less privileged people. Not only must there be social order but obedience as well to superiors. Taoism or Daoism is to achieve a balance, not with social order and obedience but a balance in life. A good example of a balance in life is the Yin Yang symbol which represents opposite forces of the spectrum like good and bad or right and wrong becoming interconnected. There is a level and equal balance in that life as one may give rise to another to better the other half. It is seen as more equal rather than obedience by a superior. Both a healthy for a society, but having too much of either Confucianism or Taoism can result in a social failure or collapse. I believe this is why both are compared as somewhat opposites. Both Confucianism and Taoism can be examples of Yin Yang as one can give rise to the other.

This story starts off with people respecting him since he became rich as they were disgusted by him when he was a criminal and poor. One passage he said when he got arrested for profiteering, “our names appeared in newspapers; our pictures were posted on the streets.” That was one of the matters I learned while I was in China as they took crime seriously and a form of punishment was public humiliation. Liu went through much adversity with rejection from people, work, and school, but he found a way to get rich. It’s interesting to point out that money “can change your personality” because it has been known that money helps brings out your true self, whether it’s good or bad. It also makes people think differently about you. Money can be used for power, but it all depends on how the individual uses the power. Power to other people can turn into attraction. Such an attraction that no matter what that person in power does, the other person is still attracted to them. For instance, when Liu slaps the mother-in-law, but she does nothing to combat it or tell her daughter. Money can be a scary issue at times if abused, but it is all about self-control.

When I was in China two years ago for the Butler in Asia program, I experience a huge culture change with the way the Chinese conducted its business. I worked for a subsidiary of Microsoft called Wicresoft, and I had to get accustomed to the way they get to and from work as well as how they worked. They way they get to work is very similar to the United States as they take trains and buses, but the difference I noticed was the aggressiveness people would do to get on the train. People would shove and be very physical at one another just to get on the train, even though there was another one coming about four minutes later. I then noticed how people in China work. Where I worked, the employees did not talk to one another as they all worked independently. In the workplace, it’s way more strict than in America, but one thing that surprised me was the way Chinese employees interact outside of work. It is very common, in China, to meet for dinner or drinks after work. They would also all take naps around the same time at their desk right after lunch before they started working again. Another difference I had to work with was the internet situation. The Chinese government banned and censored google and other internet browsers as well as social media. In order to get on the internet and conduct business. I was assigned a VPN to use in order to complete the research and work for my internship. Occasionally, the VPN would be very hazy as it would stop working for some short and long periods of time. It wasn’t very difficult to use, but it was very different. It was very fascinating to see how the average worker there compared to the average worker in the U.S.

When I was in China two years ago for the Butler in Asia program, I experience a huge culture change with the way citizens in China live compared to the United States. China’s cost of living is much lower than the United States as its currency exchange is about a 7-1 ratio to the US dollar. I figured that most authentic Chinese restaurants and shops are not very aware of the currency exchange rate, and may not realize that when Westerners spend money at these establishments, they are not spending as much as they normally would back home. I ate at this restaurant almost every day to get soup dumplings and scallion noodles, and it would be a total of 23 yuan, the Chinese currency. However, this really cost me $3 here, and back home, this would cost at least $25. Now, there were certain areas where Westerners live and open up restaurants and shops that sell Western food and brands. They did take advantage of the cost of living. For example, I went to a burger place and the burger cost 85 yuan which is about $12. These establishments were in more modern and expensive areas than the authentic restaurants. I never understood why the Chinese kept their prices so low until I learned that they were could not drink their own water since it would make them sick, so they couldn’t cook at their own house. People only eat out at restaurants as restaurants have to make their prices affordable for the average citizen. Overall, this trip was one of the most fascinating experiences of my life, and it opened my eyes to a completely different culture.

This story is about a man not being satisfied with his chicken order as there is more skin than the meat. However, he is very rude to the lady at the counter. However, Mr. Shapiro believes that the customer is always right, and you need to satisfy the customer as that is the American way. As this is a more western restaurant, it is more expensive than other places in China. Bosses in both the United States and China can be very strict to their employees. It obviously depends on the establishment, but in western restaurants in China, they were always strict to their employees. Many of the employees don’t appreciate him or respect him very much as he did little work, and only left it to the Chinese employees. It also displays how the manager went to the University of Iowa to learn business, but he received more than education there where he developed a more confident and energetic approach. He then decided to take that back to China and thrive in its economy. It has been known that in most foreign countries, America is not one of the favorites. However, this story goes beyond just a restaurant. It is a clashing of cultures about how distinct cultures interact with one another when exposed to ones environment. Some of the differentiating ways is about when you go out on dinner dates, but the American way is to pay for the girl if you ask her on the date, but Mr. Shapiro never did that which was peculiar. There was an interesting quote when the Chinese citizens said that “this Cowboy thing isn’y for a Chinese stomach”. This shows how cuisine is so much different around the world. Many Chinese restaurants today take a page out of America’s book, especially with buffets and deals to raise consumer satisfaction. When I was in China, most western restaurants took advantage of the currency conversion with the the yuan and dollar. They were way more expensive than other local authentic restaurants, but they knew the quality they were selling.