In order to learn more about the Chinese culture I decided to interview Cindy Chang, an 18 year old freshman at college. Cindy was born in China but moved to America when she was just two years old. She lives in New Jersey, in a small town called Livingston and attends Montclair State University. Cindy has a large family but lives with her mother, father, younger sister Luanne, and her grandmother. It is very common in Chinese culture to live with your extended family. Cindy lives in a traditional Chinese household. She speaks only Chinese to her parents. Chinese is not an alphabetic language. Characters generally have to parts, one that represents the meaning and the other the sound. .
Cindy is not allowed to do many things that 18 year old American girls are allowed to do. When choosing a college, she had to go somewhere that she could commute to because in her culture women do not move out of their house until marriage. Also, In the Chinese culture, it is not common for women to date as American women do. This is very difficult for Cindy because like many girls her age she wants to be able to have a boyfriend. Cindy did have a boyfriend for 2 years but never introduced him to her family. She knew they would not approve of him, especially because he was not Chinese. Cindy, however, is very Americanized even though her father is strict about upholding Chinese traditions and cultures. .
The Chinese culture has many values that they advocate and respect diligently. They feel that family is of the utmost importance. Many families live with extended members and regularly keep in touch with family members that still live in China. Cindy visits family that she has in China every summer. When visiting China, Cindy said it is a big culture shock because the women in China are much more soft-spoken as apposed to American women. The Chinese also have a deep respect for their elders. In China, elders are considered prudent and wise.
