I wasn't sure whether to post this link under Asia or Europe. It's an interesting New Yorker article by a Mandarin-speaker who visited Europe as part of a Chinese tour group.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2...8fa_fact_osnos

I loved that article!

That was illuminating AND quite entertaining. Gives you a new way of looking at things.

Very interesting. Thanks. It has more to do with the Chinese culture than the European's.

I found this fascinating . The writer had a wonderful chance to be able to see how the Chinese react in a different environment and I found it very thought provoking indeed.

I just did a daytrip in Shanghai with a Chinese tour group,and with the help of three young English- speaking girls, I got a small taste of another perspective particularly on social issues such as the dilemmas the one child policy causes in finding a marriage partner and also facing the prospect of looking after four elderly parents with only one married couple to cope with the pressures this would entail.

I would have loved to be able to ask the girls more pointed questions on how they saw life through Chinese eyes but I was a bit unsure as I have heard from Chinese students here in Australia that asking too many questions can mean you are a “spy”.

I was particularly careful about religion and politics as, even though I email my new Chinese friends regularly, I sense a reluctance to discuss certain beliefs. I mentioned my religious affiliations and unusually, did not get a reply back from them for some time, so I wonder if emails are censored or whether this is not something discussed in China? I have a friend here in Australia who Skypes Chinese friends and discusses religion and politics fairly freely so I wonder why Facebook is so frowned upon?

I am so glad I did my daytrip with Chinese tourists rather than western ones as I was able to have an brief idea of the intriguing differences but also the basic similarities inherent in all races .I would have loved to do the trip that journalist did - only much,much slower! Even though I have been to those same locations quite a few times before, it would have all seemed “new” and different from their perspective.