In one of my classes we had a brief discussion about secrets (秘密 [mìmì]) that are the norms for our respective cultures. For Americans, this would be things like age, weight, family planning, etc. However, as my teacher said, “Chinese people don’t have secrets.”
This was never more apparent then our conversation in class today. Our chapter covers some ailments of the body, intended to be a lesson in case we would need to go to a doctor or the hospital. One of the phrases is 拉肚子 [lā dùzi], or diarrhea. For mature persons there is nothing wrong with learning such a word, but to my surprise the teacher begins going around the class room and asking each student to share when they have had diarrhea in China and why! No one was exempt, not even the cutsy little Korean girls that make the peace sign in photos. Hearing this topic broached by them made a few of my American classmates contort their faces in odd ways. Lacey somehow got away without answering the question, but the worst was when one Korean kid confessed that he has lā dùzi everyday.
None of the Asians (including Koreans and Indonesians) seemed to mind the topic at all. And perhaps this demonstrates a little unwillingness to embrace the culture, but these are secrets that I don’t ever really need to know about anyone. Oh well, TIC (This is China).
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