How Did Living in China Change My View of the USA?

when you realize that America might not be the best country in the entire world and that you come to terms of the fact that there are other cultures out there and you get rid of that pride you get rid of that blind nationalism and you just kind of throw yourself into a new culture but you're in a country like China that you're where your nationality and who you are and where you come from is the lifeblood of your identity it becomes super conflicting [Music] when is this flower t6 here with another video and a lot of people have been asking me this and I thought it was probably one of the most requested and interesting patron requested topics I've ever actually decided to cover and that is how has my perception of the US or the West in general changed after moving to China and it's super super complicated to answer but I thought about you know really what have what are my feelings now towards my home country the place that I grew up now there's a certain sense of freedom that somebody gets when moving abroad you know you're packing your bags you're leaving everything behind and I feel like everyone can relate to this in a certain way even if you've never moved abroad or even been abroad think about that shitty job you had in high school whether it was like flipping burgers or you know working at Kinkos or you know answering to a shitty boss and working for basically minimum wage we've all had to do something to make money that we you know are not super pleased in doing and I can equate the feeling of the last day of that shitty job or leading up to the last day of that shitty job that you don't want to do anymore knowing that you're gonna quit move on to something better there is an unparalleled sense of freedom there that I can equate to feeling you get when you leave everything behind and move abroad now for me that shitty job was working at a pharmacy I was actually CVS and I had to do that to pay for university I had to do that to get through university and that's just something that most American teenagers can relate to but the last day of that job I just remember the feeling I don't have to deal with this anymore I have to do this anymore and it just feels like a huge weights been lifted off your shoulders and that feeling of I don't have to give a anymore I'm not locked down is amazing it's fantastic looking back on it I just know that you know actually wasn't that bad it was just a normal minimum-wage job and my boss bill was very reasonable person I was in a situation where I just finished University I was probably gonna find a job in my field like everyone else does marry a woman settle down you know buy a house get a nice car do all those things work in my field which was IT at the time and kind of do everything cookie-cutter exactly like all my friends were doing around me but I was that weirdo I was that psychopath that decided to leave everything behind and decide to move to China now in the events leading up to this I had this very skewed image of my own country because I think I did something that a lot of people do and I looked at America like it was a dead-end place the economy is going nowhere this is back in 2008 you know things aren't doing very well I'm 22 years old you know what it is this what I have to look forward to I feel like people are just stagnating I don't think anything's on the up-and-up I feel it's almost like a dystopian place it's almost like a place that used to be great that isn't anymore it's kind of the excuse that I use for myself throughout multiple multitude of situations in my life in them I think a lot of people use the same excuse they blame their surroundings they blame where they are as opposed to themselves or their personality or their deficiencies or being lazy they like to point out things that they think are wrong about what's around them so you know I did that with my job I did that with my country and moving to China only kind of exacerbated those feelings because Here I am I get off the plane and yeah I'm in a country immediately recognizable as a developing country it's not right it's not developed you know what I did notice was that it was on the up it was exciting it was refreshing it was a fantastic place to be and I felt like there was a lot of perceived opportunities and just the general sense in the air was that things are gonna get better that's what it felt like so those feelings that I had about America being this kind of going nowhere state that I'm happy to leave and you know this arrogant American attitude I'd like to get it out of my system it was it was I kind of felt like when I moved here that things are actually better abroad this opinion of America kind of continued for a couple years I'd say when I was living here because I it was almost like healthy I got rid of this patriotic American ideal I never was a nationalist I never was proud to be an American I was in fact I was quite critical of my own country and own government but I kind of like felt more strongly about that because here I wasn't a different country and I was allowed to kind of shed my personal identity my nationality and try to subscribe to some new ideas right now living in China was one of the strangest places to do that with because if I had moved to the UK I could have blend in if I had moved to Europe I could have blended in but just learning the language and kind of understand the culture here in China is not enough to be Chinese right we've covered this a million times Winston and I you know a lot of our videos you will never be Chinese and that kind of stuff that's true I mean people very much take seriously nationality where you're from your culture your language your status is color of your skin all that kind of stuff is more important than it is back home that's professed for damn sure so it was very very strange because Here I am with this very healthy attitude that there are other cultures and other things out there and in that way I felt a lot more educated a lot more woke than the average American including myself growing up simply because I was able to experience other cultures through travel at the same time I was also in a country that you know it's much more patriotic much more nationalistic and much more difficult to fit into than my own so it was this very very abrupt halt that I came to and I realized it's just because you move into a different country doesn't mean that you're going to become part of this you know very enlightened society that sees past all this because in fact there's a lot more to deal with here then there is back home despite what you guys might think the funny thing is when you get past that stage when you realize that America might not be the best country in the entire world and that you come to terms of the fact that there are other cultures out there and you get rid of that pride you get rid of that blind nationalism and you just kind of throw yourself into a new culture but you're in a country like China that you're where your nationality and who you are and where you come from is the lifeblood of your identity it becomes super conflicting because what happens is all of the stuff that you kind of shed all of those kind of stereotypes of your own country back home that you don't want to be part of anymore are still kind of carried with you here by the perceptions and stereotypes that Chinese people have of people from your country so it's very strange because when at that point when you're participating and you know the jokes about Americans being this or that or fat or blah blah blah all that petty stuff that you didn't care about or kind of even laughed about with these people that were able to joke about Americans all the sudden those jokes start to burn a little bit because you're still that guy in their eyes right funny though we all go for America no I'm not American so there's no escaping that there's no kind of getting away from that but I do think that traveling abroad or even living abroad for a short period of time is super super important to take those blinders down because although we like to blame our surroundings and what's happening around us and we like to say America's because of this China because of this it actually takes a step outside sometimes to kind of realize that sometimes life isn't fair you are the product of yourself not your surroundings you have to get out and change ship otherwise stuffs actually not gonna change I mean you can't just go abroad and then become a new person you can't go abroad and completely reinvent yourself at the end of the day you are who you are and either you get off your ass and do something about it or you don't but like I said moving abroad can really really open up your mind to a less black-and-white world out there which I think a lot of people in China and America are also guilty of is seeing things black or white seeing things from the news headlines I'll read comments online it pisses me off and says like let's just go nuke nuke North Korea right without really reading in or understanding the situation guess what I've met Noir I know North Korean people guess what they're polite they're kind they're they're nice people they're human beings right so I feel like taking a step outside and seeing another culture can sometimes even for a short period of time just completely get rid of all that and realize that the earth is just a place full of people you know we like to eat food we like to hang out with their friends we like to have a nice family away I like to be safe you know that's that's just how she is and to see a different country from a different perspective and judges people based on its political system completely inaccurate so when I look back at America the country that I was born and grew up in what do I see what is the country I see every time I go back I see a nation now instead of the messed up complete dystopian society circling the bowl of one's greatness I don't see it anymore what I see is a a nation full of polite people a nation full of opportunities they do exist a nation full of social programs that China would die to have a nation full of people that might just need a kick in the pants sometimes to realize how good they actually have it and I see America is just a beautifully diverse nation full of people that borrow from each other's cultures I think it's fantastic being here so long in China how do I see China I see China as a nation that really needs to open up his mind for the rest of the world the world does not revolve around China whatsoever you might be an economic superpower in the making but you're not ready to be taken seriously in terms of a lot of aspects in life in society what I do see is a country chock-full of opportunities for local citizens and people doing a lot with just a little on their plate a very very go-getter society for sure there's a bright future for China things play in the correct direction and while I can safely say that both America and China are equally fascinating places it sometimes takes a step outside of your own country to kind of realize how good that you once had it and sometimes that step takes eight years I want to say thank you so much allowing as I hope you appreciated the episode got some good stuff coming up for you guys please leave a like downstairs if you have and if you want to see more content I've been posting a lot of patron calm slash Lobby six behind the scenes tough stuff I can't really talk about on feature or on YouTube I can't really talk about last stuff so it goes up there and I really appreciate it leaveners thank you so much and I'll catch you on the next one

Channel: laowhy86

Views: 702,648

Rating: 4.5180278 out of 5

Keywords: china, laowhy86, chinese, asia, serpentza, living in china, china vlogger, asian, laowhy, culture, cmilk, travel, advchina, vlog, china (country), china vlog, world, how has america changed, how the usa has changed, how china has changed, china change, freedom in china vs usa, china has changed me, china innovation, innovation, perception of usa, united states of america (country), view on china, american view on china, global opinions, what chinese people think, of the usa, chinese people

Id: ILYHORrxb1E

Length: 10min 5sec (605 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 10 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

Good video. I have some of the same feelings after living in Thailand for five years. Funny how so many of my friends and family in the US dream about moving to another country like I did, and how they blame the flaws and problems in American culture for their personal unhappiness and boredom. The grass is always greener I guess.

[u/thecrazydutchguy]

My wife and I have thought about moving abroad for months now. We have the ability to move to the EU very easily. It's just harder once we've gotten settled. How did you decide on China?

[u/cztj]

This guy, and his partner SerpentZA, both make great videos.

I'm not even particularly interested in China but I've listened to them both talk about it for hours.

[u/sib_special]

My partner and I have lived outside of the US for 5 years now, but haven’t gone too far from its Western Ideology. US/UK/AU/NL...

Even with that small cultural step, there are new perspectives that evolve once you distance yourself from the culture you originate from.

Thanks for the video! I often consider moving outside the Western cultural paradigm. Exploring culture seems like a healthy way of finding better values and meaning in ones life.

[u/resavr_bot]

A relevant comment in this thread was deleted. You can read it below.

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Yeah, your perspective on this topic definitely depends where you're from as the US is a big place and not everywhere is like California or the mid west or wherever this guy is from and tons of places are just as bad off or worse than China...

What I do miss about the States is how educated people are (I mean education as in how to treat others). [Continued...]

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[u/EcstaticYam]

Felt very rambling and like I didn't really get a strong message at all despite watching 10 minutes.