My Experience of Rothman's Three Meanings of Culture

My Experience of Rothman's Three Meanings of Culture

We talked very briefly in class last week about our views on culture and how the experience of living in another country can alter your view of your own culture and the culture of the country you now call home. I lived in Beijing, China for five years, both as a student and on a work visa. Rothman’s mention of the three meanings of culture really made me think of my time in China as I experienced culture in each of those ways. 

Beijing is a city that is teeming with multiple cultures. As a way of life, traditional Chinese culture, modern Chinese culture, and cultures from around the world can be seen daily throughout the city in the over 21 million people living in the city. As an activity, the city is a beautiful mix of history and modernity with traditional architecture hundreds of years old next to brand new buildings.  This makes it a wonderful place for “individual enrichment” because it exposes you to a large number of people and ideas very different from your own.

On a small side note, I’ve always found it interesting that no matter where people go they always seem to form expat communities that continue to practice their native “culture as a particular way of life” even to the extent of completely ignoring the native culture that they are living in. While most adapt to some extent, I find those who cannot adapt at all to be interesting. For instance, I once met a man who had been living in Beijing close to 20 years but still could not speak any Chinese and became frustrated when others spoke Chinese around him. 

My experience changed my view of the world in a lot of ways. I didn’t spend a lot of time in the expat community, instead living in a Chinese community and working for a Chinese company. As such, I missed a lot of developments in American popular culture and when I did return, I found that I didn’t understand a lot of things and I’m still catching up.