To a British person, the word China brings to mind pagodas, lanterns, chopsticks, noodles… However, the reality in comparison to the expectations of the Irish folk was a shock to the system.

By Blank Class3

When I first met a British person, I feel like a gentle wind in such a high temperature. They are so kind that we had no trouble interacting. Meanwhile, the Irish have been struck by the constant generosity and thoughtfulness of the Chinese people, and luckily not by a scooter…yet. Afterwards, we got to know the numerous differences between us, like language, the food, and the climate. For the students from the University of Ulster, the language was as hard to pick up as were all the new dishes with chopsticks. They were tying Chinese knots around themselves instead of making the bracelets as shown. The food in China comes in many different shapes, sizes and flavours, sometimes shocking to the bland british palate. The Chinese have many ways to cook, including frying, steaming, boiling and so on. So we students in schools can choose indeed different food we like eating, and we all have different tastes. In Ireland, we have…the potato. New to us as well was the integrative nature of a meal. A spinning table?

This was just another aspect of the culture for which nothing could have prepared us. Culture is a word we’re constantly hearing, and the Chinese culture is without a doubt as rich as their food. Every aspect of daily life has an underlying meaning, a story behind it, a tradition… Culture here is real and definite, almost tangible. Whereas the culture in the UK is a more subtle thing where the food and people don’t see or appreciate it as much in their every day life as the Chinese people. It’s inspiring and thought-provoking and sometimes terrifying, as is the driving.

Despite of our differences, we still find things to connect us and we believe that different habits, styles,tastes and kinds of differences between us make the world colourful and also we’ll love the two countries more than before.