When you talk to Americans about Europeans there are a few things that come to mind.
One of course is the scene in Pulp Fiction where John Travolta is talking to Samuel L.
Jackson about his trip to Amsterdam and France.
Vincent "...
But you know what the funniest thing about Europe is? Jules: What? Vincent: It's the little differences.
I mean, they got the same s*** over there that we got here, but it's just - it's just there it's a little different.
Jules: Example? Vincent: All right.
Well, you can walk into a movie theater in Amsterdam and buy a beer.
And I don't mean just like in no paper cup, I'm talking about a glass of beer.
And in Paris, you can buy a beer at McDonald's.
And you know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris? Jules: They don't call it a Quarter Pounder with Cheese? Vincent: Nah, man, they got the metric system, they wouldn't know what the f*** a Quarter Pounder is.
Jules: What do they call it? Vincent: They call it a "Royal with Cheese.
" Jules: "Royale with Cheese".
Vincent: That's right.
Jules: What do they call a Big Mac? Vincent: A Big Mac's a Big Mac, but they call it "le Big Mac" Europe is cultural and artistic, there are lots of historical buildings, and it's fashionable.
People there like beer and parties, there are lots of gays, you can have sex with anyone, and it's just plain weird.
The Chinese think the same about America.
Minus the culture, art, and history.
So basically just the beer, sex, and weirdness.
America is known as an "open" place.
It's funny to think now that I always though of myself as "open".
I think if you ask most Americans to describe themselves, one of the positive adjective they'll probably use is "open".
But being "open" in china is not as good as it sounds.
Open is the opposite of traditional.
Openness in china doesn't refer to your acceptance of other people's ways of thinking or tolerance of things you're not particularly fond of.
It does not mean a willingness to put yourself in another's shoes.
It means you're a slut.
Where do the Chinese get this idea? Mostly form TV and movies that make their way across the world.
Hollywood movies and reality shows that make it to china show the very worst of America.
What we watch for entertainment, they see as the truth about American life.
Eating Olympics, Who wants to marry a millionaire, and American pie; these are things that stick in the minds of the Chinese people.
"Wow, you're American? You guys are really open!" I used to agree until I found out it meant that were just horny heathens with no self-respect.
I think that in some way this relates to how china deals with world politics.
Could you image how Americans would react if France tried to tell us what to do? Sorry, we don't want your cheese, wine, and threesomes.
Were Americans.
We need to uphold our American family values, the American dream, and the American way of life.
We're not some crazy country of bicycle riding baguette-loving gays.
And that's what china's doing.
They're upholding Chinese tradition which is at war with Western openness (of which America is often the figure-head).
Regardless of the Right or Wrong in whatever political issue is at hand, there's always an undertone of "America trying to change Chinese values" So when America tells them to protect the environment, or talks about human rights, it's not always that they disagree.
They too want what's best for the world and the people in it.
But they're going to do it on their own time, in their own way.
They've got a history and culture that most Americans don't understand, and no matter how many books you read, it's just impossible understand what it means to be Chinese.
Our measly three hundred year history is laughable to them - they've got five thousand.
They've been on the map for five thousand years and suddenly America comes along and says "hey, hey, hey, you're doing it all wrong".
Would you listen? By the way, "Big Mac" in Chinese is "ju wu ba" but that's not as funny as "Le Big Mac".
One of course is the scene in Pulp Fiction where John Travolta is talking to Samuel L.
Jackson about his trip to Amsterdam and France.
Vincent "...
But you know what the funniest thing about Europe is? Jules: What? Vincent: It's the little differences.
I mean, they got the same s*** over there that we got here, but it's just - it's just there it's a little different.
Jules: Example? Vincent: All right.
Well, you can walk into a movie theater in Amsterdam and buy a beer.
And I don't mean just like in no paper cup, I'm talking about a glass of beer.
And in Paris, you can buy a beer at McDonald's.
And you know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris? Jules: They don't call it a Quarter Pounder with Cheese? Vincent: Nah, man, they got the metric system, they wouldn't know what the f*** a Quarter Pounder is.
Jules: What do they call it? Vincent: They call it a "Royal with Cheese.
" Jules: "Royale with Cheese".
Vincent: That's right.
Jules: What do they call a Big Mac? Vincent: A Big Mac's a Big Mac, but they call it "le Big Mac" Europe is cultural and artistic, there are lots of historical buildings, and it's fashionable.
People there like beer and parties, there are lots of gays, you can have sex with anyone, and it's just plain weird.
The Chinese think the same about America.
Minus the culture, art, and history.
So basically just the beer, sex, and weirdness.
America is known as an "open" place.
It's funny to think now that I always though of myself as "open".
I think if you ask most Americans to describe themselves, one of the positive adjective they'll probably use is "open".
But being "open" in china is not as good as it sounds.
Open is the opposite of traditional.
Openness in china doesn't refer to your acceptance of other people's ways of thinking or tolerance of things you're not particularly fond of.
It does not mean a willingness to put yourself in another's shoes.
It means you're a slut.
Where do the Chinese get this idea? Mostly form TV and movies that make their way across the world.
Hollywood movies and reality shows that make it to china show the very worst of America.
What we watch for entertainment, they see as the truth about American life.
Eating Olympics, Who wants to marry a millionaire, and American pie; these are things that stick in the minds of the Chinese people.
"Wow, you're American? You guys are really open!" I used to agree until I found out it meant that were just horny heathens with no self-respect.
I think that in some way this relates to how china deals with world politics.
Could you image how Americans would react if France tried to tell us what to do? Sorry, we don't want your cheese, wine, and threesomes.
Were Americans.
We need to uphold our American family values, the American dream, and the American way of life.
We're not some crazy country of bicycle riding baguette-loving gays.
And that's what china's doing.
They're upholding Chinese tradition which is at war with Western openness (of which America is often the figure-head).
Regardless of the Right or Wrong in whatever political issue is at hand, there's always an undertone of "America trying to change Chinese values" So when America tells them to protect the environment, or talks about human rights, it's not always that they disagree.
They too want what's best for the world and the people in it.
But they're going to do it on their own time, in their own way.
They've got a history and culture that most Americans don't understand, and no matter how many books you read, it's just impossible understand what it means to be Chinese.
Our measly three hundred year history is laughable to them - they've got five thousand.
They've been on the map for five thousand years and suddenly America comes along and says "hey, hey, hey, you're doing it all wrong".
Would you listen? By the way, "Big Mac" in Chinese is "ju wu ba" but that's not as funny as "Le Big Mac".