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By Kevin Grout
Class of 2016
One week in Shanghai, China, and I’ve already learned so much and experienced amazing things. It didn’t take us long to get used to the money or to recognize our utter lack of language skills. Although we had all taken a class to prepare us for our trip, there was still a huge culture shock when we first arrived. Dr. Hua tried to prepare us for the traffic mayhem, but nothing could get us ready for the time Mary Elizabeth found an entire chicken foot in her food. We’ve all gotten pretty good with chopsticks, but we still have to figure out the metro. But the experience has definitely been positive so far.
So far, my favorite parts of the trip have come from interactions with Chinese students. We’ve met undergraduate students from the Shanghai Maritime University and doctoral candidates at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Both schools are respected in their fields, and the students have begun to help us understand the Chinese culture on an individual level. On our first day, one of our student guides from Shanghai Jiao Tong walked us around his campus. The beautiful landscape was a recluse from the bustling cosmopolitan downtown. We got coffee at a campus shop and sat by a lake for a short time.
In our conversation, we really got to know our guide, Mr. Cao. He told us about his studies and inquired about our own. He is working towards his doctorate in Taiwan studies, and he is close to his degree. Cao and his family were from a small town in central China, about 600 miles west of Shanghai. However, he told us that his parents were moving to the city soon, and they would become “New Shanghai-ese.” They purposely moved towards the city, the heart of civilization in China, for both their opportunities and education. The city created its own culture, almost distinct from the rest of China. Cao had been to the United States once, to New York City, and he told us that he is already planning his return trip. Many of his classmates had taken a trip to America and decided to stay.
We talked about the American Dream, and Cao believed that many of his classmates were still searching for it. He seemed to think that the tangible Dream could be found easily through hard work and study in the U.S. Next, he told us of a new concept that was quickly gaining traction in China: an idea called the Chinese Dream. I think it’s meant to be similar to the American Dream, that through hard work, study, luck, and good values one could rise through the social structure. But Cao was skeptical of the Chinese Dream. In one breath, he introduced the term and said “but no one knows what that is.” Although we moved quickly to another conversation topic (every Chinese student or professor quickly asks us if we think Hillary Clinton will win in 2016), the idea of the Chinese Dream stuck with me.
The adoption of the optimistic idea of the Dream, and its relationship to the American Dream astonished me. Do Americans still believe in our Dream? Different students and artists have told me the American Dream was dead. Students in China don't seem to believe in their Dream either, but they still believe in the American Dream. I don't want to draw too much from one conversation with one students, but our interaction with Cao has made me think to ask other students about their ideas. Do they look towards a Dream? Which One?
Kevin Grout, of Florence, Ky., is a senior McConnell Scholar studying history and political science.