This post was written by Megan, a Rome Abroad graduate who completed the China program. She spent 6 months living with a host family in the city of Shenzhen.

1. Unbelievably nice people will feed you.
   The first thing I want to say is that the people here are unbelievably nice! Strangers will smile at you or try to talk to you all the time. They always make sure you have eaten and have eaten enough. Sometimes they will put food on your plate even if you aren’t asking for it.
2. Large concern for health.
   They are very big on health here. Exercise and eating healthy are very big here. My host family almost always has vegetables, meat, and rice for every meal.
3. They don’t want processed food.
   Another common thing when they buy meat is that they prefer to buy it with the bones still inside. Or for chickens it’s pretty much their whole body that you buy. When I asked why they never bought boneless my host mom told me it’s because boneless is considered cheaper and maybe more processed. They like to see that it actually is that animal. That being said they definitely don’t waste any part which means we will often have soups with chicken feet and heads in it.
4. Medicine is very different.
   If you go to a pharmacy you can still get typical cold and flu medicine and other things like that. But Chinese medicine is way more popular. It involves a lot of herbs that you have to drink almost like a tea. Since they are so into health, everyone here drinks hot water.
5. Beliefs about cold water.
   They think that cold water can affect your health or cause you stomach problems. Anytime you go out to a restaurant they will provide you with hot water, although sometimes if you ask they can get you cold water. Pretty early on I bought a water bottle that I could keep in the fridge because I cannot go without cold water!

 Have you been to China before? What surprised you about the food culture there?