Ben Qin, a Texas Tech graduate student studying biology, displays a Chinese calligraphy set. Photo by Nicole Molter.
Before coming to the United States for graduate studies in biology at Texas Tech, Ben Qin had never tasted cheesecake. He completed his undergraduate studies in the Kantong Province and came to the U.S. in 2008.
Qin said finding a dessert similar to cheesecake would be difficult in his hometown of Nanning, which is the capital of the Guangxi Province in China.
“Actually, I don’t like cheese,” he said with a chuckle, “but I just like cheesecake because cheesecake tastes like ice cream. The cheese alone to me has no taste, just, like, not salty, not sweet, and no flavor. I don’t understand why people like cheese here, maybe because my tongue is not an American tongue.”
His favorite Chinese food is sweet mung bean porridge, and his favorite American food is cheesecake. He said Americans are good at making desserts. Qin said he occasionally has American food, but often cooks for himself so he can eat familiar foods.
Another aspect he has had to adjust to is the dry climate, because southern China is subtropical and receives rain at least once each week. He also said he started studying the English language in middle school, but it took him two years to learn and speak it comfortably.
“My listening was okay when I came here, but speaking is hard,” he said. “It takes you a long time to speak, to speak properly.”
Qin was also surprised at the hospitality of Texas.
“Like, I still remember the first week I came here,” he said. “In the library, some student opened the door for me. I was surprised because I don’t expect a stranger to do me such a favor.”
China has won 24 of 28 gold medals since pingpong became an Olympic event in 1988. Photo from china daily.com.
He said China has a different sports environment than the U.S. Dancing is a common sport for women. Soccer and basketball are the most popular as well as badminton and table tennis, also known as pingpong. Pingpong is the national sport of China. Qin said he plays pingpong well, but his favorite sport is badminton.
“We were good at table tennis a long time ago, like, 1950s and 1960s,” Qin said. “So that’s the thing, you can show up to the rest of the world. ‘Hey I’m good at this; I get World Champion for this.’ That’s’ why ping pong is the national sport.”
He said people get daily exercise just by commuting to work. A majority of the population does not have a personal car, including his parents. Walking, taking a bus or train, and bike riding are common. Motorcycles have been banned because so many people had them and caused traffic problems. Electric bikes, which run on manpower as well as a battery, are also a well-known mode of transportation.
Electric bikes run on manpower as well as a battery and are popular transportation in China. Photo by 2 Dogs/Flickr.
Depending on the traffic, Qin said getting to downtown could take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour, so traveling alone in China is uncommon because of traffic and the cost.
Another cost of Chinese lifestyle is having a family. Qin said he is an only child because at the time he was born the government restricted the number of children a family could have. City residents generally only have one child. He said a family he knows had to pay a fine because they had another child illegally. In the countryside a family can have another baby if the first is a girl, because boys are needed to help with family chores.
Qin said at a young age he became interested in animals, plants, and the environment. As a child, he raised chicks and enjoyed watching the Discovery Channel and looking at National Geographic. He currently grows vegetables and small plants at his home in Lubbock. Qin said after finishing his graduate studies, he hopes to teach and continue doing biology research.
“I want to learn about people,” he said. “I also love literature and reading history, but we are also organisms, so in order to understand people, interpersonal relationships and why you think this way — why you think the other way — we need to study biology.”
Qin said he thinks having a global awareness is important to avoid disputes and can even form new friendships.
The red in the Chinese flag represents revolution. The stars represent unity of the Chinese people under the Communist Party of China. Photo from chinese-flag.org.
“Understanding is the first thing to prevent conflict,” he said. “It’s the first thing to achieve a peaceful world.”
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