Cultural Clash: An American in China This past summer I had the opportunity to do an accounting internship in Beijing, China. I was really excited to go overseas to a country that is a big economic leader and has many ancient and cultural sites to visit. I had gotten my visa and passport, and was told that staff members of my internship program will pick me up at the airport in Beijing. In my mind, everything was going accordingly. Unfortunately, my flight from Chicago had a two-hour delay and so I ended up arriving one whole day late to Beijing. That meant that nobody was going to pick me up at the airport and I had to get to my apartment complex all by myself. This wouldn’t be as much of a problem if I knew how to speak Mandarin. I learned that in Beijing, not very many people speak English; not even a few words. From my American perspective, I thought what kind of country doesn’t even speak English, especially taxi drivers! At the airport a taxi driver approached me and asked if I needed assistance. I thought that the taxi drivers hear provide great hospitality, however I was wrong. I later learned that I had gotten into a ‘black cab’. I ended up paying 400 Yuan for what should’ve been a 100-150 Yuan expense. Another instance in which language was a major barrier/obstacle was during my first day of work. The staff members of the internship program said they would drop interns off at their workplace on the first day of work, however interns must go home by themselves. After my first day of work I was off to go home, but of course I got lost. I tried to hail a taxi. I used my map and pointed to the location I needed to go but no taxi driver would take me. I didn’t know why and never found out either because I didn’t know Mandarin. My whole trip consisted of hand gestures that substituted as a language. Lastly, because I am a vegetarian I had difficulty in ordering