You could argue that I could do all of those things in the United States, but the fact that I can do all of those things in China makes it a completely different experience. I’ve had to adjust what I think is normal to what is common here in China. During our football games, we don’t have special teams every game. We decide if we want to do the kick off and kick return during the coin toss. I’ve played some really good games here and also some really bad games here. Here, of course, I will tell all of you about my best game so far: I was able to dominate the game by having two rushing touchdowns and a little bit more than 200 yards. What was felt very strange to me and something that I had to get used to is that people do not celebrate their success in sports here in Shanghai. When I scored, I was expecting everyone to run up and start ongratulating the team’s success, but everyone just went to the sideline. I later learned this was due to the Chinese cultural value that people should be very modest in a lot that they do.
My experiences at Shanghai Comic Con and the Shanghai Open also provided me with cool ways in which I could integrate myself with the local community. I’ve never been to a major tennis tournament, but the first one I did get to go to featured Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who are arguably the greatest tennis players ever. I personally am not a big tennis fan, but I am a sports fan, so when I have an opportunity to be able to watch a great tournament like that, I’m taking it. Tennis is a really big sport here in China, and having the chance to see all of the fans come together to cheer on Nadal or Federer made me appreciate the beauty of sports. Comic books are another international phenomenon.
