Hey! Can’t you see there’s a line here? Wait your turn!

• Source: Global Times
• [09:30 July 03 2009]
• Comments

By Ryan Ulrich

Illustration: Liu Rui

I couldn’t get the hang of ordering food when I first arrived in China. I would stand a few feet from the cash register in a fast food restaurant and would patiently wait for the cashier to notice me and take my order.

I couldn’t figure out what was happening, however, when person after person “cut” in front of me and placed their order. After getting over my initial feeling of injustice, I finally got as close as I could to the register and started telling the cashier what I wanted. I learned it was the closest, not the first to arrive, who got their order taken.

The “queue” was something that I had to get used to in China. It’s true that there is a sense of lining up and that the first person in line has the right to be served in China. It’s also true that cutting in line is not tolerated, a fact that I’ve reminded several people of when they’ve cut in front of me, and I’ve always been backed up by those around me.

In some places people do line up, either because there is a line that has been demarcated, or because the store’s staff conditioned people into the habit of lining up. Train stations usually have rows that force people to line up, as do some coffee shop chains. The subway system indicates places for people to embark and disembark from the train, but as soon as the doors open, everyone just seems to mush together.

Why is this sense of lining up and personal space so different in China from the US? The most common answer is “there’s too many people!” Other reasons are that there’s no habit of lining up – people aren’t yet used to the idea, and that when resources are limited, like only a few seats on a subway car, there is an advantage to being first. It’s competition.

After living in China for a short period of time, I got used to the slight push and bump of people as they herded me onto a subway car, just as I got used to rushing up to a counter or cashier. I knew the unwritten rule: whoever was closest would be the first served.

The sense of personal space in China is also different from the US. It seems polite in China to gently nudge someone. This can happen when passing them on the street or maneuvering around them in subway car. This sense of personal space extends right up to the point of physical contact.

This was infuriating when I first arrived. I felt my personal space was being invaded. I’ll admit, I’ve shoved off a few people or nudged someone in front of me a bit harder than necessary on occasion. I realized I had gone too far, however, when I barreled off a subway car, which was the only way to prevent myself from getting stuck inside, and nearly knocked down two foreigners. I realized while a gentle bump was okay, knocking people down wasn’t.

In America, pushing or bumping someone is usually the last resort. following a number of other measures, from the polite "excuse me," to a tap on the shoulder.

When I went back to America I made some friends mad. I didn’t realize they were standing in line. They seemed to be in the midst of making a decision, standing a solid two to three feet away from the cash register. I walked right up and began telling the cashier my order before she even made eye contact with me.

I was quickly reminded by the person behind me that I was cutting. I realized I had been in China too long, and I found myself now doing in my own country the very same thing I thought so annoying and confusing.

The author is an MA candidate studying international politics at Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies