18: Dating

Back in America, I often find myself rolling my eyes at goo-goo-ga-ga couples. The couples that always have their arms around each other, or always kiss every 5 minutes, or say ‘honey’ every other sentence just annoy me. So when I came to China, and I saw couples all over each other, I knew it would be a source of contention for me. Couples are always holding hands, hugging each other, and looking distantly into each other’s eyes (luckily for me, kissing is considered too much of a PDA, so they just avoid anything more than hugging). Guys will hold their girlfriend’s bag for them. There are even stores that sell couples clothes, where there are matching sweaters in women’s and men’s corresponding sizes. At Tiananmen Square, you can count at least 5 couples wearing the exact same clothes. At first, I was confused because I thought that PDA and traditional gender roles in China prevented this type of behavior. It wasn’t until yesterday that my friend told me something that made everything click for me. Basically, Chinese kids aren’t allowed to date in high school. If the school finds out that someone is dating, they will be caught and have serious consequences. So, after high school, they just immediately pair up, and catch up on all the loving they didn’t get the chance to do in high school. The way I see it, dating for the Chinese is like drinking for Americans: we were banned from it so long that once we’re allowed to, we just go crazy with it.