No why.

It might take years to understand Chinese people and their culture, nonetheless majority of us have the curiosity embedded in our genes and we like to ask questions, especially in a country like China were everything is "wrong" or "upside down" or "через жопу" in our western view. Therefore to understand we (foreigners) ask questions, and trust me there are a lot of questions arising when it comes to China and Chinese. But asking or not asking, it all comes to the same result- you still don't understand why things are done a certain way, because there is no reason- that's how things are done in China and that's the explanation you get.Talking to some of the AIESEC interns and some of the foreigners we all came to the same conclusion : there is no why. In my office we upgraded this response to "No why laowei" ("wei" pronounced same way as "why") Even our chinese co-workers caught up with the phrase and any time i ask "Hey guys why do you say this/or Why it's written like this/ etc.?" the answer is simple and catchy "No why laowei". *Laowei is the name Chinese most commonly refer to foreigners.It's so frustrating not to have an explanation to some social/cultural processes, but even more frustrating is to get as an answer "no why", it leads me to 2 thoughts either i'm that blonde and i don't get it or Chinese people themselves don't know the reasons behind it and aren't even asking themselves "Why?". Whereas in Western culture that's what we are taught to do ask ask ask ask and ask once again. Is it the by-product of the communist regime or the educational system?! My guess it's both, but the education system plays a crucial role in this behavior. When my co-workers pronounce English incorrectly and I correct them, they don't believe me because that's how the teachers taught them and quote "We have to trust our teachers- that's how we learn"...whereas I, and pretty sure you, was taught to question and challenge a teacher's knowledge.So after 3 and a half months trying to understand this culture I came to the conclusion that there's just no point in wasting power in trying. All I can do as well, as other foreigners, is accept the Chinese way of living the Chinese life in Mainland. For majority of times it seems like a different place in time, space and universe...western rules don't apply.