The other day I walked into my room and heard the sounds of ‘N Sync drifting through the air. At first, I thought I was dreaming because I know that I don’t listen to them, and I thought people hear didn’t really listen to American music. After I got over my shock from hearing American music halfway across the world, I asked my roommate about the music choice of the people in Hong Kong. She informed me that American culture is very popular here.

After that comment, I started to look for things that were American.

The biggest influence can be seen in all the familiar red and white Coca-Cola vending machines that invade every single building around. Besides soft drinks, there are even more franchises that speckle the vicinity. When I walk down a street, there is usually at least one McDonald’s and one Starbucks hidden between the Chinese food restaurants and behind the street vendors that crowd the sidewalks. There are even more 7-11 convenience stores, which choose to stick out instead of blending behind the culture and the crowded streets. They hang up brightly lit signs with that red “7” and green “eleven” emblazoned across the front.

The other signs of Americanization are the large amount of American movies in circulation. They are so popular that I see as many American movies as Hong Kong movies on store shelves. They are intermingled with each other to the point that, at first glance, all of the movies look like they fit together, as if the American movies belong here. I think I have seen more “Lord of The Rings” VCDs than any other movie, including the Hong Kong- produced movies. This makes it seem as though American pop culture is almost as popular here as it is in the country it originated from.

This is also easily seen in the clothing and shoes. There are a plethora of shirts with things from Spider-Man to Ecko brand logos. There are thousands of shirts that have this type of American pop culture printed on them all over Hong Kong. They can easily be found in the street markets and boutiques. Other shirts simply have English phrases or American flags on them. Many students wear these shirts with Nike shoes, which are increasingly popular here. Usually, there is at least one shoe store that sells this brand. On most occasions half of the shoe stores carry Nike shoes and shirts, making me feel more at home than abroad.

There are subtle influences, as well. Things that I would have never picked up on if someone hadn’t pointed it out. One evening a guest speaker commented on how much Chinese pop music sounded like American pop music. At first, I was perplexed because these two genres of music did not even share a common language. Then, when I heard a few songs of Chinese pop I understood that it was the instrumental part that shared common features. Later, I was told that often music stars here borrow the American sounds to put into there songs, and if I could play the songs without lyrics, telling the difference between the American and Chinese songs would be an impossible feat.

Also, there are almost always English words and Chinese characters jumbled together on all of the flyers and banners posted around campus. Many times, student groups hand me a little slip of pale colored paper with English letters in a large font on it. These letters are usually the name of the group. Underneath the letters is a paragraph in Chinese giving information about the group handing out the flyers.

Off campus, it is the advertisements that mix the languages. Also, advertisements are influenced greatly by the Western Hemisphere. The models that show up on all the advertisements have pale sunken faces, and thin, sleek body shapes that match Kate Moss. I have even seen a few advertisements that use American sex appeal. There are plenty of lingerie advertisements that look like they came from the pages of a Victoria’s Secret catalog.

Seeing so many things around that reflect the culture where I come from in a culture that I am just beginning to understand is a culture shock in itself. Many people, such as my high school history teacher, told me that America has a far-reaching effect. I saw the effects that it has politically around the world, but I now I have seen how much American culture affects other parts of the world. It not only affects the big issues such as treaties, but it also affects small things that are part of everyday life. Some of the ways that America affects Hong Kong are so subtle that it takes a lot of effort to see. It is this fact that has made me see how influential America really can be.

Ariel Ringlein is a junior in management from Guthrie Center. She is in Hong Kong for the semester as part of the ISU study abroad program.