2. When June May arrives in Guangzhou, what are some details that seem familiar to her, and what are some that seem exotic? Why is she so preoccupied with comparing China to America?

Jing-mei / June feels the familiar atmosphere of the crowded place of China but she also feels exotic that she looked like them but don't feel like them.

She is also so preoccupied with comparing China to America for she felt that she is American, an average American child yet she looks exactly like the Chinese. Her only difference from them is her identification in being American rather than Chinese.

Explanation:

June May is a character from Amy Tan's "A Pair Of Tickets" who had gone to China in a bid to get to know more about her half sisters in China. Even though she was reluctant to go for she feels that her half sisters will put the blame of their mother's death on her, she still went there to get connected to her heritage and family roots.

Brought up in an American atmosphere, she felt a bit different once she arrived in Guangzhou. She felt that the crowded place feels the same as in America yet she feels that she may look like them but deep inside, she's not Chinese like them.

And she also have this preoccupation comparing America with China for she identifies herself as an American and not Chinese. But ironically, she is Chinese, to the full, despite her inability to see or accept that.