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Q: Arguments with Locals versus with Expats: How do you feel about both?
Something hit me yesterday that was super annoying. I realized that I have different expectations towards Chinese and "foreigners" here. On the face of it that seems very rational. But there's a hidden punch to it. Whenever some kind of silly argument happens with a Chinese person, you can move beyond that episode and call it a Bad China Day.
When it happens with a fellow expat / foreigner / whatever the heck the right word is, regardless of which country they're from - the nasty taste stays in your mouth. Like Holy ****, it isn't something i realized because I almost never had any kind of conflict with a "foreigner" here. I'm not sure why. I'm a bit disappointed in the other guy. He's American like myself - and I know that the same nationality doesn't mean that everything is hunkie dory. Maybe the guy has been in Chinaland for too long? Whatever about him.
When you have some kind of argument with a local, does it have the same impact as when you have one with another foreigner, or somebody from your same country? For myself, the answer is a resounding no. Arguments with locals are willy-nilly and below me. But with expats, Holy Mother, its a supreme disappointment.
And yeah, apologies for the "f" word here, I have no clue what the savvy terminology is. Feel free to school me on it if you wish.
Worthington
I wouldn't worry about.
Foreigners who live in China tend to score quite high up on the "madness" scale, compared to a sample of people in your home country. This is because you actually have to be mad to live here.
Any foreigner who has been here for a while and claims to be sane are actually deluded. The deluded ones are the most dangerous 
.
It took me a while to realise I was as mad as the next guy. And once I accepted that, things got easier.
wSchuyler88:
long-term foreigners are mad, ha-ha, yeah I think that is a factor
Different people have different ideas and different points of view, it isn't an "us versus them" type of thing.
What, you expect people to agree with you just because they are from the same country as you? Maybe the problem is you.
I wouldn't worry about.
Foreigners who live in China tend to score quite high up on the "madness" scale, compared to a sample of people in your home country. This is because you actually have to be mad to live here.
Any foreigner who has been here for a while and claims to be sane are actually deluded. The deluded ones are the most dangerous .
It took me a while to realise I was as mad as the next guy. And once I accepted that, things got easier.
wSchuyler88:
long-term foreigners are mad, ha-ha, yeah I think that is a factor
delusions, thats what happens when i wake up in the middle of the night with cold sweats, only happens in china, when i sleep in other countries, no problems, must be in the air. i never argue with locals, its such a disappointment to hear memorize responses that are in some cases 2000 years old.
I think a lot of foreigners don't argue with locals simply because they can't (language barrier). You don't get too mad at them because many foreigners see Chinese are child-like and just plain ignorant.
We expect more from foreigners because we KNOW the education and the culture is different. But there are always going to be massive personality clashes. We may take it more offensively because we may run into that foreigner MANY times and HAVE to socialize with them because they are in the foreigner group. A Chinese person, you can dismiss and know that you will probably not see them again... or they will brush it off as cultural difference or something.
Some foreigners here can be very disappointing but so can many Chinese. Just let it go cause few things are as dramatic as we build them up to be in our heads.
