The place to ask China-related questions!
Beijing Shanghai Guangzhou Shenzhen Chengdu Xi'an Hangzhou Qingdao Dalian Suzhou Nanjing More Cities>>

Categories

Close
Welcome to eChinacities Answers! Please or register if you wish to join conversations or ask questions relating to life in China. For help, click here.
X

Verify email

Your verification code has been sent to:

Didn`t receive your code? Resend code

By continuing you agree to eChinacities's Privacy Policy .

Sign up with Google Sign up with Facebook
Sign up with Email Already have an account? .
Posts: 2536

Emperor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

Q: What are the effects of living in China for a long time?

I have so far only spent 6 of the last 12 months in China.  This year is likley to be 8 months.
I find myself becoming very cynical now.  At least I am lucky and get to spend a fair amount of time at home to recover in between missions.
For those that have been here a long time, how has it changed your attitude, personality, outlook on life?  Has it been possitive or negative?
My attitude has changed sooo much over the past year I can't imagine where I will be after another one.

12 years 12 weeks ago in  General  - China

 
Answers (9)
Comments (3)
Posts: 2253

Emperor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

For male expats, many of them do seem to be more cynical over time. It seems that all the bad things get to them. There's also some of them who love it here, but that's a smaller amount. It all depends on whether you understand Chinese or not, and also the city you choose, the people you deal with on a daily basis...This is just what I have seen from posts on this blog, from male expats. As far as female expats go...I don't know many, and I guess I can't just claim it from my own experience.

Report Abuse
12 years 12 weeks ago
 
Posts: 196

Governor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

After 10 years here I am starting to become antisocial and pushy in crowds, I have started dropping articles when i speak and can eat chickens feet without cringing. I no longer can smell the toilets as I walk past and feel it is normal to spit on the floor of the mall.
The lost goes on and on so maybe it is time for me to leave.

fish79:

The thing i ask myself nowadays is can i live at home?

12 years 12 weeks ago
Report Abuse

giadrosich:

Nope. I draw the like at chicken feet. Can't do it, no way, no how. Bon appetite!!

12 years 12 weeks ago
Report Abuse

Mr_spoon:

It's "bon appetit", no "e" at the end, and the last "t" is silent ;P

12 years 12 weeks ago
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
12 years 12 weeks ago

Come on thumbs down everything I say. rnrnPlease I like it thumbs down some more.

 
Posts: 7204

Emperor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

What do you want or need out of this part of your life?
Ive been home for 6 months now and wish I was in China then there are Days in China when im planning what I want to do when I go back to Australia.
maybe you can find a better balance?
You know your not on your own with the bad China day thing.
I was having  more Bad Aussie days than China days so I changed my job 
Im not saying quit your job but maybe you can change aspects of it to make it more bearable.
revisit this problem in a couple of weeks after the silly sesson wares off
sorry thats the Best I have to offer.
'
cheeky

Report Abuse
12 years 12 weeks ago
 
Posts: 22

Governor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

I'm here for almost four years. when I arrived in China I can not speak a single chinese word. Now I can talk like locals the only disadvantage is I can not write. I forgot a lot of English words. I have lots of grammatical errors when I write or speak. my food life has changed too, bfore I dont eat hot and spicy , now I'm addicted to it. before I came to China I was timid, soft spoken, all of those were gone.  :( but i love this country.. 

Report Abuse
12 years 12 weeks ago

meeeeeeeeoooooooow

 
Posts: 2409

Emperor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

Almost 6 years here.  I haven't left China in almost 5 years.

On the negative side, I have become more cynical and I have a shorter temper than I used to have.

On the positive side, I am more social, more willing to walk up to complete strangers and start a conversation.

Paraoxically, I also have much greater patience in some instances.  I can overlook small things that used to set me off in an instant.

I don't speak the language fluently, but I have a good grasp on the survial level and that is all I really need in my day-to-day life.

The biggest change has got to be an increase in courage, self-reliance and determination.  Without those, I don't think I could exist in this country.

Report Abuse
12 years 12 weeks ago
 
Posts: 1693

Emperor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

I would have to say that long term exposure has led to a bout with apathy, in that I just don't care about some things I used to; however, that is tempered by a much greater sense of patience. How these two go together is sometimes interesting. It depends on the mood of the day and how things have gone wrong on that particular day.

I have little patience in crowds, like train stations or busy shopping districts.  After being here almost two years (in Feb), and having only been back to my home country once for 30 days, I refuse to be pushed and shoved like some brand of cattle, and in a tight situation, I extend my elbows to make a path. I'm very protective of my wife, and will call somebody out for being rude (to her) in an instant. Usually, I'm very reserved and low-key, but this really, really gets to me.

I consider myself a guest here, and do what I can to get along with local folks. I try to thank them for their service and always say "good morning" to the school guards and janitors, waitresses and other folk. They now know me and respond warmly.

I don't hang out with any other expats, mainly because there are none, so my exposure to people has been 99.5% to Chinese, and I feel that I have absored a lot about the culture and people here, which is something I wanted to do.

Living here has also made me sympathetic (in various degrees) about some of the issues China faces on the international front, and even though they are the cause of much of the loss of face, I get rather peeved at some of the comments I read on new sites posted when I read a story involving China. Most of the remarks blasting China are made by people who have never been out of their somewhat narrow frame of mind, and look for any excuse to blame someone else for their current lack of progress in life.

Those are just the highlights. Like over-exposure to anything, there are some benefits and some not so good things that happen. It'll all come out in the wash, I suppose.

Report Abuse
12 years 12 weeks ago
 
Posts: 1968

Emperor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

I have also been here almost 10 years.  I suppose that what I appreciate the most is the simply daily routine of life.  I also appreciate the relative high level of personal safety.  Mind you -- I am in a  smaller provincial city but nonetheless, compared to the West, I don't worry about excessive acts of wanton violence.  That being said, Chinese men when they are drunk are to be avoided.  At that point they can be aggressive without limits.

There are trade-offs for sure.  Sometimes I am frustrated on the Internet when a site turns up "unavailable" but as everything else here, there are workarounds in place.

Still after ten years, I cringe at the spitting on the streets. I will never be able to eat all of the strange things that the locals enjoy -- roasted silk worms, dog, cat, snake, and the like, but then again I have many Chinese friends who also cringe at eating such things.

It's a ying-and-yang situation.  Some days are great and others are just miserable.  Nonetheless, the country just changes in front of one's eyes.  My provincial city was drab and miserable when I arrived here and in the space of 5 years it has transformed itself nearly entirely.

Report Abuse
12 years 12 weeks ago
 
Posts: 9192

Emperor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

I can understand becoming cynical and returning home to feel you don't fit in anymore. But have you ever wondered what standing upside down compared to being at home does to you? Maybe it gives you the runs?  Or the fact our body is 75% water and in the north a toilet vorex flows counter clockwise and while in the south flows clockwise, so what effect doe this have on our body. None, this is mindless dribble meant to give ESL readers a headache.

Report Abuse
12 years 12 weeks ago
 
Posts: 17

Governor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

So much in China is so different from what we know or expect; we build comfort bubbles (most foreigners in China will never speak Chinese fluently!!) and honestly believe our assumptions must be true to make sense of everything and ignore what we don't understand/like.

The danger in China is to get money, a girl friend and then say.. I'm at home! Because most foreigners really depend on other foreigners who will leave one day soon and on a Chinese gf/wife who's language they can't speak though they're living in her country and asking her to do all the translation/adapting for them.

I feel many foreigners will leave China empty handed one day, when they're old, or sick or had bad fortune.

On the other hand, some foreigners get it that you can only find lasting happiness in someone's home if you join the family; learn Chinese and spend time with Chinese people!

Too many foreigners end up living a superficial life; they talk about their gf like she's already their reliable (ready to give it all for you) wife, or they talk about how easy it is to have a Chinese gf when they'll lose the charm of their youth some day, or they speak of the stable life they have in China when actually a health problem or a break up with their gf/wife would be enough for them to go home empty handed and disillusioned, and, ironically, unable to speak proper Chinese.

Tell me if you disagree. Great topic I think

Report Abuse
12 years 12 weeks ago
 
Know the answer ?
Please or register to post answer.

Report Abuse

Security Code: * Enter the text diplayed in the box below
Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <img> <br> <p> <u>
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Textual smileys will be replaced with graphical ones.

More information about formatting options

Forward Question

Answer of the DayMORE >>
A:  "... through ..."?  Only "through" comes to mind is "S
A: "... through ..."?  Only "through" comes to mind is "Shenzhen agent can connect you with an employer, who's authorized to hire waigouren ... and can sponsor Z visa." It's not like every 10th person you meet in Shenzhen's hood can sponsor work visa ...  The only way to change from student to labourer visa is just a regular way by: 1. Finding an employer, who'll apply for an Invitation letter; 2. Exit China and apply for Z visa in your home country's Chinese embassy; 3. Enter China in 30-days after Z visa was stamped into your travelling instrument ...As I am aware, you won't be able to switch to Working permit by remaining in China....,so make ready for a return to your home .... -- icnif77