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Sign up with Google Sign up with FacebookQ: Backlash and Bash Bash Expats
I can see from the page that there are some expats on a full scale 'Bash China' mission. Nothing seems according to the expectations or something constantly annoying. Someone get abuses for generosity and someone is torn apart by the people sneaking to practice 'Chinglish' with them. Some are really overloaded and exploding due to the racial and cultural discriminations. China is an other world for many of us. I am just curious whether you can keep these personal experiences/grudges detached from your profession or not? Do in any circumstances these events effect your behavior at work place or you can keep it aside while teaching in the classroom as the students are also part of the same society you are bottomed up with.
Actually, I've come to appreciate children in class more, because of all the adult idiocy.
When I first arrived 2 years ago, I was urging my wife to rebrand the little children's school she was buying, so that I could teach adults. Real grammar practice, cultural exchange, getting to know interesting people... I had many hopes.
But adults in China seem incredibly dull. No humanity, no empathy, no interest in world affairs, no willingness to adapt or learn, no non-materialistic hobbies, lots of prejudices, not much to say for themselves at all.
I'm starting to realize that adult teaching isn't going to offer the things I was hoping for, and children display much less of the mental programming. Sure, they're annoying when they want to grab your attention negatively, but they still have a faint glimmer of curiosity which hasn't died away completely yet.
I see humanity in the children. Sad to think it will likely be lost, but joy that it's there in the here and now. I do my very best to shield the children from any of the negativity I feel towards China. I can't observe myself objectively, so it's hard to say how well I'm succeeding at it.
Parents and children like me; they feel I'm kind and patient. Staff probably have a more mixed opinion, because there are salary discussions, and disagreement in China is hard to keep in balance. If their responses were measured more appropriately, I'd be confident that nobody was unhappy with me.
royceH:
I was only explaining the word 'dull' to some students this afternoon.
I thought it an apt description of the men. who are overwhelmingly dull. The women can be a little more interesting.
Same goes for students of all ages.
A forum like this is a much healthier way to try and understand the country we are in, rather than take it out on the locals we are in daily contact with. I am sure we are all adult enough to seperate our professional lives from our occasional frustrations of life here.
for me, it is trying to make sense of the occasionally somewhat bizzare and illogical behaviour that passes for 'tradition'. Better i do it here, that trying to argue with each local i meet
we probably all 'bash' our home countries to the same extent because we give a damn.
you can bet that in each country, there are similar ex-pat forums 'bashing' the country they are in. we are all human after all.
this site is not unique, and it is certainly more civilised than some of the other ones here in China.
Are you offended by the content of the site?
Do you find the concept of people expressing dissatisfaction with their host country distasteful?
Those of us who grew up in a free country where we were encouraged and expected to voice opinions will continue to do just that.
This forum is a place where we can do this without fear of retribution or a beer bottle over the head. (or divorce)
Please do not feed the trolls.
Admin: please, please, please do away with anonymous posts!
If I have any such problem, it will effect my performance the least but will never dominate my behavior at work as Sorrel said earlier. 'Bash' is actually criticism ranging in different levels.
When at home in Canada we seem to Bash the current government a lot over a beer. So much so you'd think we elected some retards.We also like to bash the corporations for gouging us. No mater where you shop the the prices are the same. Then there's the criminals who get to live in prisons that have better living conditions than most of us have in China. Yeah, I think it is just human nature to complain.
Who is sneak practicing Chinglish here ??? I should recommend practicing English instead.
Saying "People who spit on the street....." isn't bashing, it is showing care and hoping the people of the PRC through better education can eradicate this means of spreading disease.
The only thing I get out of this forum now is the satisfaction knowing I've coped and handled being in China so much better than other foreigners.
sorrel:
you clearly lived in a bubble and didn't have to speak to anyone or leave your room.
even the most patient of us has been ticked off at times here.
louischuahm:
When you have learnt to ACCEPT that spitting, pushing and shoving to get ahead, pooping and urinating in public, talking unnecessarily loud, cars wanting to run you down etc, is normal then I can say you've really coped and handled well. So long as you are cursing and swearing at those things, you haven't really done so. Locking yourself up in your room to shut out the world isn't exactly accepting it, you're simply in a state of denial.
Iron_Monkey:
oh I've been ticked off and blown up more than a couple times in China, even walked out of my job for an afternoon once because I was so frustrated. However, I'm not at the point where I need to go online and write about it.
And for the record, Sorrel, I have lived mostly independently while in China. I've found and rented apartments by myself, opened and closed bank accounts by myself, traveled by myself, have had dental emergencies and hopped on buses and traveled to the nearest 1st tier city and found a reputable dentist by myself all while almost 8 years in China, and you?
sorrel:
@ Iron_Monkey :
well done for not feeling the need to help other people understand and deal with the day-to-day unexpected problems that are encountered here in China.
if it is bad to be human enough to want to help others by sharing experiences, then i am guilty of being human.
And yes, i have coped during my time here in China, working and traveling independently.
Sorry Sino
Firstly, you are not an expat.
You brought up the point about our attitudes towards work. Actually this is where I show the most concern. Chinese culture is horrendous when it comes to parenting. Sleep deprived children. A shitload of pressure heaped upon them for no damn reason. Children with learning disabilities but they don't get the help they need because of face.
If someone comes to me and tell me myhouse is on fire, I thank them. Chinese mentality , insult you for pointing out a flaw in their home.
Because I'm a five lincoln!!!!!!!!!! I get paid $5 for every anti-China post I made. I'm unfortunately unable to survive on it.
A lot of expats, especially Americans cannot stand to see another country - any country, succeeding better and faster than the U.S. Maybe it is painful to see Chinese investors buying up so much of America lately (real estate and companies). The American empire is endangered and China continues to grow. Envy?
Mateusz:
Hmm, that would explain why so many Americans are desperate to get Chinese citizenship, while no Chinese ever try to emigrate.
coineineagh:
Actually, you're talking about the same kind of nationalistic pride that a lot of Chinese display. A few Americans have this sentiment, while *most* Chinese are programmed with it. In reality, Obama is a lackey of rich corporate interests, who has completely opposed the values he himself espoused during his election campaign. And you should ask yourself what China's international successes has given *you* personally, besides an inflated sense of nationalistic pride. Good news and bad news stories are just that: Stories. Funny how people who are so determined to care only about themselves and their families are at the same time so bad at determining what *really* matters to them...
generalisations, like insults, the easy answer to anything that offends.