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Q: Has living in China changed your opinion of...
1). Yourself?
2). Your country of origin?
3). Chinese (in general)?
and/or
4). Other foreigners?
For better or worse (and time will tell), living in China has changed my perception on all these things. Pick one, pick all; just don't pick your nose.
I've experienced more living in China, did things I never thought I would, all for the better.
I come from Canada. We are supposed to be so free here. Yeah right. I have the right to be taxed to death, where's the revolution protesting government waste and corruption. Traffic tickets because we have too many cops that exist just to support themselves. Over half my countys budget goes to the ever expanding police here. The OPP over the last few years all have nice new big buildings, an army of idiot cops. I pay a small fortune in property taxes, yet my road hasn't been repaved in 10 years. We pay for garbage pick up which I think is a hugh mistake because now people dump their garbage, The solution has been to hire someone and give them a car to go around and check if everyone uses garbage bag tags
I feel more free in China and I am free to pick any thing I want. I just have to watch where I walk and how I walk. I hate the rats tho. China needs more cats.
giadrosich:
And that really is the benefit, is it not, of living and experiencing other cultures, that adds to a greater understanding of ourselves and our situations. One thing that has changed my appreciation of my own country (the U.S,) is the fact that I can see it through "other eyes." I do love my country, as I'm sure you love yours (being the birthright, so to speak), but I know that there is something inherently wrong about how people operate. I'm not a big fan of government, being of the mind that if "they" would just get out of the way, people would be a lot more better off. But...that is what we are left with, are we not?
So, do what you need to do to make your life comfortable, and jettison the rest. Good post Ted. Thanks for your responsee.
TedDBayer:
Another thing that bothers me about home is all the bums.Welfare, disability, mothers allowance, sure there might be a need, but the system is too over abused. Most are just bums. I stopped for a donut the other day and got pan handled. I see homeless young people around. It not just that we have so much unemployment, these people genuinly will not work if there were jobs. There is too much feeling that they are entitled. The generation that grows up in this situation just learns a way of life. I am actually now against social progrms.
Yeh, I guess it has. In terms of myself, living in China has shown me I am farrr more capable of being patient and understanding than I was previously aware. In England I was quick to spot a sideways glance and loathe to turn my gaze if I felt threatened. In China the gazes are so many, and what's behind them so varied, that I have found the ability to let go of my need to address every possible slant or critical eye with a 'You wanna go mate?' attitude, and instead let such concerns dissolve into the inconsequential mire of insecurity from whence they sprang.
As for my country of origin, I lived most of the first 36 years of my life in London, a melting-pot of cultures, and by the very nature of that mix, a place ripe with paranoia and the opportunity for racially motivated acts of violence on a Friday night. Being the odd one out for the past eight years in some of the backstreet towns and cities of China, without so much as a hint of violence aimed in my direction in all that time, has not changed my view of England, it's just confirmed my belief that people are basically good, unless they're really skint or really scared, and then they're real arseholes.
My view of the Chinese has naturally changed, as before coming here I never had a close Chinese friend and got all my knowledge of the Chinese culture from Jackie Chan movies. But it's amazing - rather a large portion of them CANNOT do kung fu.
And foreigners, no, i've had no new insights. Just a bunch of people with funny voices.
giadrosich:
Where ever you go, what ever you do, people are the same. They basically want the same things; to be happy, to have their children do better than themselves, and a life free from fear and pain. That is, foundationally, the human condition.
Good post, M. I often appreciate what you have to say, primarily because you speak what is on your mind (or at least, make it interesting in the process!). That being said, pay no mind to detractors. I find it interesting that it is more easier to criticize than to expound upon good points, while at the same time, words of encouragement have a much greater effect.
My main area of study in college was comparative religions, with a minor in languages; both of which address the human condition, something which I've always been interested in. Keep drawing conclusions, even if others don't agree. It reinforces what you believe, both in it's challenge and application.
mArtiAn:
Know thyself, and to thine own self be true, right? And yeh, it's way easier to tear things down than build them up. Cheers.
I think living in another country changes you in many ways, whether you notice or not. It's gotten easier to be more confident in myself. After all, when people are staring at you all the time, eventually you adjust to that and care less about what they think.
I think I'm more accepting of American culture than I used to be. I thought I didn't fit in at home, but now I feel like although I am different, I'm still American and wouldn't fit in better anywhere else. A lot of people here at home say that America doesn't have a culture, but it's very obvious from an outsider's point of view that there is one. I especially love American food, because food culture is a part of us that we can't do without. I didn't realize how important it was to me before I went to China.
Chinese people can be unbelievably kind and also unbelievably uncaring. Actually, there are a lot of unbelievable things in general. I never knew how superstitious people were there, but now that I know, I can understand why a lot of things are the way they are. Learning more of China's history has helped me to understand the present. Some people say you can't make good friends in China, but I think it's more about knowing how they define "friend." I don't feel as close to them, but I think we still care about each other. I've made more decent friends in China in the past year than I've made in the past several years in America. Several of them don't really speak English, and I don't really speak Chinese, but I still feel that their intentions are genuine. I'm actually optimistic about the younger generation. I think as time goes on, they'll see they can make an impact (or maybe they won't have a choice) and I hope they get to do what they dream.
As for other foreigners (in China, I'm not sure if that's what you meant), I didn't really know any, and haven't really met any my own age. I've heard about some despicable behavior from stories online, some of which I'm sure are true. The few I did meet were polite, but a bit grumpy. I understand that China can bring out the worst in some people (me included) and I won't hold it against them. Despite every person coming for their own reasons, It takes a certain personality, a certain type of person to want to travel halfway around the world. For me it was because I always wanted to travel, and I was afraid that if I didn't start somewhere, I'd never go. Experiences, the good and the bad, in the end they have become a part of me, and as time goes on, I think the bitterness will continue to fade into nostalgia.
A Chinese friend once told me that when he met me, he couldn't believe that such a shy and quiet girl could go halfway around the world by herself. But as he got to know me, he realized that maybe I wasn't so quiet. It's true, when I first went to China I was very shy. How could I not be? It was the first time I had traveled alone, the first time I had moved (besides staying in a dorm in college), I didn't really know any Chinese, and I didn't know anyone in China. Someday I may go back, but for now I'll wait for the next adventure, hopefully not too long from now.
giadrosich:
You are deemed for wisdom. Great post, Jnusb416, from my opinion. Exposure does change us, in ways we neither understand or readily comprehend. I know that your time in China was "lacking," but in essence, it was, perhaps, exactly what you needed at the time. Ever considered that? A friend once told me, long ago, "It is the hard times that make us grow." Good times add nothing to our character. Confidence comes from meeting challenges and overcoming the difficulties associated with them. A simple formula, but so often overlooked in our world of instant gratification. It takes time.
As for Chinese people: yes, they can be incredibly kind, but with an edge. Does that make sense? It's almost like: "Here I am, don't hurt me." I contribute that to the closure of the society in dealing with the unknown (aka "foreigners," or something foreign). Akin to a naivety, I believe. Correct me if I am wrong. There is both a length and depth that I am not sure of, but which is revealed through closer exposure.
Time is a great equalizer. In that I mean that it does exactly what it is meant to do, and that is to both heal and distort. It heals in the sense that it lets us forget pain (or loneliness, etc.), , and in the same sense, distorts our understanding of what caused us pain to begin with. That, in itself, is not a bad thing.
To be frank, I came to China because I could. It was the right time, and for the time in my life, the proper thing to do. Sail. Explore. Expound. A simple formula, really; one better explained by teaching and learning. Needless to say, by teaching, I learn much more about people, life, and culture(s) than I could ever hope to give and return.
Thanks for your response. Smooth sailing to you, and best of fortune in your future endeavors! 
