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Q: How to make some Chinese friends?
Lots of people say hello to me every day, but the conversation never gets past "how do you do?"
How to get more Chinese friends?
For starters...
start to reply and PM's to "how to make some foreign friends" Posters?
I have made some gym friends,they treat me just like a normal person,but outside of the gym I have no Chinese friends.(my wife is my best friend)
Watch talent and variety shows, for waterheater-chitchat subjects.
Listen to K-pop and be a fan of a dreamy boyband member.
Take an interest in learning Chinese cooking.
Go fashion accessory shopping with vigour.
Play mahjong or those other card games.
Help people practice their English.
Make exaggerrated compliments about every nice thing in China.
Don't discuss politics or anything socially relevant.
Good luck, and please report on your success. I'd be curious to know if the friendships are as rewarding, worthwhile and lasting as I suspect they are.
ScotsAlan:
Yup coin. The problem I have at the moment is there is a bunch of foreigners in my area working on different stuff. I can go to the bar, meet a foreign guy who is a total stranger to me, have a great chat, maybe a heated argument, but we are friends within a couple of hours. I just can't click the same way with Chinese guys. And I am sure its not a culture difference thing. I can quickly become friends with red neck Republicans, Kiwi farmers, Malaysian contractors, Indian buyers, Japanese engineers..... But Chinese guys are just such hard work.
coineineagh:
My experience exactly. Whether I'm sitting at a table with a neurotic, a snob, an addict, a mental patient, a political opponent, a religious extremist, a fascist or an interior decorator, I can still have a great chat and go home with a sense of social fulfillment. It may be the social isolation that lowers our standards, or makes normally unapproachable strangers more approachable due to shared suffering, but despite this, the locals seem too preoccupied with their own greed and face to ever let their guard down. Since I got back, I'm a bit more chatty and appreciative of random strangers. Not that I seek out opportunities, but if there's an opening, I'm more inclined to take the opportunity to chat with people. A nice take-home lesson from China, I guess.
Haha, serious answer here, my friends in China are all people who have something special making them outcast in this society, I love "different" people.
My best local friend is a female, bisexual and in couple with another girl. No need to say that any display of affection in public will get them stares of rage from Chinese men. Interesting personality, a love for knowledge and different opinions, really fun person to be around.
Another friend is a man who refuses to play the gold rush game, he isn't a loser at all, but he is just not interested to run after money, he's got a good job that he loves though. He has long hair and a nice beard, not your typical Chinese guy. Many people here find him weird but he's much smarter than any of them, a living encyclopedia, always a pleasure to talk with him.
I have zero interest to meet your "average" Chinese person full of stereotypes and preconceived ideas, most Chinese are way too predictable, they lack this uniqueness and unexpected traits that make people interesting.
Most of Chinese young people are shy, there is no doubt they would like to make friends with foreigners, so if foreigners can take the first step, they will become friends easily.
maybe they can make more friends by talking more to people around whey they go out for dinner or physical exercises. These are all opportunities to seize. As i know, many Chinese people also want to make friends with foreigners, but they are just too shy.
I can't really tell you... but I can empathise.
What I find somewhat telling is that all the Chinese work colleagues in my office will go to lunch together, but never bother to invite the FTs. Granted, my Chinese sucks. But I've noticed that the other FTs, who have much better Chinese, also don't get invited anywhere. Adding to this, all the Chinese teachers speak English (well, yeah - they teach their subjects in English!!) so, it doesn't appear to be a language issue, but a cultural one!
I like to use social apps to meet chinese peeps. Download an app called 陌陌 (momo). You can see ppl in your area or use WeChat's nearby function.
I like to use social apps to meet chinese peeps. Download an app called 陌陌 (momo). You can see ppl in your area or use WeChat's nearby function.
u can be my friend.. lol. i jus came back to China 2 months ago. i was born here but grow up elsewhere and also lost most of my friend while i was gone. you can add my wechat vidaigou2014
sorrel:
giving someone your number does not make them your friend
http://answers.echinacities.com/question/how-make-some-foreign-friends-0?type=alatest#lastcomment
friendship takes time
u can be my friend.. lol. i jus came back to China 2 months ago. i was born here but grow up elsewhere and also lost most of my friend while i was gone. you can add my wechat vidaigou2014
Talk to them. I have a lot of Chinese friends. If they can't speak English then move on, it's a numbers game.
Talk, make them laugh...give them little pressies, ...then they will give you something too, then they invite you for dinner and so forth...just roll with it, sometimes you argue or disagree, next time have meal and share a joke, move on and so on and so on
I found that the best way to go beyond "OH YOU COUNTRY SO BEAUTIFUL WAH" conversations is to speak Chinese with them, make a joke or two.
You'll still be a laowai, but they'll open up to you. Probably.
I've made it a sort of rule for myself: if the other guy just wants to talk about how beautiful my or his country is, don't bother and keep in touch. It'll never go any further than "I WANT GO TRAVEL WORLD YOU SO LUCKY".
