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Sign up with Google Sign up with FacebookQ: What do you NOT like about China and living here?
For me, I hate listening to Kool-Aid drinkers telling me all the time how great China is.
Some of them are on this site!!
I also hate how EVERYTHING is dirty.
I do not know if it will go as far as hate, but I sure dislike when my GF ask me to wash my hands before touching her, but it is OK for to touch me without doing so. After all, I am a laowai. It sure does take romance out of the equation.
Traveler:
Yes. I have had that one several times as well. It is like we are dirty foreigners, but everybody knows that Chinese are the cleanest people in the world, so don't need to wash.
I DO NOT LIKE THE BANK SYSTEM. FIRST OF ALL WE ALL KNOW THAT THE TELLER IS THE WINDOW FOR MONEY IN AND MONEY OUT, BUT IF U WANT TO OPEN A NEW ACCOUNT THERE MUST BE A PLACE WHERE U SIT AND GIVE ALL THE INFORMATION, THAT MEANS U WILL NEVER STAY IN THE QUE FOR A LONG TIME. SECOUND TO OPEN AN ACCOUNT U HAVE TO SIGN MORE THAN 25 PAPERS SO WHAT A COMPUTER FOR. A LOT OF ROUTEN AND A LOT OF STAMP. WEST OF TIME AND WEST OF PAPER. THIRED, AT LUNCH TIME U WILL FIND ONLY ONE PERSONE SERVING U WHILE OTHER SITING DOING NOTHING EITHER SHEFFLING PAPER. I BELIEVE THE WHOLE SYSTEM MUST BE AUTOMATED. GOD BLESS CHINA. I ALSO DO NOT LIKE THE NEGATIVE BEHAVIOR FROM CHINA TOWORD WHAT HAPPENED IN THE ARAB COUNTRIES AND LEAVE AMERICA AS THE ONLY PLAYER IN THE GROUNG YET CHINA IS A GREAT COUNTRY AND STRONG IN ECONOMIC.
MrTibbles:
Add "people who type in all caps from anywhere" to the list.
I don't like the language barrier. It is not anyones fault but I don't like it.
I don't like the amount of smoking.
I don't like the pollution.
I don't like the internet filtering.
I don't like the bitter cold in Nth China.
I don't like squat toilets.
I could go on for a while. But even though I don't like many things I still will be spending much of my life here because of the things that I do like.
What do you call the people who shit on the plate they eat on? I feel sorry for those ignorant chinese people who think we all foreigners are gods. There are teachers here who are here just because they are white looking but the degree they have nothing to do with teaching. And then there are these haters who can do nothing in their own country, hate everything assotiated to China and its political standing and yet they are being paid for just being a foreigner. If you don't like China and can't accept for what it is why dont you go back to your own country and go back to being a lowlife?
thedude:
Wow, where did that come from? If you look deeper into this site you will see there are many posts about the good things here (including from me). I suggest you have issues.
:
Sorry if you felt the answer was directed to you. It was just a general speculation. "You" in the comment is not you, "you" used here is just figurative directed at people who like being haters. There are likes and dislikes, but i would not go as far to make it about China.
Being touched daily by curious strangers (i don't get it), having to deal with assholes (sadly laowai) that think that China is wonderful because they are treated like kings. Hand full of Chinese people telling me that "your english not right" (i really don't get this. i have the most neutral accent. no one can tell i'm from texas and have spent 10 years in chicago)
not knockin' it, but this is a different ballgame here. for sure
I hate getting cabs, the feeling everytime that I'm going to have to fight for one is just stupid.
The government.
People's incredibly rude and disrespectful attitudes - including to themselves.
The blatant racism and superiority attitude.
The cheapness of it all... money is god, so quality comes a far distant second.
"Guanxi" - especially when it means lying to save your arse - no matter how ridiculous the lie...
(Yes, I'm bagging many things here, but there are some GREAT things I like about China... and I've been lucky in not finding many of my local contacts exhibiting the above - much... but I'm responding on THIS thread, so it's going to be 'negative'!)
my cloths get dirty just by being outside.
banned websites. slow ass internet
the concept of "face"
the blatant materialism
asshole forigners who feel superior because they have a "real job" and like to look down on us lowly teachers.
I think I could handle all of the little things I don't like if it wasn't for the "HELLO" screaming, and the occasional touching, and just getting paid way to much attention in general. I'm really a pretty quiet dude IRL and that much attention paid to me makes me so uncomfortable. And it also makes city Chinese look like a bunch of local yokle country folk.
Not so bad where I'm living now but I still hate it so much when it happens.
Jnusb416:
I get the "HELLO" yelling as well, only from groups of young guys. Then they giggle like a bunch of little girls. I even asked some guys I know why they would do that, they don't know either. It's died down a bit since I've been here for a few months, but it still happens.
-Hot young ladies with rich old farts.
-Taxi drivers who, when you give them directions to go faster, question you or refuse to go your way, because you're white so you obviously don't know where you're going.
-The face thing, especially in some ridiculous situations, like driving.
-Expats' children, especially teens who go in bars and think they're on top of the world.
-They produced Doritos only for about a year, now I have to buy expensive imported ones...
-Everything about the internet.
-People who play pop music on their phones in public transportations with the volume set to max. The treble hurts my ears and gives me headaches every time.
-People who start their sentences with "We, in China, [...]" when they talk about things that are the same all over the world.
-The ones who say "You, in foreigner countries, [...]". As if all countries in the world share the exact same culture but China. And then they proceed to throw at you facts about other cultures that have nothing to do with yours.
-You're just a Laowai. No matter what.
-Other human lives have no value.
-Television is about: Love sitcom, war against japan, or ancient China.
-Radio shows with old people cracking jokes with a high pitched voice (audio theatre). Cab drivers always put that on real loud, to be sure you suffer when stuck in traffic.
-Women singing with excruciatingly high pitched voices, with no rythm, nor singing pattern. I find it absolutely HORRIBLE and I hate it more than all of the above, I think.
I really do enjoy the country. But no place is perfect, and it's not like we went on strike in the streets to complain about all those things, so let's not be hypocrites here. What's great is great, and what's wrong needs to be talked about.
kchur:
My personal favourite on the "we in China..." thing involved a former co-employee at a business dinner who wouldn't let me eat anything he felt was too Chinese, including carrots. It turned into a big fight because I kept insisting we eat carrots in other countries, and he lost face and man it was bad.
There is plenty of stuff that annoys me here (spitting, littering, etc) but there are only really a few tings I REALLY hate:
1.) "Sa jiao" - watching a grown woman try to act and talk like a 5 year old girl just turns my stomach - and also the guys who find this attractive.
2.) Public toilets, most toilets in China (not just the squat ones) - the general concept that these facilities should NOT be kept clean frightens the hell out of me. The smells that eminate from these places... Urine and poop covered floors with spit everywhere, cockroaches, flies... And I HATE not being able to flush toilet paper... It's almost 2012, figure out plumbing please.
3.) As stated, the Internet. Or more accurately the "Chinternet". It's a joke. And mind numbingly slow.
4.) Obnoxious street beggars and vendors - you know the ones, they'll follow you asking for money, send their children over to hug your leg until you give some money, and the asshats following you for "Shopping - bag, watch, DvD".
5.) Signs in pinyin without tonal marks - kind of defeats the purpose doesn't it? I'll just guess which tones to use, but thanks for the attempt... This is either a lack of forethought or a joke to make people sound like idiots. Either way I hate it.
I do agree with some of the other posts, especially with the concept of "face". and "guanxi". These two things prevent China from advancing and being taken seriously.
Jnusb416:
As per usual Mr. Tibbles, the way you write makes something horrible sound extremely funny.
HugAPanda:
Your "complaint" about pinyin... I can't imagine how annoying it must be. I get annoyed when I am practicing/studying my chinese, and come across pinyin with no tone marks. Or a "tourist" sight with survival chinese with pinyin and no marks. GRRRRRRR. LOL
Although I have had a mostly positive experience of China, there are some things that I don't like.
1. Almost all the meat has bones in it. If they were whole bones, I wouldn't have a problem, but they are chopped up, so there's a ton to spit out, and I refuse to do it. I also hate those times when I bite into something, and it feels like I am eating sand. It totally ruins my meal. I guess I should expect this from a college cafeteria?
2. Squat toilets. I think this is a given for any expat. It's just horribly awkward, and almost impossible when it's the type with not even a bar or pipe to hold onto.
3. People saying hello to me all the time, even if I don't know them. The guys who yell "HELLO" from far away, then laugh, are the most annoying.
4. The hard bed. I still can't stand it.
5. The fact that my whole bathroom is the shower. It is small, so everything gets wet, including the door. The paint is peeling and parts are rotten. There is now a rusty pipe that leaks in my bathroom because it gets wet.
6. The fact that I can't drink out of the sink, and only cold water comes out. There is also no heat in my apartment, at all. The outside doors have holes in them. The window in my bedroom doesn't shut properly, so I get to hear 2 roosters outside my window at 4 in the morning. The cockroaches that come out from the bathroom (there are less now because of the cold).
7. The fact that everybody I meet wants to learn English, but almost no one will help me learn any Chinese. Even when I do speak Chinese, they don't really correct me, so I don't know if I'm saying it right. I think it's a bit unfair.
8. Of course, this is a given for almost any expat, the fact that everything is told to me at the last second. Twice last week, I either had a class cancelled or moved, and wasn't told until I'd already set up my stuff in the classroom. I wouldn't care, except that means I got up at 7 for nothing. I hate waking up early.
Ok, my list is plenty long. I didn't put sa jiao, because there's a girl I know, I actually think her sa jiao is kind of cute. No, I'm not crazy, I can just see why some guys find it attractive...maybe I'm a little crazy.
Mr_spoon:
Yeah, the meat thing... It's not only the bones, sometimes they give you those cold, oily legs or necks or something of whatever animal, with the chopped bones, fat and skin still on it. That mix of all possible disgusting sensations and tastes is too much. I used to eat it out of respect, now I just say "Fuck no".
MrTibbles:
I swear that hammers are used as slicing tools for meat here. One thing I hate even more though is when you order a chicken dish and there are only bones in it with 0.05% meat. Thanks for the bowl of bones!
I agree with just about everything said, the only thing I'd add is...
How only the short term concept is cared about. Having to try and train everyone on how "yes you can save an addition yuan if you make this cheaper product but it will cost you thousands if not millions in the long run"
There are several on this list which can be avoided/accepted:
Chinese toilet paper does break down in water, I test it every day.
I willingly accept that my English will never be as good as their Chinglish.
The language barrier is good, you don't want to hear what they are saying anyway!
"Hellos" shouted in the street- they are practicing English with their friends, don't interrupt them.
Street beggars often offer me the money they have collected. I politely refuse to accept it, but congratulate them on their efforts!
Hot (looking) young ladies with rich old farts probably/dont-even suck in bed.
Driving- buy a motorbike and leave them at the lights, then pass the red-light-runners 100m down the road. Wear a good helmet to reduce decibels from honking, visor down to keep dirt from your eyes. Alway pass the U-turners parked across the road from behind. Be very aware and wary of middleaged-blinkered-women on e-scooters, especially as a pedestrian.
ALWAYS wear noise-cancelling earphones, even at home.
Learn to enjoy their cheap smokes, be sure to ignore no-smoking signs, always throw the butt near the rubbish bin. The natives will respect you for it!
Never buy domestic-market products, be wary of export quality ones. Keep the fapiao!
Always heed the advice to be wary of theives, be especially wary of those who warn you.
Washing hands reply "I already have, I didn't see you do it though!"
Someone found meat on their bones?? OMG! Aren't you the lucky one!
Pinyin with tonal marks? Then we would have no excuse!
Squat toilets are very effective, but yeah, not so comfortable. Easy to clean in the tiled toilet/shower though.
Put a quilt under you on the hard bed with projecting springs/coconut fibre.
Lack of reciprocal language lessons, from gf's especially. TIC, find another one!