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Q: What should I do about this?
I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to fix the latest racist problem I have. (Am I right in categorising it that way?)
Some time ago, not long after I moved into this current apartment, I posted on my door an A4 sheet with my name, a little Australian flag and the fact that I was an English teacher written in both English and Chinese. It got ripped off and as I live on the 5th floor of a 6 floor apartment I'm thinking one of the two residents on the 6th is the culprit because why would anyone from the 4th floor come up an extra flight of steps? I put another 2 up and each time - riiippp!! I gave up.
Then 3 weeks ago my very special cap and sunglasses were stolen off the back of my bike. Okay, not smart putting them there but I had been doing that for a year, the bike is parked below the classrooms and there are 4 security guards on duty and cameras in operation. Anybody see anything? Nope! The hat is quite distinctive so I am hoping I spot the thief one day wearing the bloody thing!
Today, I head off to class and my bike is parked under the stairwell on the 1st floor. Hey! Both tyres have been let down so I have to go upstairs and get the pump. A tad pissed off. I parked it back there tonight and taped the valves but........If I catch this prick......the bike has been parked there for over a year and in winter it never moved for 6 months! Nobody touched it in that time.
Also today in an adjoining apartment they obviously started renovations using what sounded like a sledge hammer. 6am it started and it finished at 9.45pm! Come on! The school is coming around tomorrow to chat to the people in that apartment but methinks that will only make them hammer harder when they realise it's a laowai that's complaining.
Should I get a security camera or.........dunno. It's created a BCD and the term is ending and.........
Thanks for the input folks. Dagobah, I'm a guy and certainly not pathetic. And how do I catch them? Spend all night and day when I'm not working looking at my bike?
The time difference between putting the sign on my door and this latest incident is about 5 months. The sign originally was put there to let people, all my friends that were coming to a party, know which was my apartment.
mike168229:
Sorry if I am being obtuse but, if it was put there only for your friends why did you replace it twice?
Shining_brow:
You could re-inflate the tires, and then put some sort of colouring on it, such that if someone touches it, it won't come off for ages, but glows bright pink! Next time your tires are down, just look for the marks on the hand-rails :D
DaqingDevil:
1. I had 2 new private students to tutor and I thought it would help them find my apartment the first time.
2. I rather liked the sign because it was different to all the doors with Chinese signs on them and it also stated, humorously, that I was the local Australian Embassy and I would handle visas.
ok:
first of all, hang in there !!
some quick questions, if you don't mind
how much longer do you have there?
will you be returning to the same school?
how helpful are your local contacts in assiting you throughout your time there?
sounds like some locals think it is a 'joke'
it's 'hilarious' to do such things to the foreigner, especially if they know there will be no come-back
Samsara:
I agree with all of that.
Your employer may be able to do something (especially if they provide your apartment, and especially if it is on campus).
These Chinese boys are feeling very brave and self-impressed. They would wee in their pants if they faced any personal danger, which is why they have to target someone who has no recourse. Engaging in this kind of sneaky, cowardly behaviour is the only way they can imagine they have something over a foreign man.
DaqingDevil:
Yeah I am here for at least another term. I have a super apartment and am loathe to leave it and won't let these people drive me away. I really get on well with all other Chinese so I am feeling a bit hurt I guess.
My bike was untouched this morning.....so.
School will help but I sometimes think that might be asking for more trouble. "Poor foreigner can't handle us Chinese!" you know?
This situation does suck....lets meet for a beer and work this out.
sorrel:
the school I have just left made my life hell for the last couple of months. The only thing that kept me going was the combination of travel to see friends in other places and the knowledge I was leaving soon ! I refused to be defeated by the situation - which probably made me crazy. I am returning to another city next September!
Sorry to hear about that. I hesitate to say the best thing to do may be nothing aside from thinking of ways to prevent those incidents. I don't think you can stop them. Like Sorrel said, what can you do, really? I operate on the idea that if I hit someone I'm going home.
I park my bicycle in my apartment. My ebike stays anonymous, I guess. Take the sign off your door.
If you do find them what will you do? In my experience if you confront them they will simply laugh at you. They have the upper hand.
It's not fair, but at least you have a place to vent your frustrations. Most people here are darn nice, it's the few who make things difficult.
a web cam above the door, its probably the building cleaner , advertising a business ,language teaching is not allowed in residential areas, thats why the chinese put stickers all over the elevators ("lift" for the limeys) and write phone numbers all over the walls of the stairs. no one is supposed to advertise on the doors but people stick business cards on my door all the time.
i secretly drive this place crazy because i paint over dirt spots and phone numbers with antique white oil paint at 3 am that i carry with a small brush and coffee cup, nicest hallway in the building but im probably killing myself and the others with lead paint, 25 rmb for a liter of the stuff.
if you are a girl, then i think it sucks and i feel sorry for you. Get a few webcams put up and film these very immature and petty people.
if you are a guy.... then i would tell you to stop being a big pussy....
Samsara:
So... If someone is a man, they shouldn't worry about people stealing things, letting down their tires, etc.?
I guess they don't have men where you come from.
Dagobah:
not shouldnt worry, just deal with it...
come on... doesnt reading that post and thinking a man is writing it just make you want to despair at how pathetic he is?
Samsara:
Not even slightly.
The situation he's in is a tricky one. Given that the law is not on a foreigner's side, and that masculine chest-thumping or punching someone probably won't improve the situation, how would you deal with it?
Traveler:
Dagwood: I think this particular thread is looking for a serious answer. It's for the grownups.
You'd be more suited to Silva's questions...
Dagobah:
clearly whoever is doing it is a coward, so just try to catch them and ask them straight out WTF their problem is. mostly chinese people are dirty tricky little shits that dont take well to direct striaght up questions. That is why they cant really deal with business people outsie their own environment
Shining_brow:
I thumbs-downed you because of your initial comments (including that if you're a girl, she'd just have to suck it up)...
Samsara has it about best ...
However, your last comment is far more apt :)
Btw, Samsara.... no, no men where he comes from... only a small little pointy-eared green thing! (which, btw, you wouldn't want to take on in a small, dark cave)
bill8899:
And here is Dagobah, the internet bully. Well golly sargeant I see them everywhere!
To be honest mate, you made yourself a bit of a target with the signs.
It is best to try and stay under the radar. Although everyone knows you are there, I do my damnedest to avoid everyone and try not to draw more than the usual amount of attention.
Having said that, if you do find out who did it you make damn sure they know how displeased you are. These people scare easy when they don't have a big bunch of people around them.
Thanks for the input folks. Dagobah, I'm a guy and certainly not pathetic. And how do I catch them? Spend all night and day when I'm not working looking at my bike?
The time difference between putting the sign on my door and this latest incident is about 5 months. The sign originally was put there to let people, all my friends that were coming to a party, know which was my apartment.
mike168229:
Sorry if I am being obtuse but, if it was put there only for your friends why did you replace it twice?
Shining_brow:
You could re-inflate the tires, and then put some sort of colouring on it, such that if someone touches it, it won't come off for ages, but glows bright pink! Next time your tires are down, just look for the marks on the hand-rails :D
DaqingDevil:
1. I had 2 new private students to tutor and I thought it would help them find my apartment the first time.
2. I rather liked the sign because it was different to all the doors with Chinese signs on them and it also stated, humorously, that I was the local Australian Embassy and I would handle visas.
China is the most racist country on Earth. Unlike other countries, racism against non-Chinese is not only tolerated, but encouraged by the government. The more racial vilification there is against foreigners, the less hatred there is towards the government. Quite frankly, it very rarely bothered me, because I accepted they are less educated, and less privileged.
Teaching on the side is illegal. Though often tolerated, it is not tolerated in your own apartment. The Chinese believe you are trying to lure students there for immoral purposes. That's what foreigners do (in their minds).
If you leave things lying around, they will get stolen. That's not racism, that's your own foolishness. It is likely that the security guards are the ones letting your tyres down. They have sad lives, and if they can create distress for someone that they perceive as more privileged or educated, they will do so. They are like children. Such things make them feel better. The more you react, the more they will do it.
There is no easy answer. They are just things you have to accept. Even if you catch the culprit, you will be in the wrong for causing them to lose face. Make any retaliation, you will be the one punished, not them. In fact, you will probably have to pay them compensation.
If it is a pushbike, carry it upstairs for a few weeks. If it's an ebike, not much you can do, See if there is a shopkeeper nearby that will let you park it in their shop for a small price.
derek:
How could this post get a "thumbs-down"? Traveler hits the nail on the head and offers sound advice.
Traveler:
Derek: Silva and Itchy downvote everything for everybody. Sometimes, they use their multiple personalities to give multiple thumbs down. They are like the security guards I mentioned in the post.
If you live on campus then I would be suspicious of students. We occasionally have some random middle school students on the flight of stairs heading up to our apartment. There is no reason they should be there at all and if they see me they leave very quickly. But I have never seen them before. They are not my students. Yes, I really want to know what compelled them to wander up a flight of stairs they have no business being on. But what can I do? Fortunately nothing has ever been stolen or vandalised.
A group of boys are probably patting themselves on the back thinking it's hilarious. I agree with Samsara and that it is sneaky and cowardly behaviour.
The view from our apartment window is directly on an area of the school that is never very busy. Lots of trees and some of those impressive concrete statues of Chinese heroes of days gone by. One day I noticed a group of four Chinese students, maybe grade eight or nine, taking to one of the statues with a big branch. The students were all laughing and taking turns causing damage. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I am sure it wasn't politically or ideologically motivated...just simply vandalism. I have a great bellowing "Oi" which will always stop a student in their tracks...so out comes my "Oi" with an underlying hint of aggression. They freeze and look to see where it came from. Once they saw it was "the foreigner" they smiled and called out "hello". I thought ok, these guys obviously have an arrogant confidence that there is nothing the foreigner can do. Sort of true...but I pulled out my phone and pretended to get frantic as I was making pointing gestures towards the students. Once they saw this they sprinted for the hills.
So yeah, I really feel your lack of power here. I am especially sympathetic when the culprits are smart-ass students...if that's the case. It depends on how involved you want to get...maybe set a trap they can't refuse and have it recorded. Still, who the hell needs this kind of hassle in their life!
Best of luck.
If you live in nice complex, befriend a guard, tip the person who cleans your hall, sounds a bit pathetic but you posted a sign surely targeting you as making more money than they do and also tutoring, they are probably looking at you as the evil white guy. Besides, at this point if you are tutoring students on the side, "I say this lightly make your money", it is deemed illegal, could set you up for a sh*t storm later when you send me a message asking for legal advice, lets not let it get that far.
