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Q: who are the best behaved foreigners in china?
i'm going to go out on a limb and say it is not americans 
and give examples of what you consider bad behavior
I've seen more than a few east Indians, and they seem to keep to themselves, learn very good Chinese, and stay out of trouble. Shame that they get the most shit here, and have one of the worst stereotypes.
I dont hang out much in bars or nightclubs, so I don't see many foreigners in that environment. As a matter of fact as I have spent little time in Bejing or Shanghai and when I have and have only done tours with a local group of people I have not had close contact with foreigners very much. So from observation only of others in resturants, tourist spots, markets and the like I can say that almost all I have seen have behaved well. What I also know is that any Country that has a lower standard of living can be a target for people from places who look to exploit people and at times these people who pray on or take advantage of the situation are those who don't have the social skills etc in their own country. I'm sure they are around but I havn't run into many with anything other than good behaviour.
Best behaved would be Indians, yeah. Worst would be Brits.
sexyybeast:
I have met a few indians here and they didn't really impress me in the same way. There were ones who wouldn't stop touching me and my friend in the bar even we gave them a clear no and another one who tries to insult Chinese girls right in front of my face. I feel they generally work here very hard but deeply are against Chinese people, maybe from the culture or descrimination they have got here.
nevermind:
It's also the fact you were dealing with east indian males, even back home in Canada they have a reputation for being idiots. Not all of them, but you meet young wealthier ones that are twits.
Aussies!! No worries mate!
In our little village of 2 million the foreigners stand out like sore thumbs so the 30 or so living and working here are the epitome of good behaviour..... 
British,we learnt the world manners
PrettyNyssa:
But most of the Brits I've met here have also mastered the art of sarcasm so most ppl don't find them very courteous... No pun intended ;-)
PrettyNyssa:
But most of the Brits I've met here have also mastered the art of sarcasm so most ppl don't find them very courteous... No pun intended ;-)
GuilinRaf:
sarcasm? Aren't those the French? My father was French.....
PrettyNyssa:
I've read sarcasm is contagious... they must have gotten it from the Frenchies... I mean they live kinda close together :-p
GuilinRaf:
Very true! Lol! they truly have a love/hate relationship!
nevermind:
Most brits I've met here are crude and lack any manners or morals. In fact, living here has changed my opinion of British people. Mainly because they HAVEN'T learned the world's manners. I've never met a more culturally lazy group, they seem to think everyone in China is here to serve them, don't bother to learn the language, are scared to death of being outside of their comfort zone, are completely obnoxious when drunk ... it goes on. I'm sure there's tons of great brits, but not in this nation....
crimochina:
too many brits i have met were uptight about the lang. they feel engl is their property
paulmartin:
I am British and I have to agree with you,but were the coolest nation
PrettyNyssa:
@nevermind it felt like you read my mind about the Brits living here. I totally agree with u.
ambivalentmace:
as an american i love britain despite their bad english, lol,
just hope they dont become a colony of dubai in 20 years.
most british i meet in china are well behaved the bad ones
are usually immigrants naturalized to britain.
The ones who don't make overgeneralized statements about people based on their nationality.
I vote Canadian, we're supposed to be really friendly.
My great-grandparents were Ukrainian homesteaders. Any of the Russians I met were really cold to me.
Do Chinese understand sarcasm? That must be tough to understand from a second language. I'm sarcastic as hell.
ElenaDob:
Russians are cold to everyone. I'm Russian & I feel more comfortable in China with all its culture differences than in my home country.
Oh come on people. Canadians win that round hands down.
HANDS DOWN!
How can you even call this a contest...Canucks hands down.....we are such nice people!!! Ok sometimes!
nevermind:
Yeah, until moving here and hanging out with so many OTHER western people (Cause in the west you really don't get much contact with other western expats. People from places like Germany don't move to Canada in droves and vice versa) I never realized how disgustingly reasonable we are. We're so overly sensible and unimposing. In fact, when I go home I often feel I have to reign myself in now cause I'm used to hanging out with a less..... diplomatic? Type of people.
ALso, that is by NO MEANS a slight against other nations. One of the things that pisses me off about my own country is the constant "mind your manners!" Attitude.
crimochina:
ohhhh please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but i will give you thumbs up on this one becoz when i spent 2 days in montreal/ lavel i saw nothing but good things from the people there. well maybe i should agree then . damn!! now i cant make anymore canadian jokes
TedDBayer:
Montreal doesn't really count, if you're English it's like going to France, if you try to speak French well maybe, but if you don't try , then they can be rude. i got so sick of them once , I returned my meal by throwing it at the cook through the window.
crimochina:
aaahhhh that's why they were nice i gave an effort to use my rusty high school french
TedDBayer:
As for being sensible and unimposing, I love how Hollywood portrays Canadians ( like Bob and Doug MacKenzie style) , something blows up, we just blankly look at each other, then have a sip of the beer we have. Now I know why I like walking down a street carrying a beer, it's part of my culture.
Im Aussie but I vote Canadians and filo's as well...
Klingons.
TedDBayer:
no way Vucans are way nicer. Klingons know how to party tho
mattsm84:
No way man. Klingon's are dicks. Sure, they talk a good game about honor and glory, but when it comes right down to it they just want to look at you cross eyed, get drunk and wreck up the holosuites. Now, some see this as a public service, as they break down and we all either get trapped in Robin Hood times or have to deal with the moral implications of kill off a self aware program, but those people are just Klingon apologist anyway.
Old thread, eh?
In my experience, it's been the African and Indian students. I even saw an African dude getting married to a Chinese lady recently.
Yup, no doubt here either. It's those lovely Canadians.
People from Liechtenstein are reportedly very well behaved and respectful in China
Generally my group of friends here and that includes Canadians, Americans, Aussies, New Zealanders and one or two others. Nationality doesn't matter there are great people and great idiots everywhere. By answering in terms of nationality we are just as guilty as the Chinese we complain about when they talk about all laowai being rich, or all Africans being thieves. We get pissed off by that yet we seem to do it on here, go figure.
Best: the Japanese. Polite, clean, and quiet. It seems almost unfair that they're the most likely to get torn apart by an angry mob for something they had nothing to do with.
Worst: The Brits. This is based around personal experience in real life. The ones I've met tend to think of their personality as their culture ("Of course I always go straight to the bar after work. In England we have a pub culture") and their culture as their personality ("My coworkers think of me as a charming gentlemen, although I often miss work--forcing my coworkers to cover for me--because of my because of the poor choices I make in regard to my personal health habits.")
out of all the places ive been to the all have something bad to say about americans, seems like they leave a bad impression everywehere
