Job Discussion Forums

Cubism · Joined: 04 Jul 2008 Posts: 283 Location: US

I'm writing this digital book that requires other ft's points of view. pls see 2 questions & tell me

1 what surprised you most about working in China?

2 what problem did you expect that wasn't there?

will reciprocate many thanks cube

wangdaning · Joined: 22 Jan 2008 Posts: 3154

1. other fts here are often nutty
2. hard to think of, had limited expectations when landing. Maybe only thing is lack of support when trying to kick habits like smoking.

I know this post is opening me up to a hit from bleeding blue, please try to refrain.

Bud Powell · Joined: 11 Jul 2013 Posts: 1736

I don't usually answer such questions, but ...

When I arrived and began teaching, I was surprised by the near-uniformity among personalities in each class. I found myself teaching one university class with students who conveyed negative attitudes and sullen behavior.

Another class would be wildly enthusiastic, open, and friendly.

Another class would be friendly, but reserved. They'd also have a positive attitude toward their work.

I found that my classes that were composed of students with a good attitude also had a very good sense of humor. They also displayed no hesitation to approach me to ask questions or to offer advice.

These were all English majors. I still find the uniformity among my classes interesting.

Anticipated but nonexistent problems? I expected shopping to be a greater problem than it actually was. In my first city, (population about 1 million) people were quite helpful, even those who spoke no English.

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

DID YOU SURVIVE CHINA?

Hmmm. Will be VERY interested if anyone replies 'no.' Shocked

BleedingBlue · Joined: 22 Oct 2014 Posts: 87

coldcucumber · Joined: 21 Dec 2012 Posts: 114

GreatApe · Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2014 2:18 am Post subject:

+ 1 @ coldcucumber Great answer! ...

Remember ... "Quitters NEVER win!" Laughing

Reminds me of that famous quip by David Lee Roth of Van Halen fame, back when Van Halen was first getting really rich and famous. Roth was asked during a magazine interview if the band had a "drug problem."

His response: "No, we don't have a drug problem ... we have money now!"

@ the OP ...

1) I would echo what a few others have said. After 5 years living and working here, I can honestly say that 95 to 98 % of all of the foreigners I have met and/or worked with in the PRC have been --on the "positive" side-- pretty wild and crazy, unprofessional (as teachers) and "loose canons." Definitely NOT people I would hang around or befriend back home. On the "negative" side, they have been borderline psycho, out-of-control, ignorant and/or extremely naive.

Call me "lucky" but I seem to have met and worked with a collection of narcissists, ego-maniacs, alcoholics, racists, liars, thieves and/or perverted deviants.

Having said that, I no longer frequent bars or go out as much as I did when I first arrived here. I don't hang out in Lao Wai circles. I do have 2 very good foreign friends that I met here. One from Australia (he's back home now), and the other from England.

2) I thought the PRC would be much more "restrictive" than it actually is ... admittedly this is a bit of a perception problem on my part, inasmuch as the restrictions on Chinese people are not necessarily the same as they are for foreigners. Generally, I thought coming in to China that it would be a society of people who are much more tightly controlled (more like North Korea perhaps). I was surprised at the number of everyday "freedoms" available here that are not available in the USA. Take traffic laws and driving as one example.

I was also happily surprised that the Chinese people were much more friendly, open, straight-forward and curious than I thought they would be. The women are more beautiful than I imagined, and much stronger, forthright and even aggressive than I thought they would be. I've always been a bit shy or "laid back" around women and I still am, so when you consider the language barrier and the stereotype of the "shy, innocent, cute" nature of Asian girls, I figured it might be difficult to meet women of quality and develop a long-lasting, solid relationship. That proved not to be the case at all in my experience.

I suppose what I'm saying is that it's nice to be the "pursued" rather than the "pursuer" ... some might even say the "prey" rather than the "predator." Laughing

Bottom line: China has been VERY good to me! ... I've tried my best to be good to China in return.

Just my 2 yuan.

--GA

EDIT: for grammar and spelling

jm21 · Joined: 26 Feb 2008 Posts: 406

If you had phrased this more positively you might get more/better responses.

golsa · Joined: 20 Nov 2011 Posts: 185

Non Sequitur · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 4724 Location: China

My experience is aligned with Greatape's.
I am still in daily contact with students I taught in my first year (2014).
I've had some cringe-worthy moments in China but by far the most common were the antics of other FTs.
As a DTA I had to sit in the FAO while a juvenile misfit American ranted (at the Chinese staff) how his country was 'the most powerful on earth' and how 'it could defeat all the other nations in the world'.

likwid_777 · Joined: 04 Nov 2012 Posts: 411 Location: NA

3701 W.119th · Joined: 26 Feb 2014 Posts: 386 Location: Central China

I'm close friends (outside of work) with a handful of my students.

They're adults, so I don't see why this would be a problem for some.

Alien abductee · Joined: 08 Jun 2014 Posts: 527 Location: Kuala Lumpur

Miura Anjin · Joined: 20 Aug 2014 Posts: 40 Location: Japan

I was surprised by the wide range of abilities of the students in the class and the fact that most of the English majors had very little desire to study the subject.

My native-speaker colleagues at my first school were actually nice and normal but many of them at my second school were very odd indeed. That was a (sometimes amusing, sometimes concerning) surprise.

I was pleasantly surprised by how helpful people were when I needed it: finding my way around, going to the bank, etc. My life would've been so much more difficult without that.

Edited to add: yes, I did survive China.

damn_my_eyes · Joined: 13 Jul 2013 Posts: 225

^ A lot of the students don't actually choose their major, it gets allocated to them, especially those with the low gao kao scores. They get a take it or leave it offer. That came as a surprise to me.
Some of the students in my writing class unburdened all their problems in essays they wrote. Really bright students who for one reason or another had messed up the university entrance exam and been allocated to the grotty university where I used to work. Sad how one exam can have such an impact on a persons future.

It's a bit of a surprise how safe I feel here too, I've never been in any situation where I've felt worried about my safety. I don't go out drinking much so that cuts down the chances of ending up in trouble, but still, feel safer here than in England.

The other foreigners have always been a constant surprise.