Job Discussion Forums

[senor boogie woogie]

Hola!

The first year that I was in China, I was working in my wife's hometown of Dongyang in Zhejiang, PRC. When I was there in 2001-2002, I was the only foreigner in a city of about 500,000 people. I doubt that there are 10 foreigners living in the cities around Dongyang, so imagine being a minority of 10 in a city the size of Denver.

My whole year in this city, I saw 11 foreigners. Being in these circumstances, all my friends were (and are) Chinese people. These people made fun of me, stared at me, got drunk with me, and took care of me when I needed it.

I may return to Dongyang for 2003-04. The reasons are financial and maritial. My wife does not want to leave the city, so I will stay with her. I want to work at the school I was employed with and relax. Hangzhou is only 2 hours away, so I can go there on the weekend to shop, drink and party. Dongyang is my Chinese hometown and I do care about it very much.

I have never felt that I was a good ESL teacher. I have received high praise and big complaints from clients. Bob Hope used to say that "acting paid his green fees........" well, teaching pays for my travel and bumming around fees. Don't ask me about teaching methodology, but as a China Jim, I do survive, thrive and have a good time here and that's a fact.

I was wondering who out there in ESL land has ever been a loner in China or in another country and how this experience has changed you and the outlook of the culture. I feel that this is an excellent way to know another part of humanity and see how they think and live. I feel that maybe some of us in ESL land get stuck in our little foreigner cliques and not see how our host country presents itsself. I saw this rampant in Korea. This is what is cool about hangzhou, Chinese and foreigners here are friends and sometimes LOVERS! Asian wives and lovers are tops!!

If your a loner, cloistered or bothered, share your experience with the board.

SENOR

[struelle]

[quote="senor boogie woogie"]Hola!

[wix]

Well, I am in a small city in Fujian Province. Population ~100,000. Laowai population 1. So I definitely know every foreigner in town

It is quite lonely at times. I can speak good Chinese so it is easy to get out and talk to people, but I have not been able to form any real friendships. I guess the gulf in outlook between someone who has travelled the world and someone who has spent their entire life in a small town in China is difficult to cross. I only know of three people in the entire town that can speak English. Two work at my company and the other one is an English teacher at the high school. I am sure there are probably a few more, but no-one has ever approached me on the street and tried to speak English to me.

I am fortunate to be able to spend some time in Xiamen which stops me from going insane. I have been able to meet some good people there, both foreign and Chinese, but the fact that I am there irregularly again makes it difficult to form real friendships.

[senor boogie woogie]

Dongyang is almost in the middle of the province. maybe 60% north. same latitude as Chongching.

I lived in Taiwan. Taiwan was cool in a way. The wonderous thing about going back home (oops Dongyang) that I do not have to see any other laowai or arrogant sweety, Canadian type, know it all foreigner.

I like Chinese. I like being alone. Return to peace.

SENOR

[Mac]

I teach at a small college in Wenzhou and I see very few foreigners here. In Maoming it was the same. Last year when I taught in Northeast Thailand it was the same. I think I have gone to places that no one else wanted to go. When I did see a foreigner I would say "Hello" and sometimes they would reply back sometimes they wouldn't. I feel that I am a loner on a personal quest for my own holy grail. I envy you Boogie Man having the wife to talk to and share your life with. The longest roads travelled bring the greatest wisdoms gained.

[Tao Burp]

Senor,
I have been here in my lil' city for more than two years. I am the only foreigner. However, I don't consider myself a loner since I do have many Chinese friends, but these friendships vary from that friend who can get me something or I can do something to those close friends who support me as well as a Chinese girlfriend. It's not easy. When I read about other foreign teachers in the big cities where there are many foreign teachers, I actually believe I am in another realm. I don't know what to add, other than are you sure that you can re-live the giggles, snickers, and jokes about you all over again? Sure a small place looks attractive as far as having a better and more intimate knowledge of the culture, but the daily grind of ignorance can wear thin at times.

[Hamish]

While we are not the only foreigners here in Baoding, we are in a very small group. It is extremely rare to see another Caucasian in this city when out and about.

We enjoy it very much. The Chinese people of this small town, less than 1,000,000, are uniformly friendly, honest to a degree not found in the US, and courteous. They almost always seem to be very glad to see us and to try to help. The rare rude or unexpressive individual is remarkable.

We have often discussed the feelings being in a definite minority brings up. The major difference for us, obviously, is that we are in an extraordinarily privileged minority. Thus, we must work at the task to begin to understand what it means to be in an underprivileged or despised minority, and I doubt that we are successful.

As others here have said, life in China is marvelous for those of us who are open to the wonderful changes, and can ignore the nasty bits.

(As I have said here, perhaps too often, to moderate my disgust with Chinese toilets, I remember the one I found in the public square of a small town in France, and those in the Texaco stations of my youth.)

Regards,

[kimo]

Senyor, I am in Beijing. Lots of foreigners here. Or there were. SARS scrambled many of them. But I feel very far from them. Going on five years in Asia I find white and black faces actually seem strange to me unless I know the individual. I have only one foreign friend here. That's enough. I also find myself shying away from conversations with foreigners. I don't even know what my version of my native tongue sounds like anymore.

You said,

[margaret wreaks-hew]

When I worked in Qingdao I was the only FE on my last job which was great as far as I was concerned. I really started to learn the language because I had to speak it and my comprehension improved. I made great friends. I went on a Chinese tour to Hainandao with 138 Chinese and the first couple of days were a little stiff but then they got used to me and my poor Chinese and I met two people who spoke English and I had the greatest time.The bus driver did not speak any English so if I looked as if I didn't understand everything the English speaking people would explain. I had to pass a test at the travel agency to see if I could understand and speak enough Chinese to travel with them. It was one of the best vacations I have had. I even met people from my neighbourhood.I left Beijing to get away from the ex-pat types. I am now looking for a new job in a place with few foreigners. I listen to a lot of people complain about China but China has been good to me both in job opportunities and friends.

[Wolf]

Senor,
I don't know what to add, other than are you sure that you can re-live the giggles, snickers, and jokes about you all over again? Sure a small place looks attractive as far as having a better and more intimate knowledge of the culture, but the daily grind of ignorance can wear thin at times.


Just so I don't end up writing it again.

I live in Nanchang. Sorry, the PRC says I live in Nanchang. It seems that the city limits extends deep into the wilderness to the north. Not that it bothers me, it's just that last week I went for a walk around my uni, and got lost in an unkempt, wild field, with civilization only visible on one side. Kinda fun, actually, but the mind boggles that I am considered to live within the provincial capital.


There are foreingers in Nanchang. Sorry, the part of Nanchang that actually has buildings and convienience stores and our first McDonald's (opened two weeks ago, not that I have the courage to do something so "Western" as enter it for all to see and snicker at.)

Out where I am, I'll soon be the only FE who isn't of Chinese decent. People here are very friendly. A bit too friendly for me. Thing is I don't like being a member of a privelaged minority. My students often say things like "It must be easy for you to find friends/girlfriends/a wife because you are a foreigner." When I tell them that I'd prefer it if people were my friend because I am ME and not because I am foreign, I see their horizons broaden a little. I know they've never needed to think about this before. But it does make my day to day life in the here-and-now less easy/comfortable.

I have managed to break through and make some good friends.

But the staring. And the helloing (or the helloing and the laughing). I went for a walk last weekend. A group of young guys were swimming in a lake. So of course they screamed hello at me as soon as it was apparent I wasn't Chinese. I didn't answer. Then one of them said something in Chinese. Now, my Chinese is dreadful, but I heard "your mother," a few more words, and some mocking laughter. Some of my students (and the kids of my friends) won't go out in public with me because the staring/helloing makes THEM uncomfortable. One Sunday went flying a kite with my friend's kid. It's a good thing eyeballs are firmly attached to brains. The poor kid was ready to go home after 5 minutes (so was I). This was after playing chess in the park and attracting the attention of 3 plain clothes police officers. (Darn. And it took me months to figure out how to single handedly conquer the PRC by playing chess in the park with kids.)

On the whole, I was glad for the opportunity to live in a place that was not as well known to the outside world. I was really looking forward to sharing views/opinions/whatever with the people here. To an extent I have. To a significant extent. And my students learned a lot (esp in the writing classes I teach, which consist of 2/3 of my students).

But have I moaned about the staring and helloing yet? Twice in one post already? Oh, okay. If I stay in the PRC after my contract ends, I'll go Beijin/Shanghai/Guangzhou/HK (if by some miracle I could get a job) /etc. Not so that I can be near foriengers. But so that the local people can be. So that when I walk down the street it is not an event of unearthly significance. I could not endure that for a significantly long time. And I'm too far from Guangshou/Shangai for weekend stress relief trips. Maybe it's my personality. No, definately.

Okay, three times in one post. I'll be a good Wolf now. And on the whole my experience here is something I am grateful to have had.

[miss-l]

I have been in China for a month now. There are 2 other foreign teachers at my school but both are leaving. Like Wolf I am in Nanchang and the reaction of many locals to me leaves me feeling more isolated than the lack of foreigners.

[China Plate]

I live in a small town, and have not met any other foreigners here. The fact that noone talked to me, at first, did not worry me, as noone talked to me in Australia, anyway.

At first, I did what I did back home in Australia. I tried to blend in, and not be conspicuous. This didn't work. I think the blonde hair and blue eyes gave it away, even when wearing sunglasses and a beanie.

So I stopped trying to blend in, and decided that I might as well make the most of being the centre of attention. I actually feel quite comfortable with it most of the time. Sometimes it still annoys me, but generally not.

The hello's and snickering started to annoy me, and I found it difficult to identify which were my students outside the class. So I taught all my students some Australian, like "G'day, mate." Now my students are easily identifiable, as most of them greet me with this.

I also now answer the hello's with "good morning" or "good afternoon" (depending on the time of day). I found this stops the snickering, and many of the locals, having learnt new English words, greet me with this.

I feel that I have made the choice to live where I do, and I must accept it. Noone forced me to come here.

Sometimes, however, it would be nice to have another native English speaker to talk to. I would even barrack for the English cricket team, or say how great American football is, just for the occasional "natural" English conversation (I am not a proud man).

Overall, I am quite happy with the choice I made to come here, and know that, if I stop enjoying it here, I can always go back home.

[inwanzhou]

The name says it all....I live in Wanzhou, which use to be Wanxiao before the whole Dam project. It's a small town and well there are only 6 foreigners here. I live with one of them and thank god cause I'm a very social creature and would have gone nuts if I didn't have her. We have many chinese friends who don't laugh or snicker at us, or so we hope not. The walk in the town though is an experience. Lots of stares, "heeewo" from cars and stores, and even though we have the same "dvd dealer" she is always surprised to see us. We come into the store every Tuesday and Friday for our DVD fix...you think she would get over it.

Overall I can't complain I work a whole 10 hours a week right now and still get paid my contract salary despite the fact that I'm suppose to work 20hrs a week. I can't complain the students are great, rich kids with rich parents who take my room mate and I out all over the place so we can be the "show and tell" and so their child can improve their english. I can't complain about that either because we eat some damn fine food at some fine chinese restaurants instead of the crappy free food from the cafeteria.

As for the other foreigners, well I would say we would hang out with them but 2 are still in "lock down" in their school...which I would not have put up with. The other 2 teach at the local college/uni and we only know the one and he's busy or we're busy getting our DVD fix!

I guess for us if we want to see other FT or men--cause we like them then we'll have to go on to Chongqing or wait until summer holidays and go to the bigger cities and go on a hunt!

[Kapt. Krunch]

If I choose to respond to the stupid hellos...it's often with a "Ni Hao!"
If they say it stupidly...so do I. If they say it loudly...I NiHao louder still!!!!!!
Play the game man, play the game!