Job Discussion Forums

[WaystoGo]

I am taking a contract with a Kindergarten school in the Jiangsu Province in a few weeks..any useful suggestions or tips on making the transition?

[GuestBob]

[Laurence]

Black people get a rougher ride than their fairer-skinned brethren in China,

because:

a) The idea of beauty is linked to fair skin. I assume I don't have to explain why this is.
Actually there are fringes of New-Chinese Society where this is changing - many girls under 30 think it's kind of sexy to be tanned. I agree - Chinese girls with dyed blonde/brown hair and a tan look great, tropical like Malaysian or someth.. oh sorry I digress, haha ~

b) Black people are generally poorly represented in large cities in China. In particular areas of Guangzhou and Beijing, there are young Nigerians and South Africans on every street corner selling drugs and hassling girls. These guys are well-known and numerous enough for people to generalise their bad impressions.

c) Chinese people complain that black people smell. Some taxi drivers won't pick up black people because of this.
Look - many black people in China do have a really distinctive smell. I'm not sure if it's because of food or perfume, but honestly - some guys walking around in Yiwu leave a stifling trail of heavy, heavy scent in the air a good 10 meters behind them.

d) Without any history of slavery in China, there is no PC and notion of no equal oppourtunities. Some parents won't want you to teach their children, and they won't mind saying so, justifying it with points a) - c) above. People won't care if you call them racist.

However...
plenty of Chinese people think that black people are cool, mainly because of the NBA and MTV. I'm not sure if that's still a form of racism, because it's kind of positive.. But don't bring your notions of fairness with you here to China, or you'll only end up frustrated.


I think it was Montaigne who voiced the genius observation (if there is such a thing) that anger can be avoided by adjusting your expectations appropriately beforehand.
You know racism in not really taboo in China,
do your best to accept that now, and know you will have to tolerate it or it will spoil your experience. Chinese attitudes are changing. Stay positive, stay professional, and you can be a factor in that change.

We all have to deal with racism out East (although it does get worse in proportion to skin tone) but China can be a wonderful adventure if you can let it slide.

[Cairnsman]

My first job in China, in 2003, was in a small (by Chinese standards) city in Sichuan. I found it difficult to adjust to the constant staring (I'm white). Whenever I boarded a bus, other passengers would stare at me (literally) non-stop until I disembarked.

Then one day I happened upon a fellow laowai - a black guy from New York and we became good friends. I felt a lot more comfortable walking / bussing around the city in his company - the locals ignored me and stared at him.

Walking through crowded markets, the locals would step aside to get out of his path. On more than one occasion, young children started crying when they saw him. Chinese men, when in groups of 4 - 6, would point at him and laugh.

I should add that he was 6'4".

But that was in rural China and 8 years ago.

[Kurochan]

I'd say be prepared for people to touch your hair. It's happened to other black women I know in China. I'd also recommend having a sense of humor about it -- in fact, a lot of people are just astonished when they see you and ignorant. I mean ignorant in a literal way -- they often just have never seen a black person in real life before.

If you are in a rural area, you will be the first and maybe only black person the people around will ever see, so you'll leave a lasting impression, and their idea of what black people are like will be based on meeting you. It's not fair you have that pressure, but there it is. I've been poked and prodded and lifted up before, and that's as a white person. I try to laugh about it and joke that I am an educational toy or living visual aid.

Despite what I'm saying and what other people have said, you can be happy and have a really cool time in China, despite the excessive attention/prejudice you might encounter here. I think a lot of it depends on your personality and attitude toward life. African-American friends of mine who are older have been pretty happy, because they are secure in themselves, often they've traveled or lived abroad before, and they've experienced other stuff that's put their experiences here into perspective (like a friend of mine was beaten up really badly by a group of white thugs in Boston for being in "their" neighborhood and next to that being pointed at by a Chinese person isn't so bad).

So, expect things to be bizarre and overwhelming at times, but try to enjoy yourself. A lady from Eritrea I met while she was visiting here told me that although the hair touching got old after a while, she did get to have some cool interactions with local people that she might not have had otherwise, and that was one of the things she'll remember about her trip.

[Zero]

I'd say prepare to have your picture taken a lot. I'm white and have been asked to pose for pictures quite a bit in Jiangsu.

[rogerwilco]

[GuestBob]

[Miles Smiles]

Chinese people complain that black people smell. Some taxi drivers won't pick up black people because of this.

I wonder why some taxis won't pick up white people either.

[WaystoGo]

Well thanks for the insight you guys...I kind of suspected some of what you've shared...good thing I am an easy going. optimistic, relatively happy
sort...I say bring it on..I'll grin right back 'atcha....

HOWEVER...I'll check back in after finishing the contract......

[Zero]

Just what a young black woman needs: advice from a bunch of middle-aged white dudes on how to cope with China.

[Laurence]

Good luck, Waystogo : )

[Kurochan]

[Kurochan]

Hi --

Another thing is that because you are female, people will probably feel less intimidated by you, so they are more likely to try to strike up a conversation. A lot of times, what they say will come out wrong, because their English is limited, and they will be fishing for something they can say. You will probably get a lot of people saying like, "You are black, so you must be good at dancing," or "You are black, so you must be good at sports." In the mind of people talking to you, they're complimenting you and your whole race, not saying something stereotypical. They're really trying to say something nice.

Also, they may have really outdated English books that use terms like "Negro" or even "colored," and they may not really understand that the "N-word" is really bad because they hear it in rap song or movies, so you may hear those things used innocently. A friend of mine had a student go up to him and say, "Hey, my n***a!" He was like, "Uhhh .... what?!?" Then he had a talk with the student, who said he had just heard it in a film, and was really apologetic.

Sorry that this is more advice from a white person. My black or African-American (actually, there are a lot of Caribbean people in Shanghai) are mostly not teachers (or they have gone from teaching into something else), so they aren't here to comment.

K.[/list]

[Zero]