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[Miajiayou]

Another word of caution: females have a different experience here than males. Western women of all sorts are often considered to be oversexed and a little masculine in behavior and appearance. One thing that surprised me a lot here was how my interactions with men changed, so be prepared for that.

[A'Moo]

???

[rogerwilco]

[Miajiayou]

Not with friends, but out on the street and in bars and such I'm approached by men in a much different way. It was a little strange at first. I thought this was a pretty universal experience for women in China, but maybe its just for the circles I tend to hang out in.

[luckylibrarian]

Have you moved to China yet?

[Miles Smiles]

[dean_a_jones]

OP

Before I forget, it is worth noting--You might not face prejudice, 'outdated' attitudes and poor treatment from just the occasional local Chinese here. Believe it or not, even in the FT community there are a few embarrassing morons spouting the same pathetic crap.

Just in case you had not thought of that.

[beenthere96-2005]

[Silent Shadow]

[mrwslee003]

Never mind China, just in the neighbourhood in N America or anywhere
else, prejudice is part of the human environment.

Only the severity or degree of the prejudice is different and the consequence of that prejudice is dependent on the perspective of the victim. My motto when I come face to face with prejudice is " don't make someone else's problem yours!"

As to prejudice in the Chinese in China: The staring and gawking is a form of astonished curiosity, just like we suddently come face to face with
a Martian, blue skin, orange hair and whatever. There is no bad thought
inside the gawker, just a "wow" feeling. Some may not have you as an
in-law, but most would chat with you if they know your lingo. So, don't
feel too offended on the stares, because it is really the result of their
long closed society in the past. Their history.

Like us, we enjoyed China when we were there for 2 years and I am sure
you will have the chance to enjoy your experience as well. Good luck.

Yes, we are Chinese Canadians.

[ssizz345]

I'm a Black male who has some insight on what to expect in China.

My experience may differ a bit from yours, however, since my stints in China have been more so as a student and not a teacher. Chinese Language is my major in college and I studied abroad two years in a row during summers in a tier 2 city.

My experience as a whole with China has been for the most part positive but the negative aspects do exist.

Granted, I am from the South so your and my opinion on what's "bad" my vary.

First of all, the advice about growing a thick skin is spot on and shouldn't be taken lightly. The negative attention I received ranged from mildly amusing, to annoying, to downright ridiculous at times.

Be prepared for shameless stares and pointing, even more so if you have "natural" black hair. I happen to have dreads and that only magnified the attention I received.

I suggest investing in a good pair of ear buds and an MP3 player if you can understand Chinese and are offended easily. Comments can include how dark your skin is, how ugly and scary you are, etc.

On the street, people may jump with fear/shock when they spot you. Several times when I would walk past a shop, someone lounging around outside or just exiting would alert others to my presence and people would poke their heads out and scream when they saw me.

Public transport may or may not be an issue. I usually took the bus early in the morning; I got stares but the busses would be so packed I could hide in the crowd.

When the busses are less crowded, people might not want to stand/sit in the proximity near to you, which was fine for me since it meant more room. The worst I had on the bus were the people who would dramatically pinch their nose when I got on and laugh about it with their friends. One girl I remember in particular held her nose and fanned the air in front of her face for five minutes straight and didn't stop until her cellphone rang (which ironically had the instrumental to Rihanna's song "Umbrella" as the ring tone.)

Shopping can be a mixed bag, if you shop downtown where the upscale department stores are located and more laowai tend to congregate, it won't be so bad.

Same with restaurants, at bigger, more expensive joints I would pretty much be ignored, but going to the cheaper "xiao chi chengs" people would move if I sat at their table, stare at me three inches from my face while I ate food, etc. etc.

While you'll most likely experience a lot of these, you might get less/more since you're female.

China isn't ALL bad mind you. I made plenty of friends and had a blast. Black culture is just as popular in China as anywhere else in the world, so you'll meet tons of people who will be interested in meeting you because you're Black.

For every negative person that I encountered, there were several others who would talk to me, comment on how "cool" my hair was, invite me to a meal, and other nice things.

I do suggest studying at least basic survival Chinese because locals will warm-up to you once they know you can communicate with them a little.

Well, I hope my post helps you out some. Don't fret too much about coming here; you will definitely have some bad China days but if you can get over those you'll be alright.

[Opiate]

[ssizz345]

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

It could be imagined that someone in America is not going to fan their nose if a different ethnic group sits beside them. Quite rude to be sure, though I have done to to Koreans at times because kimchi DOES have a certain smell.

Honestly I'm unable to smell this so-called "smell" that Chinese seem to smell because the colour of someone's skin is different, at least from my American/Canadian black friends. I think it's a bit of drama on their part at times.

I would suggest that when I was a smoker I smelled pretty bad for non-smokers or those who are sensitive to stale smoke.

[mrwslee003]

I hear you all.

However, I must point out somethings that many of you would agree.
I sometimes smell currie from certain people and I didn't like currie
that much at the beginning. I didn't like the smell of kimchi at first either.

But most of all I got dizzy when I first smelled durian and my wife loves it.

At first my wife didn't like the smell of cheese and butter, now she is ok.

I can't stand the smell of blue cheese either, because it smells like dirty socks to me. Yet when I tasted it, its similar to salted bean curd. I don't mind bean curd.

When I got to Tongxiang I got introduce to "stinky tofu", literally stinky.
And its a delicasy for the locals.

When I was just immigrated to Canada, I didn't see too many
pretty white faces. After years I realized the local girls are pretty too.

As I got more mature I begin to realize there are pretty people in every
colour and not so pretty ones too in the same colours.

I am sure we would reject all aliens, martians etc at first, but we would
learn to accept them as we get to know them, if we have the chance to.