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shuanglu pijiu
Joined: 04 Apr 2010
Posts: 17
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 Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 5:17 am Post subject: |
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| CJD wrote: |
| maybe the people who run your school have realized how ignorant you are and have decided that they don't like you and don't want to help you. |
seriously. now i'm not saying the school shouldn't have helped you open a bank account - that's pretty standard, though phone stuff is your own responsibility - but the first time you encounter a little difficulty you start going off about tryannical dictatorships and communist overlords? i have no doubt you're a real gem to deal with in the school. |
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dog backwards
Joined: 27 Jan 2011
Posts: 178
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 6:07 am Post subject: |
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I have to agree with the Great Wall of Whiner about learning the language when one lives in a foreign country. I am guilty of not even learning survival Chinese.
If I HAVE learned anything after a few years in China, it is to be patient. There are so many things that can bring about a meltdown in China if one cannot learn patience. The Chinese experience a lot of frustration in their own lives, I believe. I often wonder how they cope with bureaucracy, unnecessary complications, unbelievable answers to their own questions. The OP's FAO may not know how to do what the OP wants to be done. Really.
I've always worked for public universities, and I've always been paid in cash. If the OP just goes to the local main branches of banks, he'll eventually find somebody who can help him.
Every time I've worked in a new city, I've had to muster up the courage to accomplish everything on my own.
Recently, I had to deal with a bank for the first time in a new city. I had to remind myself my inability to communicate effectively in their language lie at the heart of the problem. When I met with resistance when dealing with a Chinese English speaker, I just smiled and remained as chatty as possible. It went a long way toward helping them to accomplish what I needed to accomplish.
Now, if I could just cross the street without the help of a Chinese eight year-old, life would be bliss. |
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thelmaharper.1921
Joined: 07 Mar 2011
Posts: 27
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 7:26 am Post subject: |
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| CJD wrote: |
| maybe the people who run your school have realized how ignorant you are and have decided that they don't like you and don't want to help you. |
Can I point out the definition of "ignorant"?
ig�no�rant /ˈɪgnərənt/ Show Spelled
[ig-ner-uhnt] Show IPA
�adjective
1. lacking in knowledge or training; unlearned: an ignorant man.
2. lacking knowledge or information as to a particular subject or fact: ignorant of quantum physics.
3. uninformed; unaware.
4. due to or showing lack of knowledge or training: an ignorant statement.
It means that someone doesn't know. "Obnoxious" is the word you were looking for. Sorry to be pedantic, but I just really hate reading that word used in that way. |
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The Great Wall of Whiner
Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Posts: 4946
Location: Blabbing
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 8:18 am Post subject: |
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| Maybe he actually meant the real meaning? |
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bythebookie
Joined: 04 Apr 2011
Posts: 51
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 8:26 am Post subject: Re: My Chinese superiors are refusing to help me |
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| wildgander wrote: |
I don't know if this is just my bad luck with these individuals or I'm running into a cultural pattern. I have been told I should learn Mandarin. I don't see how I can learn enough Mandarin is a week to deal with my bank or the phone company.
I'm beginning to wonder if there is a hidden resentment towards Americans or if the Chinese are very lazy and unwilling to help because they just don't want to bother themselves, or if there is some other cultural insensitivity involved?
I work long hours to do a good job teaching. Is it wrong of me to expect my supervisors to help me with problems with my bank and my phone company?
Why is my expectation so off base? I am growing weary of the way I am treated here in China. I am very disappointed in the indifference that I am experiencing. I don't think I would have come to China had I known I would be treated like this.
Hoping to hear from those who have more understanding of China than I do.
Wildgander |
I've experienced both extremes of this issue and in the end I've come to the simple conclusion - if I (you) are not able to live and function independently then I (you) don't belong in this foreign country. I've learned to adapt and live my live without codependency. |
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clownshow
Joined: 19 Dec 2010
Posts: 181
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 9:25 am Post subject: |
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| Is it wrong of me to expect my supervisors to help me with problems with my bank and my phone company? |
If a company hires foreign workers is is not out of line to expect the FAO to arrange help for the foreign worker. Those who berate the op likely couldn't negotiate the economy without help and likely it is a case of the keyboard commandos at work fronting their abilities. |
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MisterButtkins
Joined: 03 Oct 2009
Posts: 1221
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 9:41 am Post subject: |
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| thelmaharper.1921 wrote: |
| CJD wrote: |
| maybe the people who run your school have realized how ignorant you are and have decided that they don't like you and don't want to help you. |
Can I point out the definition of "ignorant"?
ig�no�rant /ˈɪgnərənt/ Show Spelled
[ig-ner-uhnt] Show IPA
�adjective
1. lacking in knowledge or training; unlearned: an ignorant man.
2. lacking knowledge or information as to a particular subject or fact: ignorant of quantum physics.
3. uninformed; unaware.
4. due to or showing lack of knowledge or training: an ignorant statement.
It means that someone doesn't know. "Obnoxious" is the word you were looking for. Sorry to be pedantic, but I just really hate reading that word used in that way. |
He meant ignorant in sense 4: He is showing that he lacks knowledge of Chinese culture and business practices, and due to this was behaving in an insensitive or obnoxious manner. While 'ignorant' has the literal definitions you stated, it also carries a strong negative connotation and often suggests that the person so described is offensively stupid or lacking in knowledge. |
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shuanglu pijiu
Joined: 04 Apr 2010
Posts: 17
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| Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 12:07 pm Post subject: |
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| clownshow wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Is it wrong of me to expect my supervisors to help me with problems with my bank and my phone company? |
If a company hires foreign workers is is not out of line to expect the FAO to arrange help for the foreign worker. Those who berate the op likely couldn't negotiate the economy without help and likely it is a case of the keyboard commandos at work fronting their abilities. |
i'm one of the people who berated the op, but keep in mind i wasn't berating his inability to navigate the situation on his own, i was berating his apparent unwillingness to even try, and his resorting to spewing out all kinds of 'totalitarian dictatorship' rhetoric just because someone wouldn't help him once. if it's such a horrific draconian dictatorship, then why is he or she here?
and i'm not some keyboard warrior. i have a Doctorate in Chinese Linguistics, can read and write well over 15,000 characters, and have worked for years as a legal and immigration interpreter and translator. so no, i'm not just chiding others for doing what i can't do.
that being said, when i first came to China, i knew only a little Chinese. but like many others on here, i sucked it up, went out in the world, and dealt with it like an adult. shocking concept, i know, moving to a new country and being expected to navigate daily life in the LANGUAGE OF THAT COUNTRY. |
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shuanglu pijiu
Joined: 04 Apr 2010
Posts: 17
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| Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 12:09 pm Post subject: |
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| and p.s., you are correct, it is not out of line at all to expect the FAO to help. that's what they're supposed to do. but sometimes they don't do what they're supposed to. and as we all know, if you can't adapt to ever-changing scenarios, you won't last 5 minutes here. |
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Teatime of Soul
Joined: 12 Apr 2007
Posts: 905
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| Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 1:08 pm Post subject: |
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When a new FT arrives, our FAO assists opening a bank account, getting a mobile phone, obtaining Internet service, maid service, lunch/dinner with management, Shopping trips, gym membership, inspection and inventory of the apartment, bi-lingual cards for taxi drivers to common places, etc.
It isn't a big deal for him and is a helps new arrivals feel welcomed.
Seriously, it is altogether but a day's work for him.
Cheers. |
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thelmaharper.1921
Joined: 07 Mar 2011
Posts: 27
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| Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 5:10 pm Post subject: |
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| shuanglu pijiu wrote: |
and i'm not some keyboard warrior. i have a Doctorate in Chinese Linguistics, can read and write well over 15,000 characters, and have worked for years as a legal and immigration interpreter and translator. so no, i'm not just chiding others for doing what i can't do.
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Are you telling us that you read 5x as many characters as a native speaker? Are there even 15,000 characters in common use? I have read that a random sample of words fits 99.48% onto 2,000 characters. |
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7969
Joined: 26 Mar 2003
Posts: 5782
Location: Coastal Guangdong
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| Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 5:22 pm Post subject: |
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| thelmaharper.1921 wrote: |
| shuanglu pijiu wrote: |
and i'm not some keyboard warrior. i have a Doctorate in Chinese Linguistics, can read and write well over 15,000 characters, and have worked for years as a legal and immigration interpreter and translator. so no, i'm not just chiding others for doing what i can't do.
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Are you telling us that you read 5x as many characters as a native speaker? Are there even 15,000 characters in common use? |
he said he could read 15000. doesn't matter if they're in common use or not. if someone has a phd in chinese linguistics why would you doubt them? What level of Chinese do you have thelma? |
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clownshow
Joined: 19 Dec 2010
Posts: 181
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| Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 8:36 pm Post subject: |
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| if it's such a horrific draconian dictatorship, then why is he or she here? |
There are many on this board who feel that China is a draconian dictatorship and who are still in China and participate on these boards with negative regularity. I think the assumption that someone has to have the same attitude as a poster who has a Doctorate in Chinese Linguistics "smacks" of the kind of elitism that is suspect. |
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mrwslee003
Joined: 14 Nov 2009
Posts: 190
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| Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 1:14 am Post subject: |
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Mr. Wild,
Lets get back to your main concern: I find it hard to believe that no-one would help you especially if you are new to the school. That doesn't mean it didn't happen, however.
My suggestions are: you can go to the bank and try to open an acc't yourself. Usually the bank staff would have one or two people who know enough English to help you. Be adventurous and independent-you will be
surprised to find people are so willing to help a stranger in China, especially FTs. Or tell your students your problems-just tell them you want to open an acc't in a bank and ask them for suggestions which bank is the best one. Or go to Guongzhou (the prov. captial) and do your business there.
Just because your superior didn't want to help you, it should not be the end of the world for you-use your creative mind and find other sourses of help.
There are some locals who don't like foreigners and your superior maybe one of them, just like some people in N. America. You know what I mean. But that should not blind you to the major part of the country you are in and its full of friendly people just like here at home.
Go forth and seek them out and have a wonderful experience in China.
Just remember who you are, a proud, creative, warm hearted Ft who likes to teach this generation of Chinese to be able to communicate with a major part of outside world.
Bon chance, mon ami! |
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shuanglu pijiu
Joined: 04 Apr 2010
Posts: 17
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| Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 3:06 am Post subject: |
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| clownshow wrote: |
| Quote: |
| if it's such a horrific draconian dictatorship, then why is he or she here? |
There are many on this board who feel that China is a draconian dictatorship and who are still in China and participate on these boards with negative regularity. I think the assumption that someone has to have the same attitude as a poster who has a Doctorate in Chinese Linguistics "smacks" of the kind of elitism that is suspect. |
when did i say anyone had to have the same attitude as me? i was simply pointing out that i wasn't some hypocrite who was deriding others for not having Chinese ability, when i myself couldn't even do simple day-to-day tasks - an issue raised by yourself. so you say those who berate the op likely couldn't navigate the economy or daily tasks on their own, but then when someone says that actually they can do that and more, they are 'elitist?'
your logic:
"you shouldn't criticize others for doing things you probably couldn't do."
"but i can do those things, and here's why."
"you're an elitist."
riiiiiiiiight. |
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