zboy1 wrote:Hey HappierAbroader's, how's it going? I'm here in Hangzhou China--getting my papers and documents ready at my recruiter's office--in order to be sent to my school in Jinhua City (about a 2 hour drive outside of Hangzhou).
Here are my first initial observations of China:
Outside of Beijing and Shanghai, the Chinese still aren't used to seeing a lot of foreigners including Blacks and Whites (and even non-Chinese Asians!) so you will be STARED AT a lot. Keep that in mind--especially if you're really the sensitive type!
Most of the English teachers I've met along the way (including in the airport, hotel, and recruiter's office) seem to be really cool. They come in all colors and nationalities. But they're not you're typical Westerners in that they seem much more interested in foreign cultures and languages, than your average Westerner/American/Canadian...
Your average American/Anglo types typically look-down on foreigners, hate foreign cultures, and are usually xenophobic and racist. They are also very cliquish and close-minded...
Now, I'm not saying all English teachers in Asia are great and well-behaved, but that is the impression I got from speaking to some of them during my time here...
I hope that while I'm in China, I do not meet-up with a lot of the "Ugly American/Westerner types that I typically loathe back in the States and Europe, but I'm sure I'll come face-to-face with some of them, eventually...
I have already been 'sized-up' and 'stared-down' by some White boys I've seen on the streets of China and in Beijing airport, probably because they see 'me' as 'competition' for Chinese females or they're just being jerks and racists like usual...but whatever...
I was actually cock-blocked by a group of White males for having a conversation with a Chinese female on the airplane--what a joke that was! Why is it that White males always want to dominate other races and always have the entitled, White supremacist attitude wherever they go...?
Anyway, enough of that! Let me tell you about how the Chinese see me, as it were...It's funny because I look Chinese, the people always speak to me in Chinese and then have a wild-look in their eyes when I speak to them in English and tell them "I do not speak Chinese, LOL."
They always follow-up with a nervous giggle or confusion because the concept of a "Korean American," "Asian American," or whatever...is a completely foreign concept to them. As Ladislav has mentioned many times before in this forum, Asians in Asia do not have a pan-Asian identity like Asian Americans do in the United States.
The Chinese hate the Japanese fiercely as Kai has mentioned before on HappierAbroad, but he is wrong to say the Chinese hate Koreans; in fact, I was told by a Black female ESL teacher in China that the Chinese love Korean dramas, K-pop, and Korean actors, actresses, and models. I was also hit-on by a female at my school recruiter who said 안녕하세요 (An nyoung ha seh yo) and gave me her telephone number.
That's not to say all Chinese are open to foreigners: as I have mentioned before, the Chinese are somewhat xenophobic and uncomfortable around foreigners; I'm even stared at somewhat (even though I look Chinese) by the Chinese because they can tell I'm not 'one of them.' It's painful for me to have to speak English to Chinese people, especially when ordering food or shopping in a department store. It's very embarrassing and humiliating for me.
A Black female ESL teacher I've met here in China, has said she gets stared at a lot, and that Chinese people keep asking about her braided hair
and her skin, which makes her uncomfortable. My White ESL teacher friend told me he still doesn't feel very comfortable walking around town alone, due to the whispers and stares and giggles.
But I still get the feeling, unfortunately, that the Chinese still have a inferiority complex in regards to White people--and treat them better than most foreigners--including other Asians. But...that's a common problem throughout Asia, again, unfortunately...
Now having said all this...the racism here is still nothing like the racism back home, in my opinion. None of the foreigners I talked to feel 'racially oppressed' the way many minorities--and even White people--feel at times, in Western countries. No one is going to go beat you up because you're a foreigner, and there isn't anywhere near the kind of visceral racial hatred between the races like in the States.
Of course, I realize the Chinese have problems with the Tibetans, the Muslims in Xinjiang, the Korean minority population in China and the Japanese, but I'm referring only to foreigners in this case. And since I've only been here for a week, I may change my mind about the issue of race in China in the future...
Now, I would like to talk about how HUGE China really is in comparison to the United States. Amazingly...China seems even bigger than the U.S.--both in terms of population, size and scale of their cities and towns. Holy moly, is China huge! Hangzhou, which is in Zhejiang province, looks equivalent to New York City in many ways!
The air pollution in China is pretty bad; I've never seen a bright, clear sky since I've been in China. But, to be honest, I'm used to that living in New York City most of my life. So, it really hasn't affected me too much, but I can see how it could affect someone sensitive to the pollution like Xiongmao--who complained bitterly about it during his time in China.
I've avoided eating at most of the street food vendors and restaurants while in China, unless it's coming from a well-known Western chain or Korean/Japanese/Taiwanese chain. There's a Paris Baguette (famous Korean bakery) outside of my hotel, so that's certainly a relief...
I did have a tasty fired chicken/shrimp/fries combo at this fast-food Taiwanese chicken place near my hotel, so I may become a little more adventurous in my culinary experiences here in the future...LOL!
I would suggest NEVER, EVER drinking the tap water in China, unless you're really asking for it! I even brush my teeth with bottled water and close my mouth tightly whenever I take a shower. I wash my hands with only hot water because I fear for the sanity and cleanliness of the water supply.
I read on the Internet somewhere on an expat forum, where an American person got sick with tapeworm for brushing his teeth with tap water, and a Canadian couple supposedly got sick from the bacteria found in the water during showering. Maybe those stories were fabricated, but I'm not taking any CHANCES while in China.
Supposedly, I kept hearing that the Chinese are midgets and most Asians are short-in-stature, but I really didn't see that here...In Korea, I kept seeing guys my height (5'11) and taller often, and even in China, I see guys my height and a few taller than me. Of course, the average Chinese is much shorter than me, but not by much...surprisingly. Am I exaggerating or just seeing things? Or, are some regions of China taller than others?
The women in China are pretty and petite. It's nice to see both men and women not completely obese, dressed appropriately and not looking like a complete slag like whenever you step-into a Walmart in the Sates! No men wearing pants all the way down to their knees and showing their underwear and acting like a thug, or women in sandals and gym pants. None of that here, thank goodness! It's also nice to see very pretty Chinese girls with Chinese/Asian men, unlike in the West where attractive Asian women shun and 'look down' on their own men and race.
No Esther Ku's and other self-hating Asian females here--hallelujah for that! As Kai has mentioned before, there are Chinese women looking for 'foreign men' here in China. There's plenty of Chinese females for everyone, except maybe for Chinese men, LOL.
Dude, just because they like K-Pop stuff does not mean they like Koreans... They love Japanese porn. Do they like Japanese people inside China? Hell f**k no.
Also, Korean Tourists are what some of them hate. Not an individual Korean walking around... Korean's look more like Chinese than Japanese people do, so you also have an advantage there too. Until you open your mouth at least. My wife laughed at your post and said, you should just let people think you are an ABC instead. LOL.
The fact that they cannot tell until you open your mouth gives you serious latitude! If you learn Mandarin, you could easily write your own ticket out there. You will never be able to understand how that black girl feels, so I won't even bother addressing that if you cannot understand the level of latitude that you have there being E. Asian looking. Black women have no business being in China anyway, but that is just my own personal opinion. I know a black cheerleader that was a dancer for the Houston Rockets. They went to China and she did not particularly like the experience and she is a bonafide 10 piece. Not a single non-racist guy here would say she isnt.
Also, you are very tall for China. If you really are almost 6' barefooted, you are kinda in a league of your own. Where you are, has some tall-ish people for sure, but if you go to more places, especially in the South, they are shorter. At my wife and I's wedding, only one guy was 6'2" and I was probably the 2 or 3 tallest person there out of 100-something guests.
Rock's advice is fuggin solid advice as well, except for the flaky Chinese part. Any Chinese woman not infatuated with you, typically does not want you. Chinese women decide very quickly. Don't worry too much about race, but do not get too comfortable too soon either.
