Ask me about living in China

[SuperUberBob]

IWhat's it like just kinda living there on an average day? I knew what mine was like when I lived there way back in the late 90's early 2000's but what's it like for someone who's older?

Older? I'm only 26.

I really can't compare to that time frame since I wasn't in China until this year. I wake up, go to work, do some lesson planning, some days go out/some days not and then go to sleep. I'm breaking in a bit. So, not everything has become routine. I'll let you know when I hit a groove.

 

[Iron Lightning]

So, why did you decide to teach in China? I mean no offense to the nation, I'm just curious as to why you personally decided to move there.

 

[SuperUberBob]

So, why did you decide to teach in China? I mean no offense to the nation, I'm just curious as to why you personally decided to move there.

As unrealistic as it may sound, I'd like to spend a large portion of my adult life traveling throughout the world.

I thought it would be an easy transition from South Korea to China both culture and teaching wise. Pretty bad thinking on my part.

 

[Smagmuck_]

I am currently teaching college English in Wuhan at the moment.

Haven't been here for long. So, I cannot serve as an authority on much of anything. I can only relay my experiences to you.

Would you like my opinion or my father's opinion?

I should warn you, my father's opinion is well... Dated. To say the least.

 

[iLikeHippos]

Hmmmmm... Call me out on my short attention span, but I would have found this a lot more interesting if it was about Japan instead of China.
But, China's fun to ask about! Yeeeeah! Goooo air pollution and censored media!

All right.
Question 1; Have you been able to rent Avatar?

Question 2; What kind of style are their clothes?

Question 3; Is it hard to move abroad, not knowing the language?

 

[Spectrum_Prez]

The PRC still declares Taiwan as their property, so much so that it is officially called the Republic of China (ROC). Furthermore, China would not let Taiwan into the Beijing Olympics unless they entered as Chinese Taipei.

Well, to clarify, Taiwan is known as the ROC not because of Mainland pressure, but because the Taiwanese government was originally the government of the whole of China. If they had decided to change the country's name to Taiwan anytime before the 80s or so, Taiwan would be independent by now. Instead, it was the Taiwanese government itself which wanted to keep the ROC name because for a long time they saw themselves as the legitimate government of all China and even had dreams of re-invading the mainland.

Enjoy Wuhan, Bob. Also, GTFO before China blows up in twenty years or so.
I lived in Guangzhou for around 7 years and recently moved away, and the difference in public attitude towards foreigners has changed so much in the last 4 years or so. Pre- and post- Olympics China, I think of it. Now they're much more nationalistic, more arrogant, prouder.

The only other country in the world that wallows in exceptionalism as much as China is the United States.

 

[gothicjak]

IWhat's it like just kinda living there on an average day? I knew what mine was like when I lived there way back in the late 90's early 2000's but what's it like for someone who's older?

Older? I'm only 26.

I really can't compare to that time frame since I wasn't in China until this year. I wake up, go to work, do some lesson planning, some days go out/some days not and then go to sleep. I'm breaking in a bit. So, not everything has become routine. I'll let you know when I hit a groove.

Well, that's certainly different I was there during kindergarten up to 5 th grade so you experience as a 26 year old Now would be different to my experience then, I phrased my earlier statement oddly.

 

[SuperUberBob]

I still can't really answer your question though. I don't know what it's like to grow up as a boy in China or what China was like during the late 90s/early 2000s. I can't even make that assessment as a 26 year old because I haven't lived here long enough.

 

[JRslinger]

What do the Chinese students think about American/Western politics?

Do the students want to travel like you do?

How much nationalism is there? I'd expect a lot.

 

[SuperUberBob]

The PRC still declares Taiwan as their property, so much so that it is officially called the Republic of China (ROC). Furthermore, China would not let Taiwan into the Beijing Olympics unless they entered as Chinese Taipei.

Well, to clarify, Taiwan is known as the ROC not because of Mainland pressure, but because the Taiwanese government was originally the government of the whole of China. If they had decided to change the country's name to Taiwan anytime before the 80s or so, Taiwan would be independent by now. Instead, it was the Taiwanese government itself which wanted to keep the ROC name because for a long time they saw themselves as the legitimate government of all China and even had dreams of re-invading the mainland.

Thanks for the clarification on that Spectrum.

I still find it somewhat humorous that airports in China (well at least the one in Wuhan) have a separate immigration/customs line dedicated solely to citizens of Taiwan. Not sure if they have stricter requirements to get in or if they segregate them just to fuck with them a bit more.

Enjoy Wuhan, Bob. Also, GTFO before China blows up in twenty years or so.

God help me if I'm still in China 20 years from now.

The only other country in the world that wallows in exceptionalism as much as China is the United States.

Seems that way to me.

 

[Spectrum_Prez]

I still find it somewhat humorous that airports in China (well at least the one in Wuhan) have a separate immigration/customs line dedicated solely to citizens of Taiwan. Not sure if they have stricter requirements to get in or if they segregate them just to fuck with them a bit more.

Taiwanese citizens have to get a special type of passport in addition to their regular passport in order to travel in China. It's called a TaiBaoZhen and is a little mustard-green colored book with pages for special visas to get stamped in. It's actually not much stricter than a visa for a foreigner, just a little more complex and a damn lot cheaper.

That said, what I remember was that usually Taiwanese citizens just go in line with other Mainlanders (not Foreigners) in most of the immigration queues I've been through. It could, of course, be different in Wuhan.

Enjoy your stay in China. The premium Tsingtao is not bad (11 or so yuan for a 330ml bottle version).

 

[SuperUberBob]

What do the Chinese students think about American/Western politics?

A good lot of them are interested in it if you approach them about it. Thing is that they don't get approached too often by foreigners because their English is rarely good enough to fully explain everything they want. Plus, our teaching contract even states that we do not say anything that could "offend the Chinese people and their values". So, western politics is a hard topic to approach both professionally and personally.

The ones that I have spoken to about American politics are normally young adults who studied in a western country. Their comments are in line with liberal talking points you'd hear on MSNBC or something like that.

Honestly, I just enjoy listening in on their conversations about Chinese politics. The more you hear them speak, the more you realize how little you really know about what's going on in China.

Do the students want to travel like you do?

Definitely. I don't know any student who would reject a feasible opportunity to travel abroad.

How much nationalism is there? I'd expect a lot.

A whole hell of a lot, but not in the conventional sense. American nationalism is in-your-face with miniature American flags, the Statue of Liberty and God Bless America. Mostly, it is motivated by the self to celebrate their country.

In China, nationalistic behavior is institutionalized. There's actually a department of the government called as The Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China. As a result, it's a bit more subtle than in America.

 

[JRslinger]

The ones that I have spoken to about American politics are normally young adults who studied in a western country. Their comments are in line with liberal talking points you'd hear on MSNBC or something like that.

Ok so how are their views of social things? Such as women's rights and roles in society and things like porn and videogames?

So since you're teaching at a university am I right in guessing that your students are upper class? How often are the lower classes able to attend a university?

I think it's neat that you're teaching in China, but if I were in your place the speech restrictions would annoy me a lot.

 

[SuperUberBob]

Ok so how are their views of social things? Such as women's rights and roles in society and things like porn and video games?

My students? Or the English-speaking Chinese friends?

I cannot speak for my students. Their English is too limited to talk about things like that. The latter certainly has a more westernized view of gender roles in society. They aren't radical feminists or anything though.

Not sure about porn or video games. Porn is banned in China and none of my Chinese friends aren't interested in playing video games.

So since you're teaching at a university am I right in guessing that your students are upper class? How often are the lower classes able to attend a university?

Actually, most of my students are from lower to middle class families (it isn't Beijing University, that's for sure). I would say that 2/3 or 3/4 of them have their own computer.

I think it's neat that you're teaching in China, but if I were in your place the speech restrictions would annoy me a lot.

Speech restrictions aren't a problem for foreigners. We get a free pass on those things. So long as we do our jobs and stay out of protests/riots, we are fine.

You can get by language-wise if you find the right places. There are foreigner bars and English language clubs all around colleges that you'll be introduced to once you meet some native friends and other foreigners. They will be your key to any country. Native friends will bend over backwards for you. I almost feel bad asking for their help.

 

[SuperUberBob]

The Ghost Cities of China [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1339536/Ghost-towns-China-Satellite-images-cities-lying-completely-deserted.html]

I so must go there.

 

[SuperUberBob]

Today's observation: Apparently, tomb sweeping takes much longer than expected. Thus, the holidays actually takes up two weekdays rather than one.

Only one class this week baby!

 

[SuperUberBob]

After watching two plain clothes officers take down a thief out of the blue and hit him several times while handcuffed and lying on his back, I couldn't help but see the parallels between China and The Matrix.


Side note: Yes, I do know that embedding is disabled. Every video I found of this is.

The explanation of The Matrix is so suitable for China that it's scary. Really, anybody out there can be an "agent". You have no idea who they are and they pop up out of nowhere. It's scary to know that at any time in any place. you could be watched by these people. Any word you say could very well put you in a world of trouble.

Foreigners tend to get a pass here because aside from deporting us to our home country, there's little they can do for petty violations. But for Chinese people, watch out.