TEFL China: the beleaguered expat teacher
http://www.teflcertificationabroad.com/
One of two things is required of the English teacher in China: a skin like a rhino or a TEFLon coating. Without a leather hide or a non-stick dermatology, that sensitive outer layer of laowai will soon be stripped bare, resulting in all manner of psychological and physiological discomforts.
So what are the ordeals lying in wait to get under the skin of English teachers lacking the natural defences prescribed? What are the stressors associated with bringing the world’s premier language to the land of Chinese characteristics?
Let’s take a look at a few of the potential challenges facing the insufficiently protected:
1. Death
For the seriously unlucky, overly naive, or unrealistically principled, the desire for schools to earn a fast buck and exploit expat teachers can have terrible consequences. This is one instance where prevention is most definitely better than cure.
2. A damn good thrashing
Not such a desperate end, but unlucky nonetheless if you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Always read the international news and remain vigilant against the volatile nature of Chinese nationalism. Alternatively, put that rhino skin to good use and stand there and take it like a man.
3. Getting fleeced
The Art of War has a lot to answer for; it justifies deception as a means to an end, as many expats have found to their cost. And locals will waste no time testing your metal upon arrival in China as you run the gauntlet of taxi drivers that make a New York cabby seem about as ‘in your face’ as a cuddly toy.
4. No pay
A contract in China is strictly for ‘information purposes only’. That’s not to say that the expat teacher should expect any correlation between the information contained therein and reality. If you find that your wages are withheld sometimes, when queried, your employer will likely point out the clause that stipulates a fine of one month’s salary for interfering in China’s internal affairs.
5. Identity crisis
Soon after taking position at the blackboard in front of their first class, an expat teacher’s understanding of their role is likely to move seamlessly through the following four stages of self-evaluation:
I am an educator; I am an entertainer; I am an exhibit; I am a babysitter
The denial of those individuals who steadfastly refuse to progress beyond the first stage usually manifests itself as inappropriate anger towards those who have moved on.
6. You’re a spy
Shame on you. You don’t look Chinese so why are you in China? You’re a capitalist roader if ever I saw one. Why choose this province when there are so many others to choose from? It’s a well known fact that most foreign teachers in China come here to spy. We would never dream of such underhand behaviour in your country.
Old prejudices and stereotypes die very, very hard for the expat teacher in the Middle Kingdom. Which leads us neatly to…
7. Disrespect
Not so much in the classroom, but more in the general view, the expat teacher faces the enduring schema of a talentless loser on the make. Here is a sample of the kind of mud that is being routinely flung in the expat’s direction, creating the kind of stigma that you could really do without:
I’m sick of white dudes like you who have asian fetish coming to china, boning girls, thinking you’re hot shit, when you can’t even get girls back home fromwhatever shithole you crawled out of. China boosts up your ego; you have western worshipping chinese peasant girls suck your dick and it makes you think you’re king. you ain’t no king; you’re slime. You’re lower than low. You’re fucking pathetic. You’re a “grade A loser,” as they say. All you’ve got to do with your time is write your jealousy filled, hater posts about contradicting someone who has done better than you. I hope you get AIDS from one of the hookers you’ve been banging, you cocksucking CIA spy motherfucker.
Made me laugh, anyway. Hat tips to Brendan and Kim for inspiring the response and bringing it to my attention respectively.
Sadly, the quote accurately reflects not only the default position of the fenqing, but also the attitude of a condescending element within the non-teaching expat community (Imagethief wrote about this a while back).
These individuals look down upon the English teacher in the same way that the Chinese businessman looks down upon street cleaners. If I was being charitable I’d say that they were ‘culturally immersed’.
8. The special guest
You are invited by your FAO to attend a lunch. Having escorted you to a decent hotel in the city and introduced you to a dozen suits that can’t utter a syllable of English. Smiles all round, FAO interprets: “Honoured foreign guest please to visit humble company HQ. Very close. Few minutes only. Then lunch.”
Having been ushered into a waiting Buick your FAO disappears. An hour later you’re being escorted around a ramshackle assortment of buildings on the outskirts of the city that demand a rewrite of the health and safety in the workplace handbook.
Many photographs are taken while you smile, inspect, look impressed, and generally act the part of the foreign executive applying the finishing touches to a lucrative international order.
Two more hours pass before the Buick drops you off at a restaurant and all the suits begin to inebriate themselves with Baijiu. It’s another hour before any food arrives and there’s still no sign of your FAO, which is just as well because murder is a capital offence in China.
On the plus side you have now been elevated to CEO of a foreign company’s China office and there are lots of pictures in a glossy brochure to prove it.
9. “Helloooooo… laowai”
This is the psychological equivalent of death by a thousand cuts. Under the heading ‘Discrimination’, this from Frommer’s China:
Unless you are of Chinese descent, your foreignness is constantly thrust in your face with catcalls of “laowai”, a not particularly courteous term for foreigner and a bit like shouting “Chinky” at a Chinese you encounter at home. Mocking, and usually falsetto, calls of “Helloooooo” are not greetings but are similar to saying “Pretty Polly!” to a parrot.
Only in China could an informal greeting become a national game of taking the piss. Get used to it, quickly.
10. If you can do all this…
… and more, yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, and – which is more – you’ll be certifiable, my son!
You’ll probably be blogging about it, too.
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:43 am
I’m sending every person who contacts me about teaching ESL in China to this post – great stuff. “TEFLon coating” – hilarious.
Darren’s story is truly a tragedy, but it should be noted – very uncommon. Just concerned an industry may be defined by an incident – when shitty things happen wherever you go.
The thrashing – much more so, but mostly because ESL teachers have little to do but get drunk and hit on Chinese girls
I sorta miss it … being an ESL teacher, that is.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:10 am
Thanks Ryan.
It’s still shocking to be reminded of Darren’s murder, which I’m quite comfortable calling it. But you’re right, of course. It’s very much a rarity in China, where, despite having faced a lot of subtle discrimination and ignorance, I’ve always felt perfectly safe.
With one foot out the door I decided to share a few typical (and a couple of not-so-typical) experiences of the expat teacher in China. I should add that #’s 1, 2, & 4 have never happened to me.
And I don’t wish to put anyone off teaching in China – I could just as easily put together a list of positives. The other side of the coin, however, lends itself more naturally to humour. Item #1 was the exception to that rule, and was placed there to serve as a warning and because justice is yet to be done.
In common with all foreign ventures, a bit of savvy and sound research will go a long way to avoiding the pitfalls and making sure that assimilation into Chinese culture is a relatively painless process.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:46 am
Hilarious post! LOL. I reposted it to the travel forum.
http://www.chinatravel.net/forum/TEFL-China-the-beleaguered-expat-teacher/1736.html
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:42 am
Thanks for that, Rebekah.
I’ll link to your site under ‘China related’ rather than my blogroll, if that’s ok with you.
February 3rd, 2009 at 6:10 am
Sounds fairly accurate. Longevity in the EFL workplace in China requires 1. the ability to ignore problems that won’t result in death; 2. focusing on at least one positive thing every day (a very difficult habit); 3. a very kind and understanding boss (extremely rare).
February 3rd, 2009 at 7:11 am
Matt – thanks for stopping by.
I’ve been lucky in my two teaching posts (universities) in China insofar as both institutions’ foreign affairs offices looked after me very well.
There were odd hiccups in the relationship, of course, but on the whole both were very understanding.
I know not everyone gets so lucky.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Outstanding post, Stuart.
I have decided to reward you by nominating you for a Superior Scribbler Award (congratulations – you are already a winner!).
Yes, it’s one of those meme/virus things, I’m afraid. I don’t approve of the generally, but this one seems harmless enough. Savour the well-earned compliment, and pass on to others or not, at your discretion.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:53 pm
By the way, this rather longer – and, if such a thing is possible, even angrier – post of mine about my first job in China contains enough horror stories to put anyone off coming here to teach. Not that I’d wish to do that, but…. I do think people coming to teach in China for the first time need to be well warned. You’ve done that rather more succinctly than I did.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:23 pm
I understand that I’m probably taking all this way too seriously, but honestly there’s something about the tone of this entire post that really (and I mean really) gets under my skin.
First of all: unless you have ESL qualifications and a Master’s in English, as an “English teacher in China” you are exploiting a market imperfection for quick cash. A market that values the accident of your birth, and utterly ignores your manifest lack of qualifications for your job. That’s neither (on the face of it) immoral or illegal, but it also cannot for a second be confused for any sacrifice you’re making. You’re not here to help people, and you know it.
Second: you came to a developing country to “teach” English in an underdeveloped province, and expect your payday (and other procedural niceties) to happen like clockwork?! Do we put that down to willful ignorance, or just stupidity? And the very second that shops with signs in Chinese characters in major tourist cities around the world stop selling commonplace items for twice what they’re worth down the road in the supermarket to Chinese tourists who don’t know any better, you will be entitled to complain about people who are not even actually taxi drivers ripping you off at airports, a scam that’s warned about in every guidebook ever written.
Third, and finally: how many times must you be told that “laowai” is not an insult? Have you never heard people being called “laoda” in Chinese? “Lao Lastname” is a term of respect and it operates in exactly the same way as “laowai”. I don’t care what Frommer’s says. I have literally lost count of the fabulous conversations I have had in my years in China actually bothering to respond to the nervous, giggly, high-pitched “Hellooo!” offered in such a friendly manner, on so many streets, in so many out-of-the-way Chinese towns. There may be a tiny percentage of people out there saying that to mock. But the fact that you genuinely appear to think that you are walking around being mocked by everyone behind your back says far more about you than it does about a culture ten times older than yours where people are grown-up enough to realize it’s not impolite (but rather a compliment: I’m fascinated by you) to stare.
Seems to me like those “old prejudices and stereotypes” you were talking about are alive and well.
February 4th, 2009 at 2:44 am
Froog – thanks for dropping by and commenting.
I’m humbled by the award and will check out that post of yours. First, I have to deal with an angry correspondent.
February 4th, 2009 at 3:28 am
@ Shannon
Where to begin?
“First of all: unless you have ESL qualifications and a Master’s in English, as an “English teacher in China” you are exploiting a market imperfection for quick cash.”
I don’t have a Masters in anything, but I’m fully qualified to do the jobs I’ve taken in China, both with institutions that have official permission to employ foreign teachers.
Did you say “Quick cash”? Please allow 10 minutes for uncontrollable laughter and a further five for recovery.
That feels much better, thank you. And the only thing I’m exploiting is market demand.
“You’re not here to help people, and you know it.”
Actually, Shannon, and you might have some appreciation of this if you knew me, I am here to help people. I can say this with absolute authority because I’ve never undertaken anything in my life without an attendant and natural inclination to help others. Not even when I was playing blackjack for a living.
“…you came to a developing country to “teach” English in an underdeveloped province, and expect your payday (and other procedural niceties) to happen like clockwork?”
Well, I don’t ‘expect’ murder, beatings, cheating, and discrimination from anyone. Is that your definition of ‘procedural nicety’?
“…a scam that’s warned about in every guidebook ever written.”
There’s a reason for that.
“Third, and finally: how many times must you be told that “laowai” is not an insult?”
Your beef is with Frommer, not me. But I do know that to call a Chinese called ‘laowai’ in my country would probably not be received with the same grace that I accept it with here. Not an insult? Go figure.
“But the fact that you genuinely appear to think that you are walking around being mocked by everyone behind your back …”
I know I’m not a gifted humourist, but do try a little harder to get to grips with the general tone without resorting to unnecessary hyperbole.
“…says far more about you than it does about a culture ten times older than yours”
Stonehenge predates the Great Wall by at least 3000 years. Game over.
February 4th, 2009 at 4:05 am
Just read the tragic case of the teacher in TEFL, but sound like his death had nothing to do with the fact he was a teacher. Seems he was the victim of violent crime and this could have happened to him whatever profession he was in. Yes, he ended up in a crappy hotel because of the school but from there on in the school had no responsibility (unless you prefer to peddle conspiracy theories that the school “wanted him killed”, which to be fair are quite ridiculous).
February 4th, 2009 at 4:55 am
You played Blackjack for a living to help people? Ok. That claim is so outrageous, I’m going to assume you were joking. Haha.
Murder happens everywhere, for a variety of reasons, and actually the murder rate in China is far lower than most places on Earth. Murder happens everywhere, Olivia, yes, even to nice people who are on holidays (or teaching English, or otherwise “not looking for trouble”). Statistics of small numbers. Argument by anecdote. Need I continue? Are you seriously (as you appear to be) claiming that the murder of one single foreigner (among the tens of thousands) is a reason any other foreigner should be wary of traveling anywhere at all or doing anything at all, even the exact activity that the murdered person undertook in the exact same place? Should foreigners not go to Gulou because of that terribly unfortunate single incident with a crazed local during the Games?
My beef is not with Frommer’s (the guidebook for people who want everywhere they go to be just like home) but rather with you for propagating (yet another) thinly veiled Frommer’s racist lie. “Laowai” is just simply not disrespectful. Lao-someone is never a diss, and always connotes respect for the someone. It’s just simply the way the language works. Just like “old friend” is better than “friend” in English. Your beef, clearly, is with Chinese — which is why I use the “r” word for Frommer’s — and that’s just sad.
Are you seriously claiming that you are connected in any way whatsoever to the culture that built Stonehenge? Druids and pre-Roman Britain, eh? In the way that your local laobaixing is linguistically, socially, and culturally connected to the people who built the Great Wall?
I am very aware, as I wrote in my initial response, that you are attempting to be “funny”. But your “jokes” rely on offensive mis-characterization, lies, and random anecdotes that show the opposite of the “pattern” you try and claim they do.
Again, haha, I get it.
But like your “death of a thousand cuts,” I am sick to death of laowai making these same tired, wrong, sad little assertions. Especially when they then claim that they were “only joking”.
February 4th, 2009 at 5:14 am
Further: it is confronting to live in a place where you are the “other”. No doubt about it. It sends some people quite mad. It leads some to make “jokes” that would quite rightly be identified as terribly racist “at home”, but are tolerantly chuckled over here when repeated to other expats.
But think, for just a brief moment, about how that feeling of “otherness” was clearly communicated, and is still — despite our best efforts, and despite commendable progress over the last three decades or so — communicated to people who look a little bit different than whatever the “norm” is wherever you’re from. Communicated without anyone saying anything at all.
You wrote: “I don’t ‘expect’ [...] discrimination from anyone.”
What, exactly, in your life experience to this point, in the history you’ve read, in the news you’ve watched, made you have this negative expectation? Was it growing up in a relatively racially homogeneous Western neighborhood and simply not being confronted by the constant, grinding discrimination in the neighborhoods next door?
Discrimination is to be deplored, abhorred, fought against, outlawed, and hopefully, finally, defeated. But to “not expect” it? I ask you: what kind of naiveté does that take?
And while we’re asking uncomfortable questions, please think about the discrimination you have “suffered” here in China. Was it deliberate? Or was it based on ignorance and misunderstanding?
Because I’ll bet you a 1,000 kuai meal at the restaurant of your choice in Beijing that it was, in nearly every single case, the latter.
Ignorance and misunderstanding. You get those two bad boys everywhere. See above.
February 4th, 2009 at 5:21 am
Shannon; grab a beer, sit down, and come to terms with the fact that you just don’t get me.
To take you up on one point:
“Lao-someone is never a diss”
That would assume lao-something is being used as a form of address. I think we both know that that is not the case in 99% of “laowai” utterances.
February 4th, 2009 at 5:27 am
“But to “not expect” it? I ask you: what kind of naiveté does that take?”
I hold other people to my own moral standards.
Besides, my students assure me that discrimination and racism are exclusively ‘western’ diseases, in which case I’m right to not expect them in China.
February 4th, 2009 at 5:34 am
Mike – thanks for commenting.
“…this could have happened to him whatever profession he was in.”
I agree, but only insofar as he had threatened to expose his employer’s corrupt practices. In this case he was employed as an English teacher.
February 4th, 2009 at 6:08 am
“I hold other people to my own moral standards.”
That’s great. Did it ever occur to you that other people do this to? Other people with, say, a different set of culturally determined mores and folkways?
I’ve been angrily assured more than once by students in “Western” classrooms that nepotism and cronyism are exclusively “Eastern” diseases…
What was I saying, again, about ignorance and misunderstanding?
And thanks for the offer of a beer. I’m sure, that outside the toneless confines of the Internet, that’d we’d get on like a house on fire!
February 4th, 2009 at 7:06 am
“I’m sure, that outside the toneless confines of the Internet, that’d we’d get on like a house on fire!”
I thought we were doing OK.
February 4th, 2009 at 7:24 am
Well I am glad that you two are sorta making up. I read the post and enjoyed the humor although I haven’t taught English since my buxiban days in Taipei in 1974!!!
The laowai conundrum was interesting to explore… it does have a bit of the sense of “other”… as like the very common question… do you people also like to?? (ni men nei ge ren). It is certainly a heck of a lot more courteous than yang gui zi, or Gweilo (cantonese), Farang (thai), ah mo gui (hokkien), or other devil less than human derivatives. The funny thing is that Laowai and Gweilo often became the lingua franca in English expat communities when describing ourselves… a heck of lot easier to say than that equally horridly general term “westerners”. I personally have always enjoyed being a foreign devil and after 28 years in Asia can never say that I ever felt it to be a “diss”
February 4th, 2009 at 7:41 am
Terry – thanks for stopping by. Interesting comment also, especially in light of your extraordinary length of service in these parts.
“The funny thing is that Laowai and Gweilo often became the lingua franca in English expat communities”
That’s a valid point. We do tend to self-promote the use of these terms.
“…and after 28 years in Asia can never say that I ever felt it to be a “diss””
Don’t tell Shannon, but I think Frommer’s likening of “laowai” to “chinky” is wide of the mark, although it can delivered disparagingly from time to time.
February 4th, 2009 at 9:52 am
I wonder what Shannon has against English teachers?
It would appear that he doesn’t know much about the business, here in China or elsewhere.
Having a higher degree in any subject is neither useful nor necessary for being a teacher. Having a degree in English (which will focus on the history and theory of literature) is of no use at all in teaching ESOL. Some people feel that having a degree of some sort in Linguistics and/or a higher TESOL qualification (such as the Dip. TESOL) is useful for teaching ESOL, but I’m very sceptical about that; it all tends to be very abstruse stuff that doesn’t have much if any practical value in the classroom.
However, most ESOL teachers I’ve met in this country do have a TESOL certificate. And just about all of them have at least a first degree (it’s a requirement for getting a work permit or foreign expert status). I happen to have a Master’s degree as well (and a high school teaching qualification and years of experience). Many of the teaching friends I’ve met out here have doctorates and are former university teachers.
While it is true that it is possible to get teaching jobs here without qualifications or experience, these are mostly short-term business training gigs with Chinese companies, private tuition, or work in kindergartens. Yes, jobs like these are often seen as a source of “pocket money” by backpackers, Mandarin students, taitais and so on – not quick, easy, or reliable money, and certainly not very substantial amounts of it, but a useful source of income nonetheless.
It’s hardly the teachers’ fault if the education market here is so avaricious, unregulated, and undiscriminating that employers will often pay no attention to their credentials for the job.
And in my experience, even the most dillettante trustafarian bum generally tries to do at least a half-decent job in the classroom. Teaching tends to bring out the idealism in anyone (if only, perhaps, because it’s such a miserable experience for the teacher if a class is going badly; whereas doing a class well is a joy for all concerned). Even the worst teachers really are, I think, usually trying to do some good; and much of the time they are succeeding.
Anyway, the vast majority of ‘horror stories’ cited in Stuart’s piece here concern properly qualified teachers employed in schools that are licensed by the government.
I don’t know where Shannon gets his idea that anyone without a Master’s degree in English is a vicious amoral exploiter, a sort of Somali pirate of the teaching profession in China. Just ludicrous.
It’s not often that I stand up for expat English teachers. As a class, I have beefs of my own against them – and am very happy to have at least semi-escaped from the profession now. But that rant from Shannon…… wow.
February 4th, 2009 at 9:54 am
Oh, and by the way, Stuart, that remark about “helping people” even in your blackjack days has us all curious. Explanation, please.
February 4th, 2009 at 10:46 am
“I don’t know where Shannon gets his idea that anyone without a Master’s degree in English is a vicious amoral exploiter, a sort of Somali pirate of the teaching profession in China. Just ludicrous.”
Amusing, then, that I didn’t say any such thing.
For someone with a Master’s degree, you’re a very quick draw with the Straw Man. Or, rather, Straw Men, since your post is composed entirely of things neither I, nor anyone else here besides you, is saying.
February 4th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
“Amusing, then, that I didn’t say any such thing.”
You see; foundinchina has helped you to rediscover your sense of humour.
February 4th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
@ Froog
“It’s not often that I stand up for expat English teachers.”
Once in a while barristers are required to defend the guilty
In the interests of full disclosure I’m about to become an ex-expat English teacher in China (for the time being, at least).
“…that remark about “helping people” even in your blackjack days has us all curious. Explanation, please.”
Perhaps I was more cryptic than I intended. I simply meant to say that it’s in my nature to help people and that, whatever path I’ve embarked upon, that fundamental attribute has always shaped my behaviour in some way.
Thus, whether I’m teaching English in China, beating the dealer at the casino, or looking in vain for instant custard in Carrefour, my inclination to assist my fellow citizens remains.
Basically, although far from perfect, I’m a good guy who’s a bit of a soft touch.
February 4th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Oh yes, Shannon, maybe yours was a purely ad hominem jibe against poor Stuart; but when you say, “unless you have ESL qualifications and a Master’s in English, as an “English teacher in China” you are exploiting a market imperfection for quick cash”, you do appear to be lashing out against English teachers in China in general.
The ‘Somali pirate’ thing was my humorous exaggeration of your ranting remark.
The really bizarre and staggeringly ill-informed thing about that comment was your attempt to define what might be a respectable, non-exploitative English teacher. That “Master’s degree in English” thing really bugged the crap out of me. What the hell were you thinking, Shannon? A Master’s in English doesn’t equip someone to do anything. Except maybe offer a little banter about Auden or Eliot to the customers at the checkout in the King’s Road Tesco Metro.
February 4th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
And Stuart, while I appreciate and try to share the constant “inclination to assist my fellow citizens”, I still struggle to envisage how that is expressed at the blackjack table.
I mean, you don’t say to the guy next to you, do you, “Look, I’ve been counting, and you should definitely take another card on 16 here”?
February 4th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
@froog
You got me. That sentence should have read “ESL qualifications OR a Master’s in English” — where “MA (English)” stands for “something more than a Bachelor’s degree in an unrelated discipline”. It’s a metaphor, mate.
Got anything to say about the points I’m actually making, or still stuck on the points you’ve invented from whole cloth and claimed that I’m saying?
February 5th, 2009 at 12:20 am
Shannon – no, I don’t have anything else to add. I think Stuart already effectively demolished most of your other points.
I only took you up on one point. That was not something I invented, it was something you said (even if you slightly garbled what you meant to say). You did say – or clearly imply – that any English teacher who wasn’t (massively over)qualified was an exploitative ne’er-do-well. That’s bunk.
You’re now adapting your point about the Master’s degree to suggest that a Master’s (in any subject, or is a language subject preferred, or what?) is an acceptable, perhaps even preferable alternative to an ESL qualification. Again, bunk.
Perhaps you’ve discovered that a there are a lot of crap teachers who have both an ESL qualification and a Bachelor’s degree. That’s true. There are a lot of crap teachers who have Master’s or Doctor’s degrees and higher ESL qualifications too. Teaching ability has just about bugger-all to do with education level or qualifications. The only way you can begin to gauge teaching ability (and thus, suitability for a teaching job) is by paying attention to experience, references, and personal impression upon interview.
My main gripe with the “backpacker teacher” phenomenon here is not so much that it lowers standards (I’m not sure that it does very much; as I said above, I think most of these people try really hard, even if they don’t have any training or experience) but that it drives down rates of pay for the rest of us.
February 5th, 2009 at 12:30 am
OK, Shannon, if there’s one point that hasn’t been done to death yet (is Stuart trying to set himself up as a new Peking Duck here?), maybe there is more mileage in the Stonehenge quip.
You accept that China doesn’t after all trump every other nation in the world purely in the antiquity of its cultural heritage? Great – that’s a huge step forward from the view you find amongst most Chinese.
But you think absolute antiquity may be trumped by continuity of cultural heritage? Hmm. Well, establishing what you mean by that can be rather problematical. Do the Greeks of today have anything in common with the times of Homer, or even of Plato? Apart from the language and the writing system – probably not that much. Occupation by the Venetians and then the Turks changed a lot. Is China more closely connected to its ancient roots? Did the Mongols, the Manchus, the foreign colonial powers, and then the Communists not transform the country?
OK, maybe a lot of Chinese culture does have very deep roots. But a lot of it doesn’t. Establishing a clear link with the times of Qin Shihuang is tricky. And even if you can, so what??
A friend of mine (an historian) used to say, “China boasts an unbroken history of 2,000 years of complacency and stagnation.”
February 5th, 2009 at 4:04 am
“I still struggle to envisage how that is expressed at the blackjack table.”
Well, I used to lend money to the needy from time to time and offer some sound counseling to the recently bereaved of cash.
Again, I was making a general point in response to Shannon’s accusation that “You’re not here to help people, and you know it.” And of course I’ve helped people in my capacity as an expat English teacher, not because I’m contracted to do it, but because it’s just the type of person I am.
“You did say – or clearly imply – that any English teacher who wasn’t (massively over)qualified was an exploitative ne’er-do-well. That’s bunk.”
It’s bunk for another reason, too. I forget where someone made the point (one of the links in the original post, or maybe froog), but most expat English teachers are required to teach classes and courses for which they are staggeringly overqualified.
Therefore, the willing and responsible native-speaking transient with a Harry Potter book in his/her backpack is usually up to the task.
Shannon, I’ve had the misfortune to encounter some chancers and prima donnas (worse) among the expat teaching community, but they are firmly in the minority. And I belong to neither group.
February 5th, 2009 at 4:17 am
“is Stuart trying to set himself up as a new Peking Duck here?”
No, Richard’s in a different league in terms of Sino-knowledge and experience, not to mention output.
My intention was originally to focus on my day to day experiences of living and working in China. As it turns out, I find too much of the political stuff bugging me to let it slide. So this is where I let ‘em have it.
February 5th, 2009 at 10:58 am
“Great – that’s a huge step forward from the view you find amongst most Chinese.”
What an offensive and stupid slur. I don’t know a single Chinese person — and I have dozens of close friends here in Beijing I talk to about these and other issues — who holds the “view” that you claim “most Chinese” hold.
Which means either 1) you just haven’t met that many Chinese people and/or your interactions with those you have met have been laughably shallow, or 2) you’re lying (or “exaggerating”) to make a point. Which is it?
And lest we forget, my original statement was:
…the fact that you [...] think that you are [...] being mocked by everyone [...] says far more about you than it does about a culture ten times older than yours where [there are long-established cultural differences governing public behaviour]…
Yeah. I’m making a point about the age of the culture. Riiiight.
Remedial Reading Comprehension classes for you, sir. If you’re actually interesting in following and contributing to a debate, that is.
In a similar vein, this:
“You’re now adapting your point about the Master’s degree to suggest that a Master’s (in any subject, or is a language subject preferred, or what?) is an acceptable, perhaps even preferable alternative to an ESL qualification.”
No. Wrong. That’s a straw man of your own invention, yet again. I said nothing of the sort. The hilarious bit, in a giving-you-enough-rope and watching-you-swing sort of way, is your very next sentence:
“Perhaps you’ve discovered that a there are a lot of crap teachers who have both an ESL qualification and a Bachelor’s degree. That’s true.”
Indeed it is. And, of course, that’s what I was saying.
LOL!
Please respond again. This is so much fun. Do try, though, to respond to the points I’m actually making, rather than the continual stream of straw men you’ve busted out with so far.
February 5th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
“This is so much fun”
This particular fun curve has levelled off. Thanks for your entertainment value all the same, Shannon.
Please drop in again to vent some spleen.
February 5th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
The post was amusing, albeit not what I have experienced here (for the most part)…the comments however – priceless!
FWIW, I think the only quick cash available in China is for the person who can open up a chain of therapy centres to cater exclusively to expat teachers…there seems to be a lot of issues to work through.
February 11th, 2009 at 12:37 am
OLI – thanks for stopping by.
I’m pleased to hear that you have avoided most or all of these pitfalls. So do most of us, fortunately.
February 18th, 2009 at 3:07 am
“I am here to help people. I can say this with absolute authority because I’ve never undertaken anything in my life without an attendant and natural inclination to help others.”
Is this the second coming ??? How could I have missed all the signs !!!!
February 18th, 2009 at 5:52 am
“Is this the second coming ?”
Sadly not; David Icke beat me to it.
February 18th, 2009 at 6:13 am
Interesting debate in the comments. I’m only going to join in as much as to reiterate that the Frommer’s quote and the comparison of ‘laowai to chinky’ is probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.
I wouldn’t go as far as to say the ‘lao’ in ‘laowai’ is actually said with respect, but it’s most certainly not a racial slur. The linguistic construction (like in a name) is a good thing, but the word just means foreigner now. That much should be painfully obvious to anyone with a bit of Chinese language and a few Chinese friends. There are other words reserved for such slandering. (the Cantonese ‘gwei lo’ is different. It’s actually foreign devil. ‘Gui lao’. In Mandarin, there is ‘yang guizi’ among others)
But, why then is ‘laowai’ often misunderstood? Because of the way people say it, and I can understand why many foreigners start to think that it may be slanderous. The ‘catcall’ can be done in a number of ways. Alongside a grimace or a cocky smile, it is not respectful. (and not because it makes the foreigner uncomfortable, but because most Chinese people would agree that it’s not nice to point at someone, look at someone like that, or stare.)
An innocent ‘hello’ or someone commenting on a ‘laowai’ over there’, is not meant to be disrespectful at all. They just assume you don’t understand them and are a bit looser with normal codes of politeness when talking about you together. Which ALL ‘laowai’ are guilty of in English, no?
Beating a dead horse a bit here, I’m sure, but just wanted to throw in my two cents.
February 19th, 2009 at 4:49 am
Jason – thanks for your ‘two cents’.
I agree that in itself ‘laowai’ is harmless and not at all disrespectful, although, as you mention, it can be delivered with a sneer.
The only other thing I would say on the matter is this: if the English language had a comparable phrase directed ad nauseum at overseas Chinese meaning, say, ‘person not of this place’, I think it’s quite clear what view China would take.
February 19th, 2009 at 8:44 am
True, but then, the West isn’t China is it? Apples and oranges, man. You have to adjust your thinking a bit on this one. Especially in China, a nearly homogeneous society. The West? Not so much…
Also, we have a completely different history with discrimination and the associated nomenclature. I would make the argument that there is essentially NO historical, nor contemporary, baggage attached to the word, ‘laowai’ other than what foreigners decide to attach to it themselves.
But yes, sneering and saying anything is kind of rude.
March 12th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I don’t have a Masters in anything
That’s all you needed to say.
Well, I don’t ‘expect’ murder, beatings, cheating, and discrimination from anyone. Is that your definition of ‘procedural nicety’?
So? You’re more likely to be beaten, murdered, cheated or otherwise harmed in your own home country given the crime rates.
Your beef is with Frommer, not me. But I do know that to call a Chinese called ‘laowai’ in my country would probably not be received with the same grace that I accept it with here. Not an insult? Go figure.
“Where are you from?” is the same.
Stonehenge predates the Great Wall by at least 3000 years. Game over.
And the Chinese neolithic predates Stonehenge. The main difference there is that the Chinese neolithic was advanced and Stonehenge was quite primitive.
March 12th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Especially in China, a nearly homogeneous society.
China is not really a homogeneous society. Europeans, Near Easterners and Indians are far more related to each other than North Chinese are to South Chinese according to the most up to date genetic studies.
The reason why this is not well known is because of a general lack of understanding and a lot of bias and general ignorance on the part of “Westerners”.
The fact that the genetic equivalent of “mulattoes” have been treated as equals in Han-ruled Dynasties for thousands of years is a testament to how little emphasis China put on perceived race as defined by late 18th Century European pseudoscience.
Those in the far West, although they are late-comers (proto-Sino-Tibetan speakers predate the “Beauty of Loulan” by at least 3,000 years, according to genetic analysis of remains found in the Kunlun Mountains) were not treated any worse with many Han Emperors taking Caucasoid/Turkic wives.
if the English language had a comparable phrase directed ad nauseum at overseas Chinese meaning, say, ‘person not of this place’
“Asian Americans” are discriminated against far worse than whites are in China. Whites are given special treatment all over the world, and the fact that you take issue with such an innocuous term really just shows how accustomed you are too being coddled and accommodated wherever you are.
March 13th, 2009 at 3:54 am
“The fact that the genetic equivalent of “mulattoes” have been treated as equals in Han-ruled Dynasties for thousands of years is a testament to how little emphasis China put on perceived race”
Ferin/yourfriend/hello – thanks for adding your two cents.
Sorry for the delayed comment appearance – you were caught up in my pending file for a while.
As for the quote above, I’m not sure it holds true with attitudes towards the minorities in modern China.
March 14th, 2009 at 11:26 am
As for the quote above, I’m not sure it holds true with attitudes towards the minorities in modern China.
The “attitude towards minorities” is not poor. In fact, among all countries I’d say it’s probably quite good.
There are the occasional ignorant and stupid comments from individuals that happen to be “Han” Chinese, but these people are viscerally hated by the rest.
From the accounts of Mongolians, Manchurians, Koreans, etc in China I have spoken to they tend to be very nationalistic as Chinese citizens despite occasional discrimination they may face.
I think the worst discrimination you can find is between Han subgroups (particularly North/South), but then again 99% of that is harmless and in good humor.
September 1st, 2009 at 1:41 am
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