As you have probably noticed, my attitude toward China and my studies is much different than during my first semester here. I’ve realized that hating this place sometimes is okay, and is, in fact, part of the fun of being here.
My friend Andy has a similar attitude. By similar, I mean his attitude is: “Hating this place is fun.”
In class today, Andy complained about how all of our lessons are the same: MaLi and DaWei visit a Chinese family. WangFeng and TianZhong go out to eat. MaLi and WangFeng go to the hospital.
Andy says he’s tired of learning about these things. “Why don’t we have good lessons, like ‘Our system of government sucks,’ or ‘We are totally racist’?” he asked.
Then, during our class break, Andy and I went to a little shop on campus for a snack. “Oh, do they have today’s China Daily?” he asked me. “I’m all out of toilet paper.”
Showing posts with label racism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label racism. Show all posts
26 November 2009
Bones to Pick
I’m surprised by certain attitudes I come across in China. Attitudes are hard to explain and describe, but this past week my teachers said some things that make certain Chinese attitudes very clear.
Example one.
During my Chinese speaking class, the teacher started talking about China’s Taiwan. “If you go to China’s Taiwan this, and in China’s Taiwan that, and China’s Taiwan is very whatever.” My English classmate Andy, who is not afraid of anything, said, “China’s Taiwan? What about Taiwan’s own Taiwan?” (Andy is my hero.) The teacher said, “China’s Taiwan. Do you have a problem?” Yes, I do.
Example two.
During my Chinese listening class, we were discussing the Chinese phrase for “world famous.” The teacher asked us to give some examples. We mentioned the Great Wall of China, the Terracotta Warriors, and Qingdao beer. Then one student said, “And Jackie Chan!” The teacher frowned a little and then completely straight-faced said, “No, Jackie Chan cannot be considered world famous. See, in Africa they don’t know about him. In Africa, they have no movies and no TV. They are very poor. Jackie Chan is not world famous.” WTF??? My teacher is a graduate student.
I’m not even going to comment on these examples… I will leave that up to you.
Example one.
During my Chinese speaking class, the teacher started talking about China’s Taiwan. “If you go to China’s Taiwan this, and in China’s Taiwan that, and China’s Taiwan is very whatever.” My English classmate Andy, who is not afraid of anything, said, “China’s Taiwan? What about Taiwan’s own Taiwan?” (Andy is my hero.) The teacher said, “China’s Taiwan. Do you have a problem?” Yes, I do.
Example two.
During my Chinese listening class, we were discussing the Chinese phrase for “world famous.” The teacher asked us to give some examples. We mentioned the Great Wall of China, the Terracotta Warriors, and Qingdao beer. Then one student said, “And Jackie Chan!” The teacher frowned a little and then completely straight-faced said, “No, Jackie Chan cannot be considered world famous. See, in Africa they don’t know about him. In Africa, they have no movies and no TV. They are very poor. Jackie Chan is not world famous.” WTF??? My teacher is a graduate student.
I’m not even going to comment on these examples… I will leave that up to you.
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