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Post by jefe on Sept 12, 2006 11:16:37 GMT -5
So maybe now you can understand my disappointment at having a week in Vancouver and not going hiking during the global meet!! That is one reason why I like HK. IN NY, it was so difficult to get anywhere. In HK, it is so easy to take a minibus or a boat to get to so many places. I have only been to Vancouver once. It seemed like a very sleepy place (albeit pretty) to me, without too much *unique* cultural character. By far, the city in Canada I prefer is Montreal.
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Post by jewbird on Sept 12, 2006 17:37:07 GMT -5
Shanghainese have the reputation of being the worst people in China. Personally I like them because at least they're relatively competent at doing their jobs now. People in other parts of China might be generally nice, but at least 90% fall into the worthless idiot / filthy animal category.
Sensei, stick with Shanghai and stick with foreigners and you'll be alright. As for HK, ditto. Unless you're hooked up in the joint.
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Post by jewbird on Sept 12, 2006 17:44:10 GMT -5
I'm sure they're here too amongst the filth on the street and horking old men/women. I think my seminal moment was when an old lady in HK (queens road central - wearing pink pajamas, a weathered/mean look on her face and a certifiable "hoarker"), extended her umbrella to shield me from the rain. It just takes one person to turn a stereotype on its head. That does happen even on the mainland. I think it has to do with communist influence. Personally I'd just be happy if more Chinese people consistently did what you paid them to do. First and only rule of business in China: C.O.D.
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Post by penguinopolipitese on Sept 12, 2006 21:40:50 GMT -5
I think Victoria has god's people. But I'm obviously biased, haha. no, i'd second that one. Victoria is one of the top 3 places I'd like to live.
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Post by Sensei on Sept 13, 2006 2:12:55 GMT -5
I haven't been in Shanghai long, but I'm inclined to say I much prefer people in Canada. Multiculturalism is so established in BC, and people are really open-minded. Simon, I am surprised you got to this stage so fast. Well Simon, how open minded are you? Probably not as open-minded as I'd like to believe. Again, I think most of my impressions of Shanghai will change drastically over the course of the next few months. I'm still in culture-shock mode, so I tend to cling to the idea that my environment and life back home were better. True, I was just comparing here (as in Shanghai) with there (as in BC). I know that there are plenty of places in Canada where people would stare and ridicule minorities. I speak highly of BC (even though it has its own problems), but I know that Canada as a whole isn't always as harmonious as us Canadians would like to think. Exactly. And it's after I get comfortable with these little things that I'll begin to appreciate Shanghai more. Now that I've found superstores where I can buy my essentials--cheese, potatoes, milk, and other unhealthy western trash--I feel MUCH better. ;D Yes, I want to meet the migrants and foreigners from elsewhere in Asia. I enjoy living in the dorms here because I get a lot of contact with Japanese people, who I tend to get along with really well. It's interesting to see how well everyone has adapted. I've seen a couple Uyghur street vendors, but other than that... not really. I know they're here though. People tell me there are a lot of thieves here from Xinjiang and that they carry large knives. Yes! My classes are amazing, and every day I learn so much. I'm already feeling like my time here is invaluable from a language acquisition standpoint. Can't wait to see how things will progress if I study hard enough! Actually, a lot of times I went out of my way to meet them. A lot of my friends back home are Chinese, so it's easy for me to meet more Chinese through them (even the kinds of people that never really work up the courage to speak to white people). Your point is taken though. I'll go out of my way to meet more locals. As soon as I recover from my poor health, I'll make it a priority to go out and meet some locals. I know there must be tons of great people here if I just dig a little below the surface.
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Post by Sensei on Sept 13, 2006 2:17:44 GMT -5
I think my seminal moment was when an old lady in HK (queens road central - wearing pink pajamas, a weathered/mean look on her face and a certifiable "hoarker"), extended her umbrella to shield me from the rain. It just takes one person to turn a stereotype on its head. Agreed. Agreed. haha I finally appreciate Canada's natural beauty. The first thing I want to do when I get back is go for a camping trip. I might also join greenpeace. So maybe now you can understand my disappointment at having a week in Vancouver and not going hiking during the global meet!! I can definitely understand. I'll be going hiking, camping and skiiing when I get home. Canada truly is gorgeous. Just staring up at the stars in the wilderness can be such a spiritual experience.
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Post by Sensei on Sept 13, 2006 2:21:19 GMT -5
Shanghainese have the reputation of being the worst people in China. Personally I like them because at least they're relatively competent at doing their jobs now. People in other parts of China might be generally nice, but at least 90% fall into the worthless idiot / filthy animal category. Sensei, stick with Shanghai and stick with foreigners and you'll be alright. As for HK, ditto. Unless you're hooked up in the joint. I'll see how it goes. I do want to be open-minded... plus, I've met plenty of wonderful Shanghainese that are either studying in Canada or recently emigrated. Surely there are more of the same?
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Post by jefe on Sept 13, 2006 7:12:18 GMT -5
Warning Simon
Sam thinks anything that is ethnic Chinese is scum, and mainland China is a factory for producing scumbags, and although I am not 100% impressed or attracted by things on the mainland, I think scum is all over the earth.
People in HK also think mainlanders are uncouth (and if you see them here, they stick out like an uncouth sore thumb), but we cannot ignore that the typical human being on earth, in general, is Chinese.
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Post by jefe on Sept 13, 2006 7:20:03 GMT -5
Exactly. And it's after I get comfortable with these little things that I'll begin to appreciate Shanghai more. Now that I've found superstores where I can buy my essentials--cheese, potatoes, milk, and other unhealthy western trash--I feel MUCH better. Imagine if you went to, say, to Taiyuan or Shijiazhuang -- > I don't know if Carrefour is there yet. But imagine a mainlander Chinese going to Pocatella, Idaho. There is a lot of anti-Han sentiment expressed by the Han. Just treat what everyone says as an uneducated opinion and find out for yourself. What's wrong? Is this something chronic? China has some attractive areas. Try to do a retreat in Huangshan next month and see the autumn foliage. I think you can do a bus ride on the weekend.
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Post by Sensei on Sept 13, 2006 8:05:57 GMT -5
Warning Simon Sam thinks anything that is ethnic Chinese is scum, and mainland China is a factory for producing scumbags, and although I am not 100% impressed or attracted by things on the mainland, I think scum is all over the earth. Yeah, I can see he is slightly prejudiced. Again, I'm not going to let my first impressions turn me off. My best friend in Canada emigrated from Changsha about 5 years ago, and he is the most supportive, caring guy you'll meet. I'm actually a little ashamed that I almost let my first impressions skew my opinion of mainlanders--given how many Chinese friends I have back home. What's wrong? Is this something chronic? I had some severe allergic reactions coupled with nausea. I went to the hospital and went on IV, but have since recovered from that. Now I'm just trying to defeat the remnants of this cold that I've had for 3 bloody weeks. I'll be fine soon. I've been wanting to go to Huangshan for a while. It's one possibility for the october break. I better get in shape for all those stairs though! ;D
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Post by helles on Sept 13, 2006 8:37:30 GMT -5
^ Huangshan only needs 2 days really - so just a weekend would suffice. Go up it, walk around the top, spend the night, catch the sunrise and go back down. Its easy to get ripped off up there too. For the October holiday, I would recommend going further afield since you have a week off, you can go somewhere different/remote or check out Beijing? I think you're doing pretty good adjusting over there simon!!! ps, if you're feeling a bit ill, watch out for the food.. my friends didnt really take to all the msg in the food and were constantly feeling off for it.. ''bu yao wei jing!!'' (or whatever the correct pin yin is! )
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Post by jenming on Sept 13, 2006 22:28:21 GMT -5
I find that in general, Civilized and "Nice" don't necessarily come with each other. Shanghai probably is the most "civilized" place in china, but the people here, are not culturally Nice - in general. There are lots of places in China where the local culture results in people being completely clueless about hygiene, unable to stop themselves from laughing and pointing at foreigners, unable to understand that anyone should think differently than they do.... but they're horribly good-hearted, and actually Nice people. They just don't know any better, and they're not trying to pretend like they know any better. The people in Shanghai frequently know better, but are just constantly trying to protect themselves from other people, so they don't extend any of the graces they know they could.
When making local friends, Sensei, my experience has been that you will go through a LOT of people, and make a couple of friends. Low return on investment, but in the end, those friends might be worth it.
Take it easy on the alcohol. your immune system is being exposed to an ENTIRELY new set of bacteria, dust, viruses, etc... It took me many months before my body could start to handle it. Alcohol really lowers your body's ability to field new pathogens.
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Post by Sensei on Sept 13, 2006 23:42:26 GMT -5
^ Huangshan only needs 2 days really - so just a weekend would suffice. Go up it, walk around the top, spend the night, catch the sunrise and go back down. Its easy to get ripped off up there too. For the October holiday, I would recommend going further afield since you have a week off, you can go somewhere different/remote or check out Beijing? Beijing would be great just for the Forbidden City and a chance to see the Great Wall. Got a few friends over there as well. Just don't know if I want to rake out the cash for a city I'm really not that interested in. I'd rather see the South--Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong (maybe find my grandparents' village). Hehe, thanks Helen. I don't mind the msg and I actually cook my own food most of the time, so it probably won't become a problem. Besides... I kind of miss msg--very hard to get that sh*t in Canada now. I know my Mahmah and Yehyeh used to throw it in everything back when I was a xiaohaizi. And... GOD I love how cheap some stuff is here. I'll save SO much money if I just eat rice every day. A huge bag, enough to last me 2 weeks is only 12 RMB! Then I'll have spare cash to party in HK this summer.
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Post by isalee on Nov 24, 2006 7:22:58 GMT -5
Have you switched from being connected to your Western culture to your Asian culture, or vice-versa? If so, when did the change begin? What influenced it? For myself, it began in my last two years of high-school. Most of my friends were white--and though I enjoyed their company very much--I felt as though there was a certain connection I lacked with them. I had always listened to Chinese music, and even dabbled in trying to learn Chinese during high school--writing characters in French class, when I should've been practicing passe compose! Yet, it wasn't till I started university that I had the chance to meet a lot of Asians. And that is what sparked my change. I began making more and more Chinese friends, which motivated me to learn more Mandarin, which in turn taught me more about Chinese culture--which made me nostalgic for those traditions from my childhood that I had always taken for granted. Simon, I've done the opposite. But I can't say I'm that much pleased about it. I stick out like a sore thumb and when I think I'm fitting in, I really don't actually. Some guy last night was being such an asshole and shouting "Yellow" really loud, repeatedly and pointing at me. I was having a pretty terrible night at the club, I decided to go home. You get some nice guys who smile at you when you walk by or say hello and that's nice but I feel ignored most of the time because I'm foreign. It's so annoying having to ask what something is all the time, and this is usually when my friends talk about certain films, shops, local food etc. Ugh. But I ask about sooooo much. Makes me feel incredibly stupid. I asked one girl where I would get a cable for my printer and she looked at me as if I was the biggest idiot alive and said "Uh, Curry's Iz!" And I just wanted to say "Well how am I supposed to know that?!" If she went to Singapore, she'd be doing the same thing. Give me a BREAK! Ok. I wasn't sure if this should have gone in the frigging ranting thread but I thought it was relevant to this. There are a lot of bumps on this ride is all I'm saying. I'm still trying to embrace the change, but it's so weird feeling like such an outsider. I never felt like that in Singapore, even if I wasn't considered a local. They can't seem to accept the fact I am half british. One of my friends told me: "All we know is - White, Black and Chinese" So I asked where I fitted in and she said she didn't know. But she said she can see why everyone else thinks I'm Chinese.
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Post by friendswithoutcash on Nov 24, 2006 7:57:48 GMT -5
^ What a f***ing douchebag. I'm sorry that you had to experience such a thing Isa. I remember when i was in Germany people looked at me weirdly. I felt like an outsider too except worse, i couldn't even understand the language. My German friend had to show me the ropes...but since i looked different i was expected to speak bad German where as some of the Australian girls who i went with were expected to speak proper German cause the locals assumed they were German anyway based on their 'white' look. I tried to stick around with as many German-rasied Asians as i could...just so i didn't feel so alone but half of them couldnt speak English..they spoke German.
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