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sarahs
Raver
Joined: July 19, 2005
Posts: 445
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 Posted:
July 12, 2006 - 06:51 PM |
 
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| Post subject: you don't look american |
Recently, I've had locals outright laugh at me when I tell them where I am from , the States. They laugh heartily, and say "that's pretty funny, you don't look american. so where are you really from?" Even when I'm speaking English with another person, they still cannot seem to comprehend this fact. This one guy asked me four times where I'm really from. He kept asking me if I was sure I wasn't from Korea or Singapore.
Why is it so difficult for chinese to comprehend that people who look like them can be from somewhere else? Have they not heard of emigration? |
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"The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough." |
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pist-agn
Ranter
Joined: Nov 16, 2004
Posts: 501
Location: Canada - soon to be Shanghai
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July 12, 2006 - 09:38 PM |
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Well, where are you really from?  |
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Kiwi
Post Boaster
Joined: May 07, 2003
Posts: 4763
Status: Offline
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July 12, 2006 - 09:43 PM |
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I occasionally have people tell me I must be half Chinese, because I speak Chinese and am not blond, so therefore I can't be a 'real foreigner'.
In Taiwan one of my Chinese teachers explained to me that I wasn't a 'real foreigner' like his blonde Russian girlfriend. |
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[offensive signature removed by ADMIN] |
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sarahs
Raver
Joined: July 19, 2005
Posts: 445
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July 13, 2006 - 09:43 AM |
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^unbelievable |
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"The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough." |
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shanghaiceltic
Board Royalty
Joined: Sep 20, 2005
Posts: 7588
Location: Perth WA
Status: Offline
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July 13, 2006 - 12:41 PM |
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I get mistaken for being a German! even though I am not carrying towels |
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I have parrallel bars at home, one for gin and one for whiskey |
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sarahs
Raver
Joined: July 19, 2005
Posts: 445
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July 13, 2006 - 12:44 PM |
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What do towels have anything to do with being german? |
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"The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough." |
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acujerjer
Board Royalty
Joined: Sep 10, 2003
Posts: 7770
Location: up your butt and around the corner
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July 13, 2006 - 01:21 PM |
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HAHA. You seem so much more disilusiond than when I saw you last. Call me and we'll hang out again.
There is no end to the stupidity here. Just expect it. They don't get it! |
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sarahs
Raver
Joined: July 19, 2005
Posts: 445
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July 13, 2006 - 03:30 PM |
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How am i disillusioned? |
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"The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough." |
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shanghaiceltic
Board Royalty
Joined: Sep 20, 2005
Posts: 7588
Location: Perth WA
Status: Offline
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July 13, 2006 - 06:10 PM |
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Germans like to reserve the best poolside seat and deckchairs by weapons of mass reservation, inb their case the dreaded towel. Spain and Greece are often invaded by towel bearing Germans. |
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I have parrallel bars at home, one for gin and one for whiskey |
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HeadHonchoHonkie
Raver
Joined: June 07, 2006
Posts: 471
Status: Offline
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July 13, 2006 - 09:36 PM |
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i got a 13 year old student 1st day ask me " y arent ur eyes blue?"
they r half green ok? what i cant teach because i didnt put blue contacts in? |
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Drunk in the morning |
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sarahs
Raver
Joined: July 19, 2005
Posts: 445
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July 14, 2006 - 11:49 AM |
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From my students, I get questions like
"You're from the states? ...
Then why do you look like one of us?
Then why do you have black hair?
Are you Asian?
The questions are so predictable..exactly the same for all the new students I encounter. |
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"The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough." |
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StMichael
Ranter
Joined: Feb 19, 2005
Posts: 582
Location: Qibao, Shanghai
Status: Offline
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July 14, 2006 - 11:54 AM |
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The Chinese grow up in a homogenous and relatively sheltered society, unlike those of us who grew up in Singapore or the States. It is really very common for them to think that USA+Europe=white, Africa=black and the rest of the world=yellow. |
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Michael Chan www.senseimichael.com |
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sarahs
Raver
Joined: July 19, 2005
Posts: 445
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July 14, 2006 - 11:59 AM |
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When I patiently explain that the US is a very diverse country filled with African Americans, Hispanics, and other Asians, they all nod vigorously saying they already know. They definitely know that the US is not just white, cause they ask me about the black hip hop culture in the US. |
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"The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough." |
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StMichael
Ranter
Joined: Feb 19, 2005
Posts: 582
Location: Qibao, Shanghai
Status: Offline
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July 14, 2006 - 12:05 PM |
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Ah...then they're just trying to find an excuse to get to find out more about you! Children are like this - I've been teaching them for more than 7 years! |
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Michael Chan www.senseimichael.com |
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acujerjer
Board Royalty
Joined: Sep 10, 2003
Posts: 7770
Location: up your butt and around the corner
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July 14, 2006 - 01:44 PM |
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| sarahs wrote: |
From my students, I get questions like
"You're from the states? ...
Then why do you look like one of us?
Then why do you have black hair?
Are you Asian?
The questions are so predictable..exactly the same for all the new students I encounter. |
Sarah we get this shiit all the time especially if you hang out with locals. They view the world as sterotypes. America is white and rich Africa is black and poor. They will understand after you explain about diversity, but yhere it is all about following ther party line. Their whole view of reality is based on generalizations, and they are happy like that. |
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sarahs
Raver
Joined: July 19, 2005
Posts: 445
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July 14, 2006 - 04:05 PM |
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Yea, my friend from South Africa complains of this too. He's white, but since he's from Africa he should be black. |
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"The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough." |
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acujerjer
Board Royalty
Joined: Sep 10, 2003
Posts: 7770
Location: up your butt and around the corner
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July 14, 2006 - 07:02 PM |
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I think you get top the point where you expect ALL of them to think like this, instead of being surprised when one does. |
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sarahs
Raver
Joined: July 19, 2005
Posts: 445
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July 15, 2006 - 01:00 PM |
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Wo ming bai. But it's just annoying. |
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"The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough." |
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acujerjer
Board Royalty
Joined: Sep 10, 2003
Posts: 7770
Location: up your butt and around the corner
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July 15, 2006 - 04:22 PM |
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Yeah it never ceases to be annoying. The worst is when you are in another country like the states and they call the locals foreigners. I'll never forget seeing some of my acupuncture teaches sitting around a table in my old school in San Frqancisco talking about the "wai guo ren" reffering to Americans. I think if you break that down, it pretty much says it all. China is a cult not a country. |
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yu888
Board Deity
Joined: Jan 25, 2003
Posts: 17976
Location: ZhongShanParkArea SH
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July 17, 2006 - 02:13 PM |
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i dont look "american" but i am american. but i dont get annoyed anymore b/c i realse that its a bit challenging for some folks here to get a handle on the fact that unlike here in china, one one is born in he US, they ARE americna, and unlike here in China, there is diversity amongst its population. Its just ignorance and you can eithe rbe annoyed or just learn to roll with it. Most of the time they don't mean anything negative about it. Its just a mindset that will not change unless we continually challenge them. After a few years, it will get better...no, they wont change, easier to chaneg one's own perspective and tolerance, makes life easier. |
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Thoughts & updates about Shanghai On my Blog for more details:Random Thoughts about Living in Shanghai...and more |
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sarahs
Raver
Joined: July 19, 2005
Posts: 445
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July 17, 2006 - 02:21 PM |
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Very true. I should be more tolerant. It's just each time I start a new class, the whole class gets in a tizzy- "ta shi zhong guo ren!" "ta zhen me bu shi wai guo ren a!" Then I have to go through the process of calming them down and answering the exact same questions. I guess I wouldn't mind as much if I was an attention seeker. |
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"The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough." |
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yu888
Board Deity
Joined: Jan 25, 2003
Posts: 17976
Location: ZhongShanParkArea SH
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July 17, 2006 - 03:00 PM |
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Ha, with THOSE classes, you just go thru the entire first class greeting students and parents in english only. Your behavior and body langugae will clearly come across as American. THEN when you have them convinced, you can turn on your chinese  just my suggestion. |
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Thoughts & updates about Shanghai On my Blog for more details:Random Thoughts about Living in Shanghai...and more |
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sarahs
Raver
Joined: July 19, 2005
Posts: 445
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July 17, 2006 - 03:43 PM |
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Ooo..I never let on that I can understand everything they say. I pretend I know only yi dian dian chinese and I never speak it. I made the mistake of letting one class know I spoke chinese, and after that it was mayhem- I lost all form of control and authority for that class and they would never speak English. And then, get this, they started telling everyone that I was a "crazy" teacher even though they were the obnoxiously loud crazies! |
_________________
"The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough." |
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acujerjer
Board Royalty
Joined: Sep 10, 2003
Posts: 7770
Location: up your butt and around the corner
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July 17, 2006 - 06:57 PM |
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But this is an amazing opportunity to see how Chinese think as a culture. China is not a country, it is a bloodline. So you are not American to them. You are a Chinese living in America. The only difference between them and you is where you live. It is this kind of thinking that really scares me. |
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StMichael
Ranter
Joined: Feb 19, 2005
Posts: 582
Location: Qibao, Shanghai
Status: Offline
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July 17, 2006 - 11:49 PM |
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Hmm...you are so right acujerjer! When I first arrived and introduced myself as a Singaporean, they are more interested in the fact that my grandfather came from Fujian (where in Fujian my grandfather came from is all history to me!). To them, those of us from the Chinese diaspora is always part of them - perhaps that explains the different treatment as well. |
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Michael Chan www.senseimichael.com |
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