Teaching in China? Don’t Freak Out When…

China can be an out-of-this-world experience and many people aren’t prepared for some of things they might encounter in the Middle Kingdom. So, if you’re teaching in China, please don’t freak out when…

• people stare
• someone of the same gender holds your hand or asks you to dance (this is a sign of friendship)
• you wash your clothes for the first time and your rinse water is black
• people rummage through your grocery cart
• people put food on your plate
• people call you fat to your face
• you blow your nose and your snot is black (coal is used in some cities and the air is full of smoke)
• your water is turned off
• you can’t flush your toilet
• people get up close and personal (Our sense of personal space is different from theirs)
• people jump in front of you in line or you get pushed out of the way
• people randomly shout out, “Hallo!” and then giggle
• cars, buses, bikes and mule carts do not wait for you to cross the street
• you end up driving with a taxi driver who seems to have a death wish
• your empty or near empty glass is refilled to the brim
• someone wants to touch your hair or the hair on your arms and legs
• someone asks you how much money you make
• someone raises your sweater or shirt to see if you are wearing enough warm clothes
• you are greeted at the door by family members in long underwear
• you get on the train and realize everyone is in their long underwear
• people smoke in the hospitals
• you visit a doctor in the hospital and your examination room is full of strangers and other medical people
• the doctors ask you to lie on the table, pull your shirt up, pull your pants down and give a stool sample with 20-30 people watching you (It’s OK to say no!)
• the person in front of you spits on the ground
• someone farts or burps in public
• you are staying in a nice hotel and in the middle of the night, you get a phone call asking if you need anything special like a massage
• you experience overt corruption like bribes to police officers or ticket sellers
• you take the train and everyone uses the bottom bunks, sometimes yours, as the common sitting area
• the stairway leading up to your apartment is filled with bicycles, trash, vegetables and other assorted pieces of junk
• your beer is served warm
• you walk into a clothing store and the sales girls tell you they don’t have anything in plus sizes
• you can see the head and the eyes of the animal that was cooked for you
• you don’t really know what you’re eating
• people read your magazine over your shoulder on the bus/subway
• people ask to be your best friend even though they’ve just seen you on the street for the first time
• your water, gas, and electricity bills are glued to your front door
• you pay more at the market then your Chinese friends
• people smoke – EVERYWHERE