CBC views
Sylvia Yu, living in Beijing, writes about how the Chinese view foriegners.
I think it's interesting how she was invited over for dinner by a Chinese couple simply to be looked at as a trophy. There are many students on campus who want to become our "best friends" simply because of the prestige it brings to hang out with white people. And then there's the fact that you speak English, and all they want to do is practice their English.
Okay, there are many super nice Chinese people who are simply super nice, who don't have any ulterior motives other than to be super nice, I suppose.
Like yesterday, I was looking for hot chocolate. I wanted the powdered hot chocolate I can make with hot water, not hot milk, because hot milk is too complicated to make at home (I don't have a microwave). I was trying to get this across to one of the hundreds of supermarket workers (there's one or two for every aisle; they stand around and yell their prices). She was being really nice about it by actually trying to understand, seeing as the usual reaction to a foreigner asking for anything is "Mayo" ("We don't have it."). But I wasn't being articulate enough ("Chocolate plus hot water, not want this" - pointing to the milk in the picture on the Nesquik box). So a young woman asked me in Chinese, "What language do you speak," and when I didn't understand she switched to English and she explained exactly what I wanted to the helper lady and I was very thankful, and the helper (another one, because there were two trying to help me by this point) eventually found something along the lines of what I wanted, but when I tried it at home it was one of those breakfast drinks with strange stuff in it and it doesn't taste like hot chocolate at all. Oh well. At least I make it with hot water instead of hot milk.
I'm sick today. I didn't work. My students were nice about it. I felt bad about missing a day of work...but it was nice to rest.
I'm bracing for cold weather. Of course, because of the wind, it always feels ten degrees colder than it actually is. I haven't dared go outside today. Loic hibernates in winter, even in France, so what's it going to be like here is beyond me...
Yesterday I walked around Qianmen area (south of Tiananmen) with Gaetan. We went for a brisk two-hour walk around the hutongs but we were quickly frozen and we were back home by 4 PM. I should buy a hat. Yang Yang, my student, lent me his, but I can't keep it indefinitely. That would be unprofessional.
I think it's interesting how she was invited over for dinner by a Chinese couple simply to be looked at as a trophy. There are many students on campus who want to become our "best friends" simply because of the prestige it brings to hang out with white people. And then there's the fact that you speak English, and all they want to do is practice their English.
Okay, there are many super nice Chinese people who are simply super nice, who don't have any ulterior motives other than to be super nice, I suppose.
Like yesterday, I was looking for hot chocolate. I wanted the powdered hot chocolate I can make with hot water, not hot milk, because hot milk is too complicated to make at home (I don't have a microwave). I was trying to get this across to one of the hundreds of supermarket workers (there's one or two for every aisle; they stand around and yell their prices). She was being really nice about it by actually trying to understand, seeing as the usual reaction to a foreigner asking for anything is "Mayo" ("We don't have it."). But I wasn't being articulate enough ("Chocolate plus hot water, not want this" - pointing to the milk in the picture on the Nesquik box). So a young woman asked me in Chinese, "What language do you speak," and when I didn't understand she switched to English and she explained exactly what I wanted to the helper lady and I was very thankful, and the helper (another one, because there were two trying to help me by this point) eventually found something along the lines of what I wanted, but when I tried it at home it was one of those breakfast drinks with strange stuff in it and it doesn't taste like hot chocolate at all. Oh well. At least I make it with hot water instead of hot milk.
I'm sick today. I didn't work. My students were nice about it. I felt bad about missing a day of work...but it was nice to rest.
I'm bracing for cold weather. Of course, because of the wind, it always feels ten degrees colder than it actually is. I haven't dared go outside today. Loic hibernates in winter, even in France, so what's it going to be like here is beyond me...
Yesterday I walked around Qianmen area (south of Tiananmen) with Gaetan. We went for a brisk two-hour walk around the hutongs but we were quickly frozen and we were back home by 4 PM. I should buy a hat. Yang Yang, my student, lent me his, but I can't keep it indefinitely. That would be unprofessional.
posted by Caro at 1:49 PM
2 Comments:
interesting article. i'm not surprised at all by their reactions to black people. the chinese are typically very racist (and ignorant). but then again i'm really just stereotyping.
...and yes they worship white people, of course.
That was a very interesting article - merci!
I couldn't help smiling when I read this:
"As for Asians like me, who look Chinese but don't speak fluently, the locals view us as their hillbilly cousins. Some downright chastise me for not speaking Chinese. I've given up and barely offer up my old answer: "But I'm not Chinese…"
I can relate to her experience, the same thing happened to me in Vancouver's Chinatown! Even being only half Chinese is, apparently, not an excuse for not having learned the language, I guess!
My brother and I both have a very low tolerance for the narrowminded viewpoints of our extended family (he refers to himself as a European). As far as making snide racist comments goes, he get's a bit of his own back, saying that as far as he's concerned, he's entitled to make them against the Chinese since he has Chinese blood too!
;)
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