"My environment"

I recently answered a colleague's email about what I thought about "my environment" here in China and I thought that it would be good fodder for my blog.  It's a rather large and ambiguous question that I put a lot of thought into it.  Realize that what is written below is only just one blip in the real picture:  keeping in mind that I have primarily been exposed to life in the northeast region and resided here for only seven months, thus far.  Also keeping in mind that I do not speak the language well and therefore am not being able to completely immerse myself in the culture.  I realize that this is a limitation.  Others may disagree with my observations, but my experiences hold true.

 

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My environment includes "ex-pat culture," "Chinese culture," and "quality of life":

 

EX-PAT CULTURE

 

The ex-pat culture is interesting.  There are people who are here for professional reasons; young people like myself who are here for the overall life and professional experience; transient backpackers; those to are running from something and/or looking for that special someone; and those who prefer easily-facilitated pleasures and substances.  Westerners are paid very well as teachers, multiple times that which a Chinese teacher and common citizens earn.  Salaries are such for retention and attraction purposes.

 

CHINESE CULTURE

 

I have been told that some of the Chinese culture is reminiscent of America in the 1950's. Chinese are usually kind and many times curious people when it comes to Westerners.  However, they appear rarely kind to each other outside of their immediate family.  For those who are genuinely-friendly, friendships are generally automatic, assisting each other and not one over the other.  In the tradition of Chinese culture, someone is a friend until proven otherwise; unlike the converse in the West.  Many Chinese are likely to become "friends" with you only to practice their English and use you as a tool.  Many Westerners grow tired of this (especially those in the education field) and some eventually refuse to associate themselves with Chinese, sticking to the ex-pat circles for social occasions.  However, the Chinese friends that I do have are genuine and prefer a reciprocal relationship.  I have been fortunate in this because I have met them via other Westerners, so they have been "screened for genuineness," per se.  My Chinese friends are very helpful and make living here much more rewarding.

 

A Western face automatically means money on the street, as like most places outside America.  Everything is done very slowly and usually at the last minute, if it hasn't been ignored un/intentionally, which can be highly frustrating at times.  There are ALWAYS travel delays and "hurry-up and wait" is not uncommon.  Requiring patience is truly a virtue here.  Roads and driving habits are miraculously-controlled, complete chaos.  (I heard a joke going around that said that a Chinese person was asked by a foreign friend why driving habits were so bad.  He then asked what the yellow and white lines on the road were used for.  The Chinese friend replied that the lines were only there for comfort of visiting foreigners.)  Time and time again, I hear ex-pats who have traveled around the world that any culture can be perceived and generalized by a nations' driving habits.

 

The culture in my home city is particularly interesting as compared to other cities in China.  The northeast (dong bei) region here is traditionally conservative.  The city here has a limited proportion of "city people," as most have come from the countryside within one generation.  Immigrants from the countryside bring their rural habits, which can be quite crude and offending at times, as compared to Western standards (this is where many Westerners face a bit of culture shock all around China).  Much of it can be perceived as ignorance.

 

Life here is ruled by money and "guan xi" (professional relationships/networking), exponentially moreso here than in most Western nations.  Everything is related back to something being economically-viable and there are few visible domestic philanthropic efforts and individual acts of giving.  If there are, then it is always believed that someone somewhere has been adventagious.  Class is gained here by luck, guan xi, not "ruffling feathers", and business ingenuity.  I hear that there is a growing neuvo-riche who deal in realestate.

 

QUALITY OF LIFE

 

My quality of life is about the equivalent of earning a pre-tax salary of $40-50K USD, living in a city without a car.  My plushly-furnished, spacious apartment is supplied by the university.  I can individually-afford for someone to keep my apartment orderly, enjoy Chinese traditional medical treatments, have a mobile phone (for social and lingual emergencies), socialize on a weekly basis with other ex-pats, and save about a quarter of my salary (to travel on).  It's a nice life over here.  A tad different from what I will be looking at when I return State-side.

 

Comparing different teaching opportunities in China, working for a university may not enable a high salary compared to the private sector (5-10K+ RMB per month), but it entails more benefits than the private sector, stability, and freedom to teaching a topic.  University benefits include reimbursements for travel and visa costs, furnished housing, health insurance, holiday pay, limited work hours of 12-16 hours per week in class, and government-sanctioned rights via a Foreign Experts Certificate.  All in all, not too shabby.  Many ex-pats stay in the university sector and continue to live in China because it's stable and has a higher quality of life than that which they previously had in the States:  however, it's my understanding that salaries generally don't increase much over time, so there is a ceiling and tenure probably isn't offered, unless one has developed a network.

 

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This is MY experience and it has been an overall enjoyable one that I will always remember and look upon fondly.  Living and maintaining sanity here comes with a part of accepting and understanding (and at times, prying to understand).  Taking the good with the bad and examining East and West.