Studying in China. Segregation
tianfeng
June 29, 2007, 06:53 PM posted in General DiscussionThis will not be the same questions that most people ask (what school show I go to? Is ----- a good choice?) because I lived in China I taught at universities and I already know what it is like. I am wondering if anyone here has or is studying in China now and how segregated they were from the rest of the student population. I am starting at the end of aug at Zheda and I plan on getting an apartment off campus. Right now I am not loaded with cash so I was hoping to live in the cheap Chinese dorm until I find a place with my brother. My Japanese baseball teammates told me that at 北京外贸大学 they were paying about 200 rmb per month. That sounded great to me because all I am looking for is a place to stay when I am tired and to keep my books. I also want to be involved in the universities student life. I was, however, told that at Zheda that I am not allowed to live with the Chinese students. I am only allowed to live in the separate foreign dorm that costs 10 times as much and only foreigners are allowed. I am also not allowed to play on the official university sports team because I am a foreigner. I am a pretty good basketball player and I played for my university in Canada. I was hoping I could tryout for the university team and make some friends quick but it look like that a no go.
Anyone who has seen a Chinese dorm is probably wondering why the hell I would want to live there anyway. Despite their cramped quarters and communal facilities, I still think it would be the best way to fit in. I know I am always going to be a foreigner and I am proud to be Canadian, but I could be a student and a roommate to some rather than just another foreigner. Maybe I am just overreacting to the segragation but it does set up walls between foreign and Chinese people. I worked at an english summer camp as a teacher and was the same age as all of the university students who were working with me. I, however, was put up in an entirely different building and had a single room while they stayed in a room next to the students. It really separated us at first and I feel I wold have rather stayed with them. In the end we worked past it but they were not even allowed to come to my room and hang out.
I hope this separation dosen't make it hard to enjoy my time there. I can't believe that there is even a separate cafeteria for foreign students. If anyone has had any experience with this while studying or just in everyday life let me know.
tianfeng
July 19, 2007, 12:39 PMI actually read that for my class this year. I think I posted something about it here somewhere. He really is a great writer and has some interesting insight in to what was going on at the time. I just figured that things had changed since the 1980's but it looks like some things have still stayed the same; which in different instances can be good or bad. I really enjoyed the first section when he mentioned about how frustrating it can be in China sometimes but when that happened you really have to sit back and enjoy the differences rather than be frustrated by them. His section on using basketball to make friends echoed my entire 3 years in China. Being able to dunk will certainly make you a lot of friends quickly. I used to divide my games up into two type. One was competitive, like when my team played the team at 北京体育大学 and won，and the other I called "making friends" basketball. It never tried to swat every shot or to muscle my way into people. I would just chat and relax and try to use my Chinese as much as possible. I met my best friend in HK at the taipo basketball court at eight land gardens. We played on the same team for months, every night playing pickup and then all going out to have dinner together. It is amazing how sports can help you fit in and even bridge any language barriers.
danjo
July 19, 2007, 01:40 PMI had a similar experience my first term, but using music to make friends. I'm an experienced guitar player and I made my first Chinese friends when I bought a guitar at a local shop and got to know the owner, and also occasionally practiced and performed with his band. Besides Chinese rock he's really into Hotel California. My Chinese was very basic then and they didn't speak English (other than curse words and vocabulary from Counter Strike) but we got by. In the guitar shop I also made friends with a teacher who could speak basic English and taught me a lot of Chinese. By the way, what are you going to grad school for? I'm looking at graduate school programs now, especially China Studies/International Studies.
tianfeng
July 19, 2007, 08:11 PMIt will probably be Asian languages or anthropology. I am looking at Stanford and Columbia who both have very well established programs.
tianfeng
July 19, 2007, 08:14 PMPS. I am probably the worst singer and musician in the world so I never had that ability. I avoided KTV's like the plague but lots of people say I sing much better in Chinese than English. But again, I was so bad it wasn't so hard to improve on.
danjo
July 19, 2007, 11:50 AMThis is not quite an answer to your question but I read an excellent book that partly talks about living in a Chinese dormitory as a foreign student (in the early 80's, when universities had recently reopened after the Cultural Revolution): "Chinese Lessons: Five Classmates and the Story of the New China" by John Pomfret. http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Lessons-Classmates-Story-China/dp/0805086641/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-7099920-6132760?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184846716&sr=8-1