You're a 10 yr old Chinese boy. What do you like?

zhenlijiang
April 16, 2010, 10:48 AM posted in General Discussion

Hi--need a little help here!
Could anyone tell me what are some things fourth-grader (city) boys in China would be into now? Games? TV shows? Sports teams? Who are their heroes? Anything at all.

I've been given a chance to 交流 with some kids (grades 4-6) from Hangzhou visiting Tokyo in a school exchange next week. Other than helping them communicate (but I'm afraid a lot of that is going to consist of "sorry, could you say that again a lot more slowly, in simple language?" and "uh sorry, could you say that in English please?") two days at school, I'll also be staying at my friends' who are hosting two of the fourth grader boys for the three nights.
I was friends with the host mom first. When the two kids--姐姐现在上初中,弟弟上小学--came along they also became my friends. (^v^)   It will be like a mini-camp with all those kids sleeping in the same house, so much fun just having dinner together and scrambling in the morning with four kids (+ me) getting ready for school at once. 我很兴奋!

I do remember what it's like to be a ten-year-old, but that was in quite a different era. Also I was never a boy. Any clues would be greatly appreciated!  谢谢   (^o^)丿

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suansuanru
April 11, 2010, 04:51 PM

yes,i think many kids like to play computer games now.

And i have a little brother(grade5) who likes to watch "喜洋洋和灰太狼"all day.Ah,and dont forget the japanese animation like Doraemon and Naruto,that will have a strong appeal to the boys.

 

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zhenlijiang

Hey thanks for that suansuanru! Very much appreciated. You have a brother in grade 5! That's just perfect. Oh so Doraemon is still popular among kids then? Is it still running on TV now?

Could I also ask you, how much time do kids like your brother have after school every day to watch TV or play? How much homework do they get? Do many kids join sports teams or clubs, or not so much? Many boys in Japan join either a baseball or soccer team, or maybe take swimming lessons. How about in Chinese cities?

Sorry to bombard you with so many questions. I understand if you can't answer them all. But anything you can tell me will be very very useful and interesting. Thanks again!

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suansuanru

oh,I am glad to help.

Yes,Doraemon is still very popular. I am not sure weather it is on TV now,but it was always.

I dont think the kids have plent of time to play after school, actually their parents will limit the time of watching TV. They can play with their friends when the homework was done. And their homework is not too much.

My brother(actually I mean cousin)likes basketball and computer games,but i guess he isn't a member of any club. And i will say study is still the most important thing when he is a kid. But if the boy cannot get high marks even for one time,the parents will think of an other way for his future like painting or singsing.

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zhenlijiang

Hi and thanks again suansuanru! Yeah I guess Chinese kids too are under a lot of pressure to do well at school. I'm glad to hear their homework isn't too much though.

Does your cousin have any heroes? Maybe an NBA star or someone like that?

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suansuanru

ah,let me think,i dont really know about this sorry.

If he does,i think usually the hero is not a real person.

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zhenlijiang

Hey suansuanru, no need for apologies!

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zhenlijiang
April 11, 2010, 05:06 PM

Hey thanks for that suansuanru! Very much appreciated. You have a brother in grade 5! That's just perfect. Oh so Doraemon is still popular among kids then? Is it still running on TV now?

Could I also ask you, how much time do kids like your brother have after school every day to watch TV or play? How much homework do they get? Do many kids join sports teams or clubs, or not so much? Many boys in Japan join either a baseball or soccer team, or maybe take swimming lessons. How about in Chinese cities?

Sorry to bombard you with so many questions. I understand if you can't answer them all. But anything you can tell me will be very very useful and interesting. Thanks again!

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changye
April 12, 2010, 03:37 AM

Hi zhenlijiang

中国小朋友们能否成为哈日族(或者是亲日派/知日派)都靠你的表现,“阿姨”,加油!

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bababardwan

哈哈大笑。。。没有压力

对,加油阿姨

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zhenlijiang

哎呀,没想到压力这么大,这次外交活动我还是不敢参加!

其实我打算让小朋友们叫我‘真’——这个不行吗?

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changye

你强制孩子们叫你“真姐”怎么样?

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bodawei
April 12, 2010, 03:46 AM

Hi Zhenlijiang

My input relates to 'Hangzhou' and 'visiting Tokyo' - these kids are a world apart from the ten year old boys I have 'taught' voluntarily a couple of times here on the edge of my city. Hangzhou (where I also lived for about a year) is by some measures China's richest city, and the people live a vastly different life to most of the rest. Don't assume that they are representative of China at large.

Re: 'my' ten year olds - they are fun and boisterous. They don't know their pinyin very well (have talked about this before), but they should have plenty to say! Good luck.

And don't forget to say that 西湖 is beautiful!

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zhenlijiang

Bodawei I was hoping you'd have some input, I know you've lived in Hangzhou. Yes exactly--I've gathered these kids are from very well-off families, and their campus looks like some "western" private school. I knew it would make a difference where in China they're coming from.

Well so I get to practice what Chinese I am able to speak, and have 10 year old kids trash it to my face and correct my pronunciation! It will be a blast.

Perhaps unintentionally, you bring up a point I find worth discussing re meeting Chinese people. I would mention the 西湖 as, along with 龙井茶, that is what I know about HZ--I would say it is beautiful if I'd been to see it actually, But I've never been to HZ. I will say that when we were visiting 上海 I really wanted to go to HZ and have tea by the lake but my friend had already been, so we went to 苏州 instead but that I would have much preferred a day in HZ. All of this is true, so no problem. What I'm saying is I'd like very much to keep the "lip service", as we Japanese like to say, at the absolute minimal level. I strive for no BS at all of course. If it's one thing that would make my heart sink it would be seeing children spew off a lot of pleasantries, saying "all the right things" with no connection to their hearts.

I know the kids are raised and taught to be polite and say good things about the other, and there is nothing wrong with that of course. And I am expecting nothing short of a terrific time and lots of laughs. Your last remark did get me picturing parents and teachers as they send off the Hangzhou kids, reminding them in such a way--Don't forget to mention that Mt. Fuji is magnificent! though.

OK I'm really manufacturing worries here aren't I. But you know kids are superior to us grownups in many ways, and I just hate seeing that part of them spoiled by over-conditioning and training.

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bababardwan

my heart sink it would be seeing children spew off a lot of pleasantries, saying "all the right things" with no connection to their hearts.

我真同意。。。this is one thing that makes little kids so delightful...their honesty and their take on the world,even if the truth can be unintentionally brutal at times....and no one minds...usually it just makes people smile.I too hate lip service...empty words and so it's refreshing to see you write this zhen. The flip side of this is that I am particularly taken with natural scenery,especially great mountains and waterfalls and the like,and it'd be a shame not to be able to express one's wonder and amazement at natures treasures without someone suspecting you were just saying it because others do.

btw ,I suspect our mate bodawei was being somewhat tongue in cheek. He has a subtle sense of humour.

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bodawei

Dear Zhenlijiang

I respect your search for the truth (I am a fellow traveller - my search for truth has got me into trouble over the years.)

But - there are approximately 1.3 billion Mainland Chinese who have never seen 西湖 who will swear black and blue that 西湖很漂亮. Ditto every other famous site. So I guess you up against that culture difference. You can always say 听说西湖很漂亮 。。 and they won't break your arm. ;) In fact, telling them the truth offers you more opportunities to converse.

When I'm feeling out of sorts I sometimes say, oh.. so you have been there?Inevitably there is a blank look, as though that is not important. And when people who have never been out of their home town say to me .. 'oh, Kunming - it is like Spring all year round!', I say 'But it DOES snow in Winter', and I get genuine confusion. They actually BELIEVE that it is Spring all year round. [Actually now I have lived here a while, I can take that off my list of complaints - this city IS like Spring all year round - it is the only Chinese myth that actually seems to be true.]

'I would have much preferred a day in HZ'

I don't want to sound too parochial but that is my thoughts exactly.

'with no connection to their hearts'

I'm afraid the 'pleasantries' are not pleasantries - they come from deep-down learned behaviours, and they are voiced with a lot of emotion. So, don't worry about them not being genuine - these things they say are hard wired.

'over conditioning and training'

Hmm - I am a kind of China enthusiast, as your may have gathered, and I approve of a lot of what the youth of China are taught. I like a lot of the old values. But mindless nationalism is a minus. I also wonder if the 'brainwashing' problem is overstated - a very rough statistic is that I would say only about ten percent of my students have a problem thinking for themselves, and it is about specific things linked to China's rise. :-)

You could ask them where they live in Hangzhou, 在西湖区 (near the lake)? I actually did live in 西湖区 - quite a pretty part of Hangzhou, but there are many other picturesque parts of the city. The mountains that 'wrap around' Hangzhou warm my heart!

'kids are superior to grown-ups in many ways'

Absolutely - I totally agree. So many reasons. :)

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bababardwan

听说 is exactly what I was thinking would be the best thing to say as it opens up the conversation,etc.,and is quite true.

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zhenlijiang

Hey you've given me even more insights than I'd hoped for Bodawei! Do you realize just how interesting these things you're saying are? 我要谢谢你。

My mind, thankfully, is flexible enough to enjoy talking with the kids about our respective hometowns without getting all nutty (oh as for my dislike of BS ... it's just that I have little patience with charades, even among grownups)! haha. Even if Hangzhou didn't happen to be a place I still really do want to visit, it will not be at all hard to ask the kids dozens of questions out of genuine interest.

So was that a somewhat tongue-in-cheek remark up there, as Baba suggested might be the case?

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bababardwan

how interesting these things you're saying are? 我要谢谢你。

。。。我同意

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bodawei

When I hear '西湖 is beautiful!' I have a laugh for all the wrong reasons!

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zhenlijiang

Bodawei and Baba looking back here, it is all my fault for going off on a weird tangent but I've obviously given you reason for concern, 不好意思。Please don't worry, I'm not going to go all loopy on the kids. And of course I can express my admiration for and interest in a place I haven't yet been to, without actually declaring '西湖 is beautiful!'.

Oh and thank you for reminding me of 上有天堂,下有苏杭.

[I still need to get my head around:

don't worry about them not being genuine - these things they say are hard wired

"hard wired", meaning? Could you elaborate on this Bodawei?]

I was not at all thinking brainwashing or Chinese people being unable to think for themselves when I mentioned "over-conditioning / training"; I was thinking of a cultural difference. Chinese kids (the achievers I guess) seem to be encouraged to do a lot more performing and reciting--putting on a show--than kids in Japan, which is probably why of course as adults we're such poor public speakers and performers in general. And not that kids doing a recital is bad in itself of course, just that it can never be like delightful like kids just being themselves. 还是自然的笑容和笑声最好!

Anyway. I've just learned the names of the boys who'll be staying with us, learned they have the same birthday (one day after mine). I have plans to get them to help me surprise host mom, who'll be having her birthday the day they have to go. We'll see how well I can organize that in Chinese!

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bodawei

'hard wired' - sorry for resorting to jargon. Think of everything you learn up to about the age of 12 years - that is 'hard-wired'. It's how we transmit culture and it is difficult to behave contrary to what you have learned in this period. ('Hard-wired' may be a reference to what goes into a silicon chip, as compared to the software that the chip runs. The software can be readily changed, but the characteristics of the chip are largely fixed. But I am not a techie; maybe someone else has a better explanation.)

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bababardwan
April 12, 2010, 06:02 AM

哈哈大笑。。。没有压力

对,加油阿姨

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zhenlijiang
April 12, 2010, 09:58 AM

Bodawei I was hoping you'd have some input, I know you've lived in Hangzhou. Yes exactly--I've gathered these kids are from very well-off families, and their campus looks like some "western" private school. I knew it would make a difference where in China they're coming from.

Well so I get to practice what Chinese I am able to speak, and have 10 year old kids trash it to my face and correct my pronunciation! It will be a blast.

Perhaps unintentionally, you bring up a point I find worth discussing re meeting Chinese people. I would mention the 西湖 as, along with 龙井茶, that is what I know about HZ--I would say it is beautiful if I'd been to see it actually, But I've never been to HZ. I will say that when we were visiting 上海 I really wanted to go to HZ and have tea by the lake but my friend had already been, so we went to 苏州 instead but that I would have much preferred a day in HZ. All of this is true, so no problem. What I'm saying is I'd like very much to keep the "lip service", as we Japanese like to say, at the absolute minimal level. I strive for no BS at all of course. If it's one thing that would make my heart sink it would be seeing children spew off a lot of pleasantries, saying "all the right things" with no connection to their hearts.

I know the kids are raised and taught to be polite and say good things about the other, and there is nothing wrong with that of course. And I am expecting nothing short of a terrific time and lots of laughs. Your last remark did get me picturing parents and teachers as they send off the Hangzhou kids, reminding them in such a way--Don't forget to mention that Mt. Fuji is magnificent! though.

OK I'm really manufacturing worries here aren't I. But you know kids are superior to us grownups in many ways, and I just hate seeing that part of them spoiled by over-conditioning and training.

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zhenlijiang
April 12, 2010, 10:36 AM

哎呀,没想到压力这么大,这次外交活动我还是不敢参加!

其实我打算让小朋友们叫我‘真’——这个不行吗?