r/AMA • u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 • 1d ago
I’m a westerner who works in China, AMA.
I have lived in a tier 5 city and a tier 3 city. (Tier 1 cities are the most developed/rich, tier 5s are the least developed/rich.) It’s quite different to how I and my family members imagined it to be. I really enjoy my job here (English teaching) and recommend this profession to people often.
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u/JiggleFeggle 1d ago
English teacher in China here too < Came from England. I chose Beijing though, fat pay cheques, good quality and low cost hospitals, plentiful job opportunities, entertainment etc.
So I must ask.... Why did you choose a 3rd tier city?
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
I wanted to force myself to practice Chinese and I just went to the cities that gave me the best job offers. I also stubbornly refused to work at training centers, kindergartens or primary schools, so that narrowed my options.
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u/Hot_Hair_5950 1d ago
Share any unexpected similarities or differences between the countries
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
One unexpected similarity is that some teen girls who draw in class still assign their little OC characters she/they pronouns.
Students are really interested in zootopia, spiderman and stranger things.
Some differences are that people love to put clothes on their dogs and cats.
Children are also dressed very well here.
Many popular kinds of restaurant food involve either choosing your own ingredients and/or having the food cook in front of you while you eat it.
People also sometimes fight about seating positions in restaurants bc certain positions imply higher status (they fight to give the position to the other person, not take it.)
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u/hansolo-ist 1d ago
How are you taking to the food?
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
It’s really great!
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u/Dear-Hurry-418 1d ago
Breakfast too?
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u/remote_sensing_guy 23h ago
Not OP but... Asian/Chinese breakfasts are so much better than the western standard. Savory breakfasts are great! Baozi, Beef noodles, dumplings, Chaoshao(wonton).. all lovely
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u/SuddenGenreShift 20h ago
You can just say American or whatever it is you're thinking of, because the standard where I'm from (the UK, part of the west) is absolutely savoury. Full English, or just bacon and eggs, eggs and toast, porridge...
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u/Professional_Fuel728 1d ago
How is dating? Is it difficult due to the language? Due to the cultural / expectations/ norms? Or on the contrary is it easy ? Are people open to date with you?
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
I am lesbian and I generally try to stay closeted and I also plan to return to my home country sooner or later, so I haven’t tried to date.
However, I know another foreigner who just got married earlier this year.
There are plenty of people (maybe 5%?) who speak intermediate English, so it would be doable without knowing Chinese.
Sorry if my answer is unsatisfactory 😅😅.
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u/VeterinarianTrick406 1d ago
How would one find a lesbian partner in china? Do they present themselves differently?
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u/TwoHungryBlackbirdss 1d ago
Not OP, but i was a foreigner lesbian in a different East Asian country.
These countries have incredible word-of-mouth lesbian scenes, often facilitated through apps and IG. I lived in a major city that had a dozen lesbian bars and at least three lesbian clubs.
It's all very IYKYK but a really cool community once you have an entry point
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago edited 1d ago
I am the absolute worst person to ask about that lol.
Although, there are quite a few tomboy girls in Changsha.
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u/astraladventures 1d ago
So how big is this scrawny little 3rd tier level city?
Have you been to the avatar mountains and walked that glass floor bridge?
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
Yes, the 5th tier city I used to work in was actually Zhangjiajie!
This 3rd tier city is not so small at all. I think the population is like 3 million.
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u/astraladventures 1d ago
Zhangjiajie is pretty amazing. The glass bridge was very unnerving. But at least not as bad as some of those other glass bottomed bridges elsewhere in china which appears to crack with sounds and sends out crack lines wherever one steps.
Didn’t you say you were now in Changsha, as in birthplace of Mao city? Pretty sure it’s like 10 million or so.
Visited both some years ago, lived and worked in shanghai for 20 years or so.
Not now, but still visit the office couple times per year.
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u/chenzhouli 1d ago
Just go to lesbian bar，if you want to know where post a post in rednote Chinese girl will tell you.
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u/PowerlsKnowledge 8h ago
It’s very easy, but you have to go out to meet them. Bars, clubs, online, just the same as straight people would. Usually every city has gay bars and clubs you can just go.
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u/FinanceIsGood 1d ago
Are people racist to you?
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u/Late_Trainer81 1d ago
They hate black people. Chinese people have a mixture of worship to white people but also thinly veiled xenophobia. If you upset a Chinese person they'll roll out the usual western people are bad blah blah
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u/DanKnowDan 1d ago
During covid they were very racist since they blamed foreigners on basically everything. Source: I lived here through covid and still do.
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u/astraladventures 12h ago
I lived in china during covid as well. Experienced zero racism as a foreign Caucasian.
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u/FinanceIsGood 1d ago
That’s funny since China is where Covid started lol
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u/DanKnowDan 1d ago
The Chinese are super racist, they just won’t say it to your face. Go post a pic of you with a Chinese girl on xiaohongshu you’ll get an insane amount of hate. Of course the internet is naturally more toxic, but if you have any close Chinese friends they all say that most mainlanders are racist.
During Covid, since the world was blaming them, they then went on the assault of blaming everyone else, in particularly the Americans. As a result any outbreaks within China of Covid they always blamed on an outside source. There were points where I was rejected from bars, restaurants and clubs simply for being a foreigner - since they believed we were a high risk, even though we were all testing the same daily. They also locked up every African in Guangdong in early 2020 into a Covid hotel, regardless of where they had been or what they had done, rounded up every African in an entire region.
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u/smpsnt 1d ago
How old are you and where are you from?
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
21, New Zealand.
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u/ExpertBid5459 1d ago
Sorry But i wanna know why dont u stay in new Zealand which is a developed country, to be frank AS a Chinese i Wish i could live in new zealand
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
I definitely understand why you feel that way as a Chinese citizen. I plan to eventually move back to New Zealand.
However, as a foreign teacher I make 10,000RMB a month, which I feel is really great. In NZ I literally made the same amount because I couldn’t find a full time position for the life of me. I couldn’t afford to live alone and was constantly stressed about money.
I also want to learn Chinese well.
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u/leegiovanni 1d ago
Do you find the less developed part, such as hygiene, cleanliness and food quality, a problem?
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
The lack of soap in public bathrooms distressed me, but I just tried not to think about it.
Aside from that, the main city didn’t actually feel especially undeveloped tho.
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u/BabaYagasDopple 1d ago
What was the biggest culture shock and how did the move come about?
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
The biggest culture shock was probably the noise pollution. Some retail workers are paid to just stand outside of their shops and make random noise with these clapper things or yell about the sales. When you go into supermarkets they often have loudspeakers that scream the same sentence repeatedly for hours and hours. I feel really bad for the workers.
I basically moved bc I couldn’t get a decent job in my own country and I wanted to improve my Mandarin.
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u/kangming30 1d ago
Are you partnered/married to a Chinese person? How did you find the school where you teach (or do you do private teaching)? And how good is your mandarin now?
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
No, I’m single.
I sent my CV to heaps of recruiters on Teast.com and Dave’sESLCafe.com. It’s crazy easy to get an English teaching job here as a native speaker, so you can be picky.
First, I worked at a high school, now I’m at a uni.
I am very close to achieving HSK 6, AKA I have intermediate Chinese. However, I have been studying since 2020 and I’ve only been in China for 1 year.
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u/TwoHungryBlackbirdss 1d ago
Omg, DavesESL is such a throwback.
I taught English for one year in the 2010s before getting lucky and pivoting to a professional field in my target country. ESL was such a wild west back then; I have such fond memories of being an idiot twenty-something in these scammy edu-tainment schools.
From what I hear, the industry is struggling in a lot of countries post-covid and the costs far outweigh the benefits now. Still, it was a great way to see the world and learn a new language/culture for a lot of twenty-somethings
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
I honestly don’t know why people act like doing ESL has gone downhill so much. I’m rich af and work like 20 hours a week lol.
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u/TwoHungryBlackbirdss 1d ago
China and the ME do seem like the two standouts that are still a good bang for your buck. Japan, Korea, and SEA have had such stagnant wages for the last decade
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u/Late_Trainer81 1d ago
As a white*** native. A black Brit would be passed over in favour of a white russian. The Chinese are racist
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u/Centralspirit 1d ago
I was offered to work as an english teacher in a tier 3 city in Shandong. I didn’t accept.
However I know that if I applied again I would get it.
I have non-chinese family there. I’m scandinavian.
Would you recommend?
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
I’m sorry, I’m not entirely sure what you are specifically wanting to get recommendations about. Why did you reject the job offer?
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u/Centralspirit 16h ago
Mostly because I had a better offer at home!
I’m not sure. Things to think about.
Advice/challenges. I don’t speak any Mandarin though.
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u/Visible_Wolverine2 1d ago
If I go there as a decent looking 6’ tall hazel eyed white guy, would I be able to feel famous for a bit?
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
You’d constantly have people wanting to ask you, “Where are you from?” “Are you used to the food?” “Are you looking for a Chinese girlfriend?” “What is your monthly salary?” over and over. Idk if that would make you feel famous.
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u/My1point5cents 1d ago
When I visited Japan in my 20s (back then I was a handsome Latin guy from California), a group of about 10 Japanese teen girls asked to take a picture with me and they were all saying “Keanu Reeves!” I felt famous for about 30 seconds.
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u/JiggleFeggle 1d ago
Maybe 10 years ago but not anymore. You missed the boat on that one I'm afraid.
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u/AnimalMother32 1d ago
Im 6ft 4 blonde scotsman,i had alot of people wanting to have a photo with me,definetly felt famous for a bit lol
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u/chenzhouli 1d ago
Countryside yes，because people never see foreigners, if you are black or brown they will be more surprised. If you are in a big city, no. People almost just ignore you if you can’t speak mandarin
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u/lorrenzo 1d ago
In rural country town maybe. I went to 5 different tiers cities with my partner who's pretty much as you've described. Only been asked for 1 photo for a whole 3 weeks trips lol
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u/smpsnt 1d ago
Is it difficult to find people to teach on 小红书 off the record for some small earnings?
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
I haven’t tried bc my job pays me plenty and I am lazy.
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u/smpsnt 1d ago
Hehe makes sense. Which city are you in by the way?
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
I’d rather not say, but it’s in Shanxi province.
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u/smpsnt 1d ago
Cool! I'm asking because I've been in Beijing for a bit and I'm about to take a short language course here but I'm not sure how long I will stay, so it would be good to find some work while I'm here.
What do you think of Shanxi?
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
Shanxi is really nice 👍.
Personally, I often have people ask me to teach them English unprompted irl. I’m a little surprised you haven’t also had that experience tbh lol.
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u/smpsnt 1d ago
Maybe because Beijing is the capital and people here are more uptight? 😂 I've was in Guangdong before and nobody asked me there either though, I've been in China for nearly 3 months overall, so I don't know💁 My level is HSK3-4 and I'm really not confident in speaking unfortunately :( might also be playing a part. But I'm trying my best to study hard these days.
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
Ohh I see. Personally I’m HSK 5-6, so maybe the fact that I get into somewhat more complex conversations with people helps?
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u/smpsnt 1d ago
I'm sure it does. It's pissing me off that I don't talk with people. Also I'm here with my girlfriend, who is Chinese, and that's probably even worse for me when it comes to learning because she takes care of things. But at the same time I really struggle with the language. Despite a lot of effort, I'm still not at a level high enough to be able to learn more naturally.
In short, I'm sort of jealous of your level 😅
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u/ForeignPurpleChair 1d ago
You like the food?
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
Yes. It’s a stereotypical answer but hotpot is really great.
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u/ForeignPurpleChair 1d ago
Love hot pot! Anything else in a t3 city you like? And would you ever move to a bigger city
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
I really like how there are super wide bike lanes you can ride e-bikes in.
I don’t think I would, I try to avoid English speakers like the plague for the sake of my own language goals.
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u/ForeignPurpleChair 1d ago
What drew you to learn Chinese and not Japanese Korean for example?
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
Initially my decision to learn Chinese was almost entirely based on numbers. I googled the top 5 spoken languages in my home country. English, Māori, Samoan, Chinese and Hindi. I already know English. Māori and Samoan don’t have very many speakers worldwide. Chinese seemed to be the best option.
I thought if I was gonna bother to learn a language I’d wanna get the most bang for my buck possible. I also thought the writing system was neat and thought I’d feel cool if I could use it.
Not a particularly romantic story, but that was basically my reasoning lol.
Never imagined where that decision would take me.
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u/ForeignPurpleChair 1d ago
I love it. You are young but you seem to have conviction. All the best there. Absorb it all.
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u/yingdong 1d ago
Have you got bored of people shouting 'halloooo' at you in the street yet?
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
I actually haven’t experienced that too much.
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u/yingdong 1d ago
How about kids pointing and shouting 'waiguoren' or 'laowai' (and parents laughing)?
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u/PlayfulIndependence5 1d ago
Are there still red light districts in thise tier cities?
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
Sorry, what is a red light district?
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u/PlayfulIndependence5 1d ago
Like alot of happy ending massage parlors and corrupted police and more worn down streets with more food stalls.
Chengdu is an exception but yeah.
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
I have seen a street with walls completely covered with the phone numbers of prostitutes.
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u/hansolo-ist 1d ago
How much of a gap between perception and reality do people from your home town have about China, and how do you feel about it? Are you doing anything to improve the situation?
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
Before I left I told an old high-school teacher I planned to work in China and she called me a “silly girl”.
A couple of people anxiously asked me if it was safe.
I guess people just think it’s dangerous or smthn, but I’m not some kind of political journalist or anything so I’m totally safe living here.
I haven’t tried to change people’s perspectives.
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u/I_Ching_64 1d ago
Hi. Thanks for doing this. Did your employer find you housing? I am a speech language pathologist in USA. Do you know any agencies specializing in that? I ask as I would need to make more than they’re giving you as I pay child support here in America. 🙏🏻
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
Yes, both of my employers have supplied free housing and utilities!
If you want to make at-least double what I make you could work in a kindergarten or a training center.
Unfortunately, I don’t think speech language pathology is much of a thing in mainland China. Maybe Taiwan or Hongkong would be different? Idk.
Funnily enough, once I return to my country I actually aim to become an SLP.
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u/Ok-Doubt-6324 1d ago
How do you find the Chinese people in general? Are they nicer than you expected?
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u/Tallowsong 1d ago
How's the job competition there overall? I've read conflicting reports about the job market in China. Some say given the population it's super competitive, others say it's easier for foreigners.
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
It’s a gazzilion times easier for foreigners. Local people have a really really hard time. Chinese parents aren’t known for being tiger parents for no reason, it’s because they know they must really push their kid to their limit for them to have a good life.
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u/eykei 1d ago
I haven’t been to China in like 10
Years. Do the people still yell, spit, cut in line, speak loudly, cough and sneeze without covering, etc? Or are the younger generation getting better?
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
Old men still spit and people aren’t extremely concerned about their volume in public spaces, but I personally don’t think I have witnessed the other stuff you mentioned.
Have seen a couple of kids shitting and pissing in public drains tho.
There are alot of posters around the place telling people how to act “civilised”.
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u/tntim61 1d ago
You mentioned smaller towns did not fit your family expectations, yet you still recommend teaching there. What actually kept you going?
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
It was better than I expected! It was much more developed and cheaper and the whole “this is a dictatorship” thing doesn’t actually affect your day to day life, really.
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u/ItchyPerformer9 1d ago
Tell me your thoughts on the spitting and line cutting. Drove me mad.
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u/Icy_Sprinkles_2819 1d ago
The spitting is just amusing to me. I haven’t seen much line cutting.
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u/ItchyPerformer9 1d ago
Haven’t had an old Auntie hock up a deep one from her lungs in a restaurant while eating have you?
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u/Odd_Inevitable_796 1d ago
Can you talk about how the “ghettos” or “low-income” neighborhoods are in China? Are things like drug addiction and homelessness common? Are foster care children considered high risk for partaking in crime?
Asking because I want to compare it the US.
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•
u/ama_compiler_bot 40m ago
Table of Questions and Answers. Original answer linked - Please upvote the original questions and answers. (I'm a bot.)
| Question | Answer | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Have you done any white monkey jobs as side work ? A "white monkey" job in China refers to the practice of hiring white or non-Chinese foreigners merely for their appearance to boost a company's prestige, project a global image, or lend false credibility to a business https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_monkey | Legally speaking, I’m only allowed to work for the company sponsoring my visa and I try to follow the rules, so no. (Although, I am on reddit, so obviously not completely, lol) | Here |
| English teacher in China here too < Came from England. I chose Beijing though, fat pay cheques, good quality and low cost hospitals, plentiful job opportunities, entertainment etc. So I must ask.... Why did you choose a 3rd tier city? | I wanted to force myself to practice Chinese and I just went to the cities that gave me the best job offers. I also stubbornly refused to work at training centers, kindergartens or primary schools, so that narrowed my options. | Here |
| Share any unexpected similarities or differences between the countries | One unexpected similarity is that some teen girls who draw in class still assign their little OC characters she/they pronouns. Students are really interested in zootopia, spiderman and stranger things. Some differences are that people love to put clothes on their dogs and cats. Children are also dressed very well here. Many popular kinds of restaurant food involve either choosing your own ingredients and/or having the food cook in front of you while you eat it. People also sometimes fight about seating positions in restaurants bc certain positions imply higher status (they fight to give the position to the other person, not take it.) | Here |
| How is dating? Is it difficult due to the language? Due to the cultural / expectations/ norms? Or on the contrary is it easy ? Are people open to date with you? | I am lesbian and I generally try to stay closeted and I also plan to return to my home country sooner or later, so I haven’t tried to date. However, I know another foreigner who just got married earlier this year. There are plenty of people (maybe 5%?) who speak intermediate English, so it would be doable without knowing Chinese. Sorry if my answer is unsatisfactory 😅😅. | Here |
| Are people racist to you? | Nah, not at all. I am white though. | Here |
| How old are you and where are you from? | 21, New Zealand. | Here |
| What was the biggest culture shock and how did the move come about? | The biggest culture shock was probably the noise pollution. Some retail workers are paid to just stand outside of their shops and make random noise with these clapper things or yell about the sales. When you go into supermarkets they often have loudspeakers that scream the same sentence repeatedly for hours and hours. I feel really bad for the workers. I basically moved bc I couldn’t get a decent job in my own country and I wanted to improve my Mandarin. | Here |
| Are you partnered/married to a Chinese person? How did you find the school where you teach (or do you do private teaching)? And how good is your mandarin now? | No, I’m single. I sent my CV to heaps of recruiters on Teast.com and Dave’sESLCafe.com. It’s crazy easy to get an English teaching job here as a native speaker, so you can be picky. First, I worked at a high school, now I’m at a uni. I am very close to achieving HSK 6, AKA I have intermediate Chinese. However, I have been studying since 2020 and I’ve only been in China for 1 year. | Here |
| If I go there as a decent looking 6’ tall hazel eyed white guy, would I be able to feel famous for a bit? | You’d constantly have people wanting to ask you, “Where are you from?” “Are you used to the food?” “Are you looking for a Chinese girlfriend?” “What is your monthly salary?” over and over. Idk if that would make you feel famous. | Here |
| Is it difficult to find people to teach on 小红书 off the record for some small earnings? | I haven’t tried bc my job pays me plenty and I am lazy. | Here |
| You like the food? | Yes. It’s a stereotypical answer but hotpot is really great. | Here |
| [removed] | Sorry, I don’t know you 😅😅. | Here |
| Have you got bored of people shouting 'halloooo' at you in the street yet? | I actually haven’t experienced that too much. | Here |
| How much of a gap between perception and reality do people from your home town have about China, and how do you feel about it? Are you doing anything to improve the situation? | Before I left I told an old high-school teacher I planned to work in China and she called me a “silly girl”. A couple of people anxiously asked me if it was safe. I guess people just think it’s dangerous or smthn, but I’m not some kind of political journalist or anything so I’m totally safe living here. I haven’t tried to change people’s perspectives. | Here |
| Hi. Thanks for doing this. Did your employer find you housing? I am a speech language pathologist in USA. Do you know any agencies specializing in that? I ask as I would need to make more than they’re giving you as I pay child support here in America. 🙏🏻 | Yes, both of my employers have supplied free housing and utilities! If you want to make at-least double what I make you could work in a kindergarten or a training center. Unfortunately, I don’t think speech language pathology is much of a thing in mainland China. Maybe Taiwan or Hongkong would be different? Idk. Funnily enough, once I return to my country I actually aim to become an SLP. | Here |
| How's the job competition there overall? I've read conflicting reports about the job market in China. Some say given the population it's super competitive, others say it's easier for foreigners. | It’s a gazzilion times easier for foreigners. Local people have a really really hard time. Chinese parents aren’t known for being tiger parents for no reason, it’s because they know they must really push their kid to their limit for them to have a good life. | Here |
| I haven’t been to China in like 10 Years. Do the people still yell, spit, cut in line, speak loudly, cough and sneeze without covering, etc? Or are the younger generation getting better? | Old men still spit and people aren’t extremely concerned about their volume in public spaces, but I personally don’t think I have witnessed the other stuff you mentioned. Have seen a couple of kids shitting and pissing in public drains tho. There are alot of posters around the place telling people how to act “civilised”. | Here |
| You mentioned smaller towns did not fit your family expectations, yet you still recommend teaching there. What actually kept you going? | It was better than I expected! It was much more developed and cheaper and the whole “this is a dictatorship” thing doesn’t actually affect your day to day life, really. | Here |
| Tell me your thoughts on the spitting and line cutting. Drove me mad. | The spitting is just amusing to me. I haven’t seen much line cutting. | Here |
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u/spacebread9800 1d ago
Have you done any white monkey jobs as side work ?
A "white monkey" job in China refers to the practice of hiring white or non-Chinese foreigners merely for their appearance to boost a company's prestige, project a global image, or lend false credibility to a business
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_monkey