What happened to you in China which made you think completely differently about the country and society
你在中國遇到過什麼事，完全改變了你對這個國家和社會的看法？
以下是Quora讀者的評論：
Carol Mat Ara, MSc. Traffic and Transportation Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University (2018)
Generally chinese are very friendly people with a good culture. However some of the things which I have seen happening are not good. To answer your question, I will have to explain what has happened to me personally that made me think differently about the people. Chinese prefer having a white teacher to teach English and do not take into consideration experience or qualifications especially if you are black. Once, I applied for an English teaching job. I believe, I was qualified for the job. After sending my application, which requires a video, they sent back a message saying that they needed a white teacher. So apparently my skin color disqualified me. This is a common because twice I have been told to recommend my white friends for jobs after trial interviews. I once recommended a friend from Uzbekistan. Although she doesnt speak English fluently, she got the job. I didnt think my color could prevent me from getting a job until I came to China. I knew there was racism but coming to China made me start to be more conscious about it. Some job advertisements say they prefer white. There are black teachers but their pay compared to white teachers is lower.
一般來說，中國人非常友好，有良好的文化素養。但我也見過幾件不好的事。為了回答你的問題，我這裡解釋在我身上發生過的事情，是什麼讓我對人們產生了不同的看法。中國人喜歡找白人老師教英語，對其經驗或資質並不在意，特別是如果你是黑人。有一次，我申請了一份英語教師的工作。我相信我能勝任這份工作。申請這個職位需要錄像，在我發送求職申請後，他們給我回復說他們需要的是白人教師。所以很明顯我的膚色不符合要求。這種事很常見，因為我已經遇到過兩次，面試結束後，對方讓我推薦白人朋友去應聘。我曾經推薦過一位來自烏茲別克斯坦的朋友。雖然她英語說得不流利，但她依然得到了那份工作。直到我來到中國，我才意識到我的膚色會妨礙我找工作。我知道種族主義是存在的，但來到中國後，我對此更加清楚了。一些招聘廣告說他們更喜歡白人。黑人教師也是有的，但是他們的工資比白人教師低。
Joseph Skinkis, I lived in the USA, Canada, Papua New Guinea, Korea, and China. I traveled most
I was a teacher of English in China for 4 years from 1991 to 1995. Let me list the bad things I experienced and then the good things. It’s better to leave on a positive note.
The public toilets are disgusting. There was shit and piss all over the place and this was also the case in trains and buses with toilets. When I was there, almost all males smoked and in a train or a bus, it was unbearable even though I was a smoker myself. Spitting was even worse. While riding a bike along a bike lane (there were 100′s of bikes in these lanes) the guy in front of me would spit into the air and his spittle would land on me. During a classical concert, our driver was talking to his friends very loudly and when I told him to be quiet, my Chinese colleague whispered in my ear that I should not reprimand the driver as it would be seen as showing superiority over a lower class person. There were times when we would take the class on an outing. One time we were going to a museum and alongside the path leading to the building were some beautiful flowers. The students began to pick them. I told them to stop and one student told me that they were the people’s flowers and they were the people. Enough of the negative and on to more positive things I experienced in China.
從1991年到1995年，我在中國當了4年英語老師。這裡列一列我經歷過的不好的事，接著再列一列好的事。最好積極看待。
公共廁所真噁心。到處都是大便和小便，在有廁所的火車和公共汽車上也是如此。我在中國時，在火車或公共汽車上，幾乎所有的男性都吸菸，即便我自己也會吸菸，這還是令我難以忍受。更糟糕的還有隨地吐痰的現象。當我沿著自行車道騎自行車的時候(這些車道上會有幾百輛自行車)，我前面的那個人會向空中吐痰，而唾沫會落在我身上。在古典音樂會上，我們的司機大聲地和他的朋友說話，當我告訴他安靜點時，我的中國同事在我耳邊小聲說，我不該訓斥司機，因為那樣會被看作是對下層社會的人流露出的極大優越感。有時我們會帶全班去郊遊。有一次我們去博物館，在通往那座建築的小路旁邊有一些美麗的花。學生們開始摘花。我讓他們停手，一個學生告訴我，這是人民的花，而他們正是人民。我在中國經歷過太多的正面及負面的事情了。
Many of the people in China would risk their well-being by putting me and my girlfriend up in their homes. The students were extremely enthusiastic about learning English. I had at least 5 students come to my room at night, 7 days a week, to ask questions about an assignment or just want to experience speaking English. If you needed help with anything, the Chinese would be there for you. I even married a Chinese woman. This was one of my most memorable times of my life.
許多中國人會冒著風險，把我和我女朋友安置在他們家裡。學生們對學習英語非常熱情。至少有5名學生每天晚上都會來我的房間，向我請教作業問題，或者單純練習英語聽說。如果你需要任何幫助，中國人都會在你身邊。我甚至娶了中國太太。這是我一生中最難忘的時刻之一。
Daniel Walzinski, lived in China (2015-2017)
When I first arrived into Shanghai a pretty young woman in a suit approached me speaking English, “Would you like help getting to your hotel?”
She took me to a large kiosk, it appeared to be an official airport service. I was thinking, wow this is nice, Pudong airport helps foreigners upon arrival.
She made a phone call, I asked how much it would cost, she quoted me at around 500 rmb, I told her I just needed a simple taxi and asked where I can get one, she told me to go to the first floor.
At the first floor two men in uniform began to help me with my suitcases, I think, how polite of them, I sure did pack alot (175 lbs to be exact). They took me past the taxi que so I say, “Thanks but I need a taxi.” They don't let go of my suitcases so I ask them how much. The quote is still more than double the standard taxi so I use one of the only Chinese words I knew at the time, “Wo bu yao le.” I have to physically pull the suitcase away.
The taxi driver was very polite and the ride was cheap but somehow he short changed me 20 kuai because I didn't count my change in the dark taxi. (Meter was 45 kuai).
The hotel was in the middle of nowhere, it was chosen by my company. Luckily, the girl at the desk knew a little English, they didn't seem to understand any of the Chinese from my translation book for travel.
我剛到上海的時候，一個穿著西裝的年輕漂亮女人走過來，用英語對我說:“你需要我帶去你下榻的酒店嗎?”
她帶我去了一個很大的攤位，似乎是一個官方的機場服務站。我當時還在想，哇，這真不錯，一到浦東機場就有人來幫助外國人。
她打了一個電話，我問要多少錢，她給我報了500元人民幣左右，我告訴她我只需要一輛的士，並詢問我在哪裡可以搭乘的士，她告訴我去一樓。
到了一樓，兩個穿著制服的人開始幫我提箱子，我想，他們真有禮貌啊，我確實帶了很多東西(確切地說有175磅)。他們帶我經過出租車，我說：“謝謝，但我要打的。”他們沒有放開我的行李箱，我問他們要多少錢。他們的報價仍然是標準的士車費的兩倍多，所以我用了當時我所知的唯一一句中文“我不要了”，並不得不把我的行李箱拉過來。
出租車司機很有禮貌，而且車費很便宜，但不知何故，他少找了我20塊錢，因為我在黑暗的出租車裡沒有數找回的零錢。(計價表上是45塊)
酒店的位置有點偏，是我們公司選的。幸運的是，前臺的女孩懂得一點英語，他們似乎看不懂我那份旅行手冊上的中文。
In the morning I was the only one having breakfast at the hotel. An employee wearing a leather jacket approaches me and I struggle to have a conversation with him, which was basically me saying that I've just arrived and will travel to Hangzhou. He had many words, I feel like he was trying to get me to pay him because he wouldn't leave me for awhile, I attempted to request him to have the front desk add my breakfast to my bill. (I felt like he was trying to hustle me).
Once I got to Hangzhou this type of interaction rarely ever happened for the couple years that I was there. When I was traveling in tourist places or in Shanghai I knew to be extra tough and avoid being hustled.
In Hangzhou I used to barter a lot. I went to tea, silk, and common goods markets. I was able to get much better deals than what I could get in America. A little money went along way. Some of the vendors I was able to make good relationships with so price didn't have to be renegotiated.
Overall I was impressed by the strive to make money. The older generation would open any kind of business anywhere. After dinner the street food vendors come out to the same locations every night.
There seemed to be a lot of opportunity to earn money and a lot of people were excellent entrepreneurs. It wasn't about profit per sale but rather the gross sales per day, meaning that one at choose to work all day in order to maximize income. There was a strong business orientation.
There was more money circulation in China that I had previously thought, and even the poorest citizen could find a couple kuai to get some food. At the same time the adults drove brand new cars, there was indeed a wide variety of incomes and most people had enough, no one seemed to act like they were worth too much, although China has some of the richest people in the world.
早晨，我是唯一一個在酒店吃早餐的人。一個穿著皮夾克的員工走近我，我努力和他對話，基本上就是我說，我才剛到這裡，要去杭州旅行。他說了很多很多，我覺得他是想讓我給他錢，因為他一直不肯離開，我試圖讓他把早餐的費用加到我的賬單上。(我覺得他是在催促我)。
我到了杭州後，這種情況在我逗留的幾年裡很少發生了。當我在旅遊景點或上海旅行時，我知道自己要格外強硬，避免挨宰。
在杭州，我經常砍價。我去了茶葉市場、絲綢市場和普通商品市場。我能以比美國更便宜的價格買到商品。我與一些供應商建立了良好的關係，所以不需要重新談價。
總的來說，人們努力賺錢的態度給我留下了深刻的印象。老一輩人會在任何地方經營任何類型的生意。晚飯後，街頭美食攤販們每天都會到相同的地點來出攤。
那裡似乎有很多賺錢的機會，很多人都是優秀的企業家。他們關心的不是每一單生意的利潤，而是每天的總銷售額，這意味著人們會工作一整天，讓收入最大化。
中國的貨幣流通比我之前想象的要多，即使是最窮的人也能花幾塊錢買食物。與此同時，成年人開著嶄新的汽車，他們的收入差異很大，大多數人的收入都很富足，儘管中國有一些世界上最富有的人，但似乎沒有人覺得自己錢太多了。
All the while I felt like the real estate was unfair. The owners seemed to be leveraging their advantage. To purchase a property the price can be very high, but the quality and future maintenance of the building may be mediocre or low. All the while there are probably more vacant units in China than any other place in the world. Ghost cities are a real thing. In Hangzhou there were two ghost districts, the new downtown and Binjiang. They even paid shops to open there in the attempt to attract residents, it created the strangest feeling in me. (Which may have been one reason to adopt the new 2 child policy, you can have more but you'll have to pay hefty fees).
In China there is a standard that if you are to get married you should own an apartment or house. This dynamic gives the building owners a sellers advantage, and one developer may build an entire city block, so just between a few individuals local prices can be fixed. It also appeared that the owners were stubborn as they would wait for the possible future demand from city expansion rather than just lower the prices.
一直以來，我都覺得房地產是不公平的。業主們似乎在利用貸款進行投機。購買房產的價格可能很高，但建築的質量和未來的養護可能很一般。與此同時，中國可能是世界上空置房屋最多的國家。鬼城是真實存在的。為了吸引居民，他們甚至付錢讓店家去那裡開店，這讓我感覺很奇怪。(這可能是政府最近推出二胎政策的一個原因，你可以有更多孩子，但你將不得不支付高昂的費用)。
在中國有一個標準，如果你要結婚，就應該準備一套公寓或房子。這種動力給了業主一個賣方優勢，一個開發商可能會建造一個完整的城市街區，所以幾個人就能敲定出售的價格。報告還顯示，業主們很固執，他們會等待城市擴張可能帶來的未來需求，而不是趕緊降價。
Wasu Koysiripong, A Chinese descendant in Thailand who can speak Chinese
Before going to China, I used to hear a lot from my Mainland Chinese friends in Australia how the Chinese are so selfish and cunning. They told me to be careful when buying something because I could get cheated, that the Chinese won't do me any favor when I ask for one and if I ask somebody the direction they might point into a wrong direction. Of course, they warned me on good will, and I thanked them for that.
Yet, when I was actually in China, I found that virtually all what they told me are wrong. I've never met any arrogant Shanghainese, Hubei-ese cheater, bad Henanese or rough North-Easterner (though many North-Easterners do talk loudly). When I had no umbrella on a rainy day, someone gave me an umbrella; when I took a bus but had no coin, someone gave me coins and when I forgot my belonging in a restaurant, someone told me that. Of course, there must be bad people in China as well, but not as many as I imagined before going there based on what those Chinese friends warned me.
Then I learned something. The Mainland Chinese tend to think of their own compatriots worse than in the reality.
去中國之前，我經常聽我在澳大利亞的中國大陸朋友說中國人有多麼自私、多麼狡猾。他們告訴我買東西的時候要小心，因為我可能會被騙，我尋求幫助時中國人不會幫忙，我問路時，他們可能會指給我錯誤的方向。當然，我對他們的善意警告表示了感謝。
但我到中國後，我發現他們說的幾乎都是錯的。下雨天，我沒帶傘，有人給了我一把傘；坐公共汽車，我沒有硬幣，有人給我硬幣；東西落在餐廳，有人告訴我。當然，在中國肯定也有壞人，但並沒有我根據那些中國朋友的警告所想象的那麼多。
然後我明白了一件事。中國大陸人往往把自己的同胞想得比實際情況還要糟。
Demetrios Paspalaris, Interested in History, Politics, Ecology.
I went to China in the year 2000 with my wife and son and not knowing a word of Chinese. We took domestic Chinese flights Shanghai-Beijing-Xian-Shanghai. My impression is this. The Chinese people are extremely friendly and helpful, the policemen included in giving help and directions. The customer service at airports and elsewhere were going out of their way to help, (unlike in USA, they would walk outside of their offices and airports to help us get a taxi. I did not see anyone trying to cheat us when shopping, the prices are posted, but we were getting a lot of attention and even in the fast food restaurants they refill your drink. But we saw the evidence of the so called “ugly Americans” who were trying to cut the price of a banana from the equivalent of 20 cents to 10 cents, the street fruit seller seller justifiably refused to sell and told them to go to some other place. Taking the subways or walking in the old neighborhoods of the cities with the narrow twisting streets, we felt secure and not threatened. People like to talk with foreigners everywhere. In a few words, I liked China and the Chinese people very much!
2000年，我和妻子、兒子一起去了中國，我們一句中文也不會說。我們乘坐了上海-北京-西安-上海的國內航班。給我留下的印象是這樣的。中國人是非常友好和樂於助人的，警察會提供幫助，給你指路。機場和其他地方的客戶服務人員會不遺餘力地提供幫助(不像在美國，他們會走出辦公室、走出機場，幫我們攔的士)。我沒有看到有人試圖在購物時欺騙我們，商品的價格已經貼出來了，但是我們得到了很多關注，甚至在快餐店裡，店員會給你續杯。但是我們看到了所謂的“醜陋的美國人”的表現，他們試圖把香蕉的價格從20美分砍到10美分，街頭水果小販理所當然地拒絕出售，讓他們去其他地方買。乘坐地鐵或在城市的老城區裡走，雖然街道狹窄曲折，但我們感到很安全。人們都喜歡和外國人交談。總之，我非常喜歡中國和中國人民！
譯文來源：三泰虎 http://www.santaihu.com/49784.html 譯者：Joyceliu
Anonymous
Constant rudeness made me think China is uncivilized and has no future. Previously I believe the ‘5000 years of civilization’ and ‘China rising’ propaganda and thought China had a bright future.
民眾的粗魯讓我覺得中國很不文明，沒有未來。以前我相信“5000年的中華文明”和“中國崛起”的宣傳，認為中國會有一個光明的未來。
Eric Umland, Attended many universities.
I saw people practicing ballroom dancing in the park at 6 am. I thought: Only a fool would want to fight a country that has people like these
我看到人們早上6點就在公園裡練習交際舞。我想：只有笨蛋才會想和一個擁有這樣的人民的國家作對。
轉自西諾網
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