China Rudeness May Not Always Be
Interesting trilogy of posts on rudeness in China over at This is China Blog, starting with "When Foreigners Behave Worse than Chinese Peasants," then The Devil Made Me Do It: Rudeness in China, and ending with "Same Bed, Different Dreams: Chinese Rudeness at Home." Among other things, the posts confirm rudeness is culture dependent and gives a great history on cell phone etiquette. The comments also make for good reading.
Comments (2)
Read through and enter the discussion by using the form at the endRomain Guerel (From Beijing) - January 29, 2007 9:00 PM
I am always amazed by the white newcomers in China because they are white coming mainly from developed countries they always think they are from an upper class and have privileges towards Chinese people.
The second type of white people are the ones (not all!)who have been in China for too long and tend to behave like the Chinese with bad behaviors. They tend to spit on the floor, do not pay their bills, speak loudly in the elevator, corrupted, etc...There are more than you can think.
Lonnie - January 29, 2007 10:11 PM
I just oriented my students today for the term...I explained that I am 24/7 in China and doing my best to adapt and respect Chinese customs...I ask them to learn western classroom behavior for 2 hours a week...And even then it is a daunting experience to break them of coming late, sending messages on phones, talking while classmates give presentations and so on...They are as new to education ettiquette as they are to many other inner-city expectations of ours...
I am sure I make as many, if not more, mistakes in everday dealings as they do....Though my desire to improve does not always prevent me from having a few China Moments: http://www.onemanbandwidth.com/wordpress/?p=689