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Expat Stereotyping: 7 Different Types of Foreigners in China
Nov 18, 2010By Mark Turner, eChinacities.comEveryone knows that stereotyping is a dangerous game to play and that it can hurt feelings and stir heated debates. Having said that, stereotyping is sometimes great fun, especially if it’s only intended as a light-hearted joke. Here is a by no means complete list of some of the different types of foreigners you will find in China.
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Photo: hiddenchina.net
1) The hutong sinophile
Hutong Sinophiles are an interesting breed. They are likely to have lived in China for a good few years and are just as likely to stay longer. They came for the love of Chinese culture and stayed here ever since, having found that after studying Chinese they were able to snag a half-pat job position (commonly journalism, media, translation or creative work). Most Hutong Sinophiles consider themselves experts in what constitutes the ‘real’ China.
- Reason for being in China: "It’s all about 5000 years of language and culture."
- Resides: A hutong.
- Popular haunt: A hutong café.
- Distinguishing feature: Something fetching like a scarf, possibly a bag with a red star stencil or the image of a revolutionary on it.
- Most likely to say: "I chose to live in Beijing because it is the real China, not Shanghai.”
- Mode of transport: Motorbike with sidecar.
Photo: img1.qq.com
2) The international school teacher
These educators will be upset if you get them confused with a TEFL teacher who has just graduated from university and is fresh off the plane and without even a TEFL certificate to his or her name. With pay packages and responsibilities similar to those they had back home, these certified teachers are some of the cream of the crop in China’s education system.
- Reason for being in China: Possibly a more comfortable lifestyle than that afforded to many teachers back home.
- Resides: An expat enclave with villas and expat packagers (see definition of expat packager below).
- Popular haunt: The staff room.
- Distinguishing features: A smile not dissimilar to that of the cat that got the proverbial cream.
- Most likely to say: Nothing (they'll most likely be in their school subsidized duplex apartment, too busy quaffing down take away they ordered from an exclusive restaurant).
- Mode of transport: School bus by day, taxi by night.
Photo: vtzinternational.com
3) The expat packager
Many business professionals (investment bankers, consultants, managers) often find themselves inexplicably flung - like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz - all the way over to the China branch of their company. They are often people that were in demand back home and now their skills are even more in demand in China. Some of these people have a love/ hate relationship with China in that they find the work environment difficult from a cultural perspective but they enjoy the financial benefits and luxury lifestyles that their company allowances afford them.
- Reason for being in China: “I don’t know; my company sent me here.”
- Resides: An expat enclave characterized by vast complexes of western style villas.
- Popular haunt: The fruit and vegetable aisle of the western supermarket, checking out the okra or zucchini; or the international school sports field, cheering their kids on.
- Distinguishing feature: Pinstripes and sharp suits by day; pushchairs, buggies, strollers and casual smart on the weekend.
- Most likely to say: “Let’s do lunch next Saturday at the Shangri-La.”
- Mode of transport: Quite possibly something chauffeur driven.
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This is an extremely lackluster article. I am surprised something like this was even put on this website. 1. it is EXTREMELY poorly written, i got more frustrated and angry the more I read. Who ever wrote this clearly does not understand English writing or composition and has typed this article based on phrases and dialog they have seen on TV shows or Movies.
Im pretty sure a 7th grader in america could have done a better job writing this article. 7th graders usually are aware that starting an article or essay with "everybody knows that . .." is not a good idea
c'mon. everybody should know THAT.
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Totally aggree with ur comment. And I also disagree with the content this article say. Reading articles like this is totally a waste of my time. Not so cool, this article seems like a translated version but not so good.
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I'm with Christian P. The writer lost me in the middle of #2. It's simply a poorly done article.
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Right! I have been so impressed by this guy's pathetically bad writing, I searched his name. It is almost outrageous how much consistently shitty writing this writer has pumped out, and how many times this site has slapped us in the face with shit. No standards.
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Well put your money where your mouth is. I am sure that this Website is looking for more contributors.
Write something yourselves. Get it published.
It is easy to criticize, and its not like you are paying for this reading material.
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How can you be sure people commenting haven't been published, aren't continously published, and haven't written for this site? Given the quality of this article, and the extremely bad writing, what person with the slightest understanding of how to write would want to pair their stuff with this crap? Just learn how to write--the Oxford Essential Guide to Writing is a great primer.
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'1. it is EXTREMELY poorly written, i got more frustrated and angry the more I read'
But thanks for giving my article currency by repeatedly commenting upon it.
If articles on lifestyle websites make you 'angry' and 'frustrated' I suggest that you ask your physician about beta blockers.
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Wow, Mr Mark Turner, not only are your writing skills poor, your reading comprehension is pretty bad too. It is not "articles on lifestyle websites" that makes the poster angry and frustrated, it is YOUR writing that makes him/her feel so.
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Your writing skills are less than poor. People go to websites like this one to read stuff the retarded four-year-old next to them couldn't write. What the hell are you doing with those dashes? Who edited this? A turtle? Why do you switch from a colon to a hyphen to a dash in the same exact context? Why do you use them like a slug trying to build a tree-fort? Does China really have a 500-year-old history? Didn't know that. I have never seen a foreigner with a motorbike and side car. Who the hell are you? What about the retarded expat who writes like an illiterate monkey?
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I don't even have a number 2 to follow my number 1 because there is nothing else to say. It's just poorly written. . .there are numerous grammatical errors and a boat load of punctuation mistakes. I highly recommend you guys get a proper editor. That is all.
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I'm always a sucker for a numbered list. Did I find myself in your list? Yes, I did. Well done. There are, however, still other more esoteric specialties we teach. Nevertheless, it was a good, fun read, right up to the comments section.
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I agree with Ken
A nice light read.
This isn't the Daily Telegraph after all is said and done.
This is more like an MSN.com item with a lot more meat on the bones.
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You forgot number 8
The foreigners that marry into Chinese families and have a constant battle to spend quality time with the western side and the asian side of the family.
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ok, ok, please please enlight my life with your brand new writings....im waitin.
i love criticisms and assholes
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Boy! ... Bart Simpson could have written a better article than this, but what the h*ck ! It's China! Anything to defame the West is always a good thing.
I'M OUT.
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damn. I was really hoping that there would be a 'western asshole with insatiable yellow fever.' you know the guy: the one who's gone all miss sigon on all of the chinese women. boo.
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Exactly! This is the most common kind no? I sure as hell no plenty of 'em!
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western asshole with insatiable yellow fever- I think you get those guys in almost all of the groups mentioned
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What about the foreign huaren? You know, the Chinese diaspora who has "come home"? They are foreigners too, no? Maybe there are just too few of them.
By the way, I wholeheartedly agree that this article is poorly written. I couldn't agree more with Christian P saying it is "lackluster". And not only is the content poor, it also has numerous errors.
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what about all the foreign spies...they are everywhere haunting all schools, universties and expat jobs and most are pretty brain dead conformist dudes even if they have long hair and talk about charles bukowski
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What the?????? Aside from the narrowness of this article, it's poor writing techniques, and lack of perspective; I have never realized how such low tones of racism could boil my blood. Considering you could describe many of the Chinese natives with the same stereotypes, I am surprised how upsetting this made me. Respecting other cultures and people is highly engrained in my disposition, and to see this article saddens my heart and makes me wonder how the average Chinese person really feels about foreigners settling in their country. Due to the cultural norms, we may never find out! Is showing face better than honesty and directness????????? At least this article made me stop and think (without my usual optimism) about China and Chinese people. I will give it credit for doing that much.
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you forgot the people who's jobs made them come here who see no cultural value in China and in fact, want to desperately leave.
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I think this article is just supposed to be a humorous read that's not suppossed to be taken seriously. Those who actually take offense by it are way too uptight and high strung. How about channeling all that energy into something more constructive?
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Hey, you forgot all the pedophiles and guys out here f**king their way through China. I know one or two of those A**holes. Five types, not seven, students, teachers, creepers, businessmen and nomads!
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I agree with Chill.
I will also add that the amount of unpleasantness is way beyond a critique, and really not called for.
A bit of perspective for goodness sake.
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