Lost in Chengdu

Lost in Chengdu
Sep 10, 2010 21:09
guest03150	Hi everyone I came to Chengdu 3 weeks ago and am living in the East of the city which I think is either the 2nd or 3rd ring road. There is absolutely nothing to see or do in the East side as there is nothing but buildings, buildings and more buildings unless anyone can suggest otherwise. I am very far from home and feel isolated as well as lonely. There is a school called Jianxiang Foreign Language school which is joined to the No7 Middle school which seems to be the only place where a bit of life exists. Does anyone have any suggestions as I may buy a cycle so I can travel around as no one speaks English in this area. Also I would like to ask people if this is a cultural aspect or am I being sensitive here but as I said I arrived 3 weeks ago and am teaching students. Most of the native teachers seems to talk about me as I understnad Mandarin but they seem to be saying negative things especially in regards of my salary. An example of this is I sat in the office bored as no one wants to talk and some of the (head) teachers were pointing, laughing and worse of all whispering things about me, my job and wages which made me feel very distressed. Often the staff ignore me and if I ask them any questions they look at me with disgust I thought being a guest in your country meant being treated like one not an outsider. So I need advice as I have no idea if I should put up with it or say anything as I would never do that to anyone. Please ensure that I am not tarring everyone with the same brush just my experience so far. Thanks Miss D P

Sep 10, 2010 21:09

guest03150

Hi everyone I came to Chengdu 3 weeks ago and am living in the East of the city which I think is either the 2nd or 3rd ring road. There is absolutely nothing to see or do in the East side as there is nothing but buildings, buildings and more buildings unless anyone can suggest otherwise. I am very far from home and feel isolated as well as lonely.

There is a school called Jianxiang Foreign Language school which is joined to the No7 Middle school which seems to be the only place where a bit of life exists.
Does anyone have any suggestions as I may buy a cycle so I can travel around as no one speaks English in this area.

Also I would like to ask people if this is a cultural aspect or am I being sensitive here but as I said I arrived 3 weeks ago and am teaching students. Most of the native teachers seems to talk about me as I understnad Mandarin but they seem to be saying negative things especially in regards of my salary. An example of this is I sat in the office bored as no one wants to talk and some of the (head) teachers were pointing, laughing and worse of all whispering things about me, my job and wages which made me feel very distressed. Often the staff ignore me and if I ask them any questions they look at me with disgust I thought being a guest in your country meant being treated like one not an outsider.

So I need advice as I have no idea if I should put up with it or say anything as I would never do that to anyone. Please ensure that I am not tarring everyone with the same brush just my experience so far.

Thanks

Miss D

P

Sep 11, 2010 05:04	#1
GUEST23253	hi it is my honor to have the chance to read your letter, i am a seinor student in this city. i have the same experience with you when i was on summer vacation in beijing this years . so i think i can help you. what is more, i major is teaching chinese as a seconed language. pease contact me , i want to be your friend in china . my email is yahoo.cn\|zuoxiu , i am looking forward to your letter.

Sep 11, 2010 09:10

GUEST27224

You can understand mandarine?...can you speak it?...have a conversation ? You have been in Chengdu for 3 weeks or China for 3 weeks? What is the school paying you?..i hope at least around 3500 -4000 RMB per month.If it is a lot less , i would be laughing at you too! Most Chinese teachers make about 1500 a month, so maybe they are talking about you making too much/or more money than them?
There are alot of foreigners/expates (maybe even thousands of them) in Chengdu.
Go to the south-east district....there are colleges and universities that employ foreign teachers.Also dozens of bars and restaurants owned by expats.does your school only employ one foreign teacher...that sounds odd/strange for a big city like Chengdu? jump on the city bus and have a look around..it shouldn't take you too long to find some other foreigners.especially at someplace like Mcdonalds!

Nov 18, 2010 10:08

TRAVISLIU
Points:
Join Date: Feb 1, 2009
Status: Offline

Hi Miss,

I realy understand your current situation but you should get away from the bad mood.
My advice is:
1 -Occasionally go out for fresh breath! You can go to some hot pot of this city.
2 -Make some friends in Chengdu. For example you can easy meet some friendly persons in Starbucks or some western restaurant.
3 -Observe the people arround you! China has different culture, diffrent ways for people geting along with...Most Chengdu native persons are friendly but they lack the experience to converse with foreigners.

If you are still confused with people, pls contact me at tom.com|travis.liu. I'm willing to help you.

Travis

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