tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23218581.post3105286278968644584..comments2023-06-25T19:56:02.881+08:00Comments on The Life of a "Foreign Expert" in Zhangye, China: University Life in ChinaDanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17924051571961462594noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23218581.post-87151310142594785812007-10-06T11:42:00.000+08:002007-10-06T11:42:00.000+08:00Mark,Very true. Well, I notice two reactions from ...Mark,<BR/><BR/>Very true. Well, I notice two reactions from a new freshman class, depending on the students; the pop-star welcome, or the deer-in-headlights look from 35 nervous students who have never talked to a foreigner. The drinking is one big cultural difference I don't think I've gotten into much, but yeah, it's weird to go on a class trip that ends with students conspiring to get their teachers drunk.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17924051571961462594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23218581.post-54669039959752136892007-10-06T11:37:00.000+08:002007-10-06T11:37:00.000+08:00Ben,Thanks for the feedback. I've been following y...Ben,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the feedback. I've been following your blog since I heard about the barbershop internship; your posts are always interesting and insightful. I was also an anthropology major, so I also respect that you've actually applied your major to work in China (unlike me, at least thus far).<BR/><BR/>You're probably right about the sex survey. I find it a hard subject to casually bring up with students, but from what little I've heard from teachers who have asked it seems they are less innocent than they would have us believe.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17924051571961462594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23218581.post-28679349731431739062007-10-06T11:18:00.000+08:002007-10-06T11:18:00.000+08:00jenni,Sorry for not replying sooner; I was traveli...jenni,<BR/><BR/>Sorry for not replying sooner; I was traveling and unable to access my blog comments (like many this blog is blocked in China, I must use special settings on my home computer to actually read it). However I don't know anyone studying abroad in China and I've never looked into myself, so Ben has already given you a better answer than I could.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17924051571961462594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23218581.post-2326957541519841242007-10-04T03:10:00.000+08:002007-10-04T03:10:00.000+08:00Thanks a lot for the reply :)Thanks a lot for the reply :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23218581.post-47833530806006458072007-10-04T00:39:00.000+08:002007-10-04T00:39:00.000+08:00I taught English at a university in a small town c...I taught English at a university in a small town called Fuqing, in Fujian province for 15 months. It is incredible how spot-on your descriptions were, and that in the opposite end of the country so much of university life is EXACTLY the same. <BR/><BR/>The only differences I could pick out were in regards to the water situation (we had tons of it in Fujian, so no water issues like the Northwest), and I had never heard of teachers hitting kids, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen. <BR/><BR/>As for premarital ses, I read that same article in China Daily and I would not trust those numbers. When I first started teaching at a university, my first assumptions were that most of my students didn't even know what sex was. Three months into my tenure, I started dating one of my students. (Note: this is totally acceptable in most Chinese Universities; She was 20. I was 24. I am not a pedophile.) The stories I would hear from her about the other kids on campus really made me rethink a lot of my thoughts about sexuality on campus. They are not all the innocent prudes that they like to present themselves as. My theory is that while Westerners are still probably more likely on average to have pre-marital sex, they are also much more likely to admit it on a survey than Chinese college students, who are probably afraid their parents will find out.<BR/><BR/>@Jenni<BR/><BR/>As a foreigner, it is considerably easy to get into Chinese universities. There are a large amount of foreigners who study at Qinghua (China's equivalent of Harvard) who get in on account of their foreignness. This has a tendancy to draw some of the ire of Chinese students. I would be surprised if there was any scholarship money available for foreigners, but what you will pay for univeristy in China should be much much cheaper than you would pay in the West.<BR/><BR/>By the way, great blog. I'm excited to read more.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13436448317954913683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23218581.post-20066369157895650122007-10-04T00:28:00.000+08:002007-10-04T00:28:00.000+08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13436448317954913683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23218581.post-46925843999902283782007-09-30T21:49:00.000+08:002007-09-30T21:49:00.000+08:00Hi!I came across your post through chinalyst, and ...Hi!<BR/>I came across your post through chinalyst, and it's very interesting. Since, I'm not sure how to contact you, I'll just leave a comment. I'm a high school student in Germany (I'm of Chinese origins and I won't have problems with the chinese language) and I'd love to study for a bachelor in Tsinghua, China. Do you maybe know more about the situation of foreigners studying in China, whether it is difficult to get admitted or to get a scholarship? Maybe you know some foreigners who are currently studying in China and could put me into contact with them?<BR/>Thanks a lot in advance<BR/>-JenniAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23218581.post-18682581215780569432007-09-30T21:27:00.000+08:002007-09-30T21:27:00.000+08:00Haha right on dude. Don't forget the enthusiastic...Haha right on dude. Don't forget the enthusiastic applause worthy of a pop star from freshman students when you first enter their class. Or the utter lack of hesitation to enjoy drunken feasts and parties with students and/or faculty. What would get me fired and probably incarcerated in America only augments my rep as a cool teacher.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com