Jotari Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 Moving to China (specifically Suzhou) to teach English for a year in two weeks time. Would appreciate any advice/warnings/suggestions/words of encouragement anyone might have for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 (edited) You could probably ask Thor Odinson, Jotari. She's Chinese. Edited April 27, 2016 by Anacybele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roflolxp54 Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 (edited) I've stayed in China for a while quite a few times. Try not to appear foreign if you can help it (ie. try not to speak English in public marketplaces) because many Chinese street vendors like to jack up the prices for goods including bottles of water and food if they think you're a foreign tourist. Otherwise, pay attention to prices of goods if buying from street vendors. And of course, keep a close watch on your pockets and bags in case of pickpockets. It can be worth it to have packets of bath/facial tissue on you in case you have to use the bathroom since some people like to steal toilet paper from public restrooms. Edited April 27, 2016 by Roflolxp54 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor Odinson Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 (edited) I am, but it's been 15 years since I've been there so my info's outdated. My best advice is get one of those filter masks if you can, because whenever my grandparents come to America they love the clean air here. Depending on where you are, especially around the big cities, ESPECIALLY around Beijin, the air quality can get...pretty awful. Suzhou, uh, I think one of my friends' family lives there. It's really hot, or something. I can't say I know much about that area in particular since I'm from a different province, but have fun! Edited April 27, 2016 by Thor Odinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illiterate Scholar Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 (edited) Don't breath, because the air is extremely polluted. Seriously though, check how polluted the city is, and consider buying a mask. I don't know how bad the pollution is in Suzhou. Be prepared for smoking everywhere. Especially bad if you're not a smoker. Absolutely disgusting. Don't eat, because the food could be dirty. Try to avoid small vendors. Big restaurants are safe. Big Western chains are also good like McDonalds and KFC. If you're wearing a backpack, wear it in front of you if you are in crowded places. Violent crimes are rare considering the size of the population, but petty crime like pickpockets are much more likely. Research your city a bit. Make sure you arm your phone, tablet, and PC/Laptop with a VPN. China's firewall makes it hard for you to visit a lot of useful websites. I use expressVPN on my laptop. I don't have iOS so not sure what's good on it. If you can avoid those things, you'll be fine. I'm living in China for work right now. I'm posting from my company's PC as I write this. Edited April 27, 2016 by Illiterate Scholar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jotari Posted April 27, 2016 Author Share Posted April 27, 2016 Don't breath, because the air is extremely polluted. Seriously though, check how polluted the city is, and consider buying a mask. I don't know how bad the pollution is in Suzhou. Be prepared for smoking everywhere. Especially bad if you're not a smoker. Absolutely disgusting. Don't eat, because the food could be dirty. Try to avoid small vendors. Big restaurants are safe. Big Western chains are also good like McDonalds and KFC. If you're wearing a backpack, wear it in front of you if you are in crowded places. Violent crimes are rare considering the size of the population, but petty crime like pickpockets are much more likely. Research your city a bit. Make sure you arm your phone, tablet, and PC/Laptop with a VPN. China's firewall makes it hard for you to visit a lot of useful websites. I use expressVPN on my laptop. I don't have iOS so not sure what's good on it. If you can avoid those things, you'll be fine. I'm living in China for work right now. I'm posting from my company's PC as I write this. That's really what I want to know more than anything. I used to use Hola to access American versions of websites like Netflix but I got rid of it when I heard some controversy about them exchanging people's bandwidth for illegal purposes. I'm considering installing it again before heading over there despite the risks. Is expressVPN cheap/safe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illiterate Scholar Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 That's really what I want to know more than anything. I used to use Hola to access American versions of websites like Netflix but I got rid of it when I heard some controversy about them exchanging people's bandwidth for illegal purposes. I'm considering installing it again before heading over there despite the risks. Is expressVPN cheap/safe? I don't know about Hola, or Netflix. Sadly, the internet here follows a Time Warner/Comast plan. Meaning even though they advertise the speed to be xxMB, you are sharing that line with god knows how many people. Sometimes it'll be fast, sometimes you'll be streaming youtube at 144p on a 100MB line. I've heard other people having success with it, but I don't have Netflix. It could be different in your area though since I've heard some people having success with it. Your mileage may vary. I'm fine with ExpressVPN. It does it's job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 China has really dirty and polluted air? Ew, how can anyone stand to live in that? Why don't the citizens complain? I'd certainly be complaining if I were them. It's really unhealthy and nasty, not just to the people, but also the environment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jotari Posted April 27, 2016 Author Share Posted April 27, 2016 (edited) I doubt anyone particularly wants to live in the polluted environment. It's just a natural byproduct of having such a massive number of people living in the same industrialized area. Just to give an example, the city I'm moving to has twenty times as many people as the largest city in my home country. Or to put it another way, almost two and a half times the population of my entire country. People can complain all they want but the measures to actually fix such pollution aren't straight forward or easy. One hilarious attempt I heard of was a walk to work policy they enforced in Mexico City. They wanted everyone to walk to work one day a week so they made it illegal to drive you car on one random day. Unfortunately they did it by car instead of people so everyone just bought a second really cheap car rather than walking. As result of having so many bangers actively driving around the city it actually increased pollution levels dramatically. Edited April 27, 2016 by Jotari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 (edited) That doesn't stop cities in the US from being clean. Okay, I doubt places like New York or DC have 100% clean air, but I don't hear anything about them being THAT bad. And I'm from a major US city myself, Pittsburgh. It's always been clean as far as I know. And this is the Steel City I'm talking about, where there used to be a bunch of steel mills. So it was once polluted, I imagine, but it got cleaned up. Edited April 27, 2016 by Anacybele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Wright Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 the situation that china is in socioeconomically is far, far different from the united states. it's not as simple as complaining about an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jotari Posted April 27, 2016 Author Share Posted April 27, 2016 Some of these cities in east Asia are also much more populated than New York. Like over twice (or in the case of Shanghai, thrice) the number of people. Though I got my cities mixed up. Suzhou only has a population of 4 million so it hopefully it won't be that bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sylveonzoroark Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 (edited) Wow my relatives live in Suzhou. Pollution and heat is definitely a thing, so uh prepare for that I guess. The pollution's not as bad as some other cities though. You might as well go sight seeing too and have fun. Good luck over there! edit: some/most public bathrooms in china don't have toilet paper for w/e reason so better bring a lot of tissues with you Edited April 27, 2016 by sylveonzoroark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jotari Posted April 27, 2016 Author Share Posted April 27, 2016 Yeah I heard that people steal toilet paper there...for some reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sylveonzoroark Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 It's more like toilet paper's not provided Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 I see, but it's still not good for the people or the environment. Even if it takes time, even if it takes years for it to fully happen, it's a problem that SHOULD be fixed. And stealing toilet paper? Wtf... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moblin Major General Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 Yeah I heard that people steal toilet paper there...for some reason. That isn't the strangest thing that happens in China. In the same vein, I'm not exactly sure if they use trashcans in the workplace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jotari Posted April 27, 2016 Author Share Posted April 27, 2016 On the plus side I hear you can get alcohol from vending machines which just wouldn't happen over here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 (edited) ...Wow, I am NEVER going to China. That country sounds god awful. No offense to Thor or any other Chinese folks here, this is just how I feel now... Alcohol vending machines is a horrible idea. You might as well put up a "hey, go drink and drive!" banner seeing as vending machines are very common at rest areas on the highway. Not to mention how easily kids would be able to get it if they get an allowance or something... Edited April 27, 2016 by Anacybele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jotari Posted April 27, 2016 Author Share Posted April 27, 2016 ...Wow, I am NEVER going to China. That country sounds god awful. No offense to Thor or any other Chinese folks here, this is just how I feel now... Alcohol vending machines is a horrible idea. You might as well put up a "hey, go drink and drive!" banner seeing as vending machines are very common at rest areas on the highway. Not to mention how easily kids would be able to get it if they get an allowance or something... It's precisely that reason I'm going to China. I could have got a job in France or Italy which is much closer to home (comparatively) but I personally want to go and see a culture that is completely different to the one I've grown up in. You might think alcohol in a vending machine is a horrible idea but that's only because it just wouldn't work over here. But over in Asia I guess people just follow the rules more. Almost strict and rigidly. Which in turn leads to all sorts of other things westerns might consider problems. Either way I'll make my own mind up by seeing it all first hand. BTW the alcohol in vending machines might be something I heard regarding Japan so don't quote me on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moblin Major General Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 (edited) But over in Asia I guess people just follow the rules more. Almost strict and rigidly. These are the hallmark of East Asia, especially in a society like China's. In the East, the laws make the society, not the other way around. I would say that breaking their laws could get you thrown in prison for years, followed by deportation. Especially don't mention Tienanmen Square to anyone while your there. Edited April 27, 2016 by Hylian Air Force Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 They sound really strict... But I guess that's actually something I wouldn't mind seeing some of over here. I feel like there are too many stupid people in this country, and too many tragic crimes like shootings and avoidable vehicle accidents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moblin Major General Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 They sound really strict... But I guess that's actually something I wouldn't mind seeing some of over here. I feel like there are too many stupid people in this country, and too many tragic crimes like shootings and avoidable vehicle accidents. But what about constant censorship, censuring, government overreach, restriction of religion, etc. As much as I want the religious nuts on the right to shut up, I would unfortunately side with them if my faith was ever directly threatened in the US, as unlikely as that is right now with the Republicans more or less in power right now. If a government is both rigid and solid, many basic civil liberties were most likely lost in the process, especially voting rights, property rights, or even travel rights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor Odinson Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 (edited) Well I mean I may be Chinese but I hate the ruling party, they've done some shit The government's kind of a mess and no, you do not want some of that shit over here. I'm here in America so I don't have to deal with the shit back there. There's a reason why I haven't been back in 15 years. Most people who aren't me will probably faire okay though, given that they're careful enough not to get caught pissing off the government. I have some family...beef, so it's not really safe for me to go back. Edited April 27, 2016 by Thor Odinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 But what about constant censorship, censuring, government overreach, restriction of religion, etc. As much as I want the religious nuts on the right to shut up, I would unfortunately side with them if my faith was ever directly threatened in the US, as unlikely as that is right now with the Republicans more or less in power right now. If a government is both rigid and solid, many basic civil liberties were most likely lost in the process, especially voting rights, property rights, or even travel rights. I didn't mean THAT strict, geez. xP I mean just enough to where crime rates are going down without affecting people's freedoms and all too much. I bet you anything the US has the worst crime rate of any country. And lolwut, how can you say the Republicans are in power when we've had a Democratic president for the last eight years? I don't see Trump/Cruz easily beating Hillary/Sanders either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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