The Chinese Phenomenon

The other day, I overheard a classmate talking to a teacher about a possible safety hazard around his apartment. The roads and alleyways in his neighborhood are very narrow, and even though there are no parking signs all over the place, every road is lined with cars, leaving just enough space for a car to get through. This classmate of mine was ready to call the mayor of Nanjing and report the problem because if there was an emergency of any kind, it would be nearly impossible for a wider-than-normal emergency vehicle to get to his apartment complex -- a legitimate situation to worry about, I would say. In response to this, the teacher reminded my classmate that this is a "Chinese Phenomenon," and even though it is not legal, the fact is that there just isn't enough space to park all those cars, so there is no easy way of fixing the problem. Ever since this little dialog, I have attached the name "Chinese Phenomenon" to a lot of different little quirks in the Chinese society. I would like to share three of those in this post.

The first Chinese Phenomenon is closely related to the example I brought up above: the Chinese line (or lack thereof). I learned very quickly that queues in China are more like clumps; whoever can get through to the front is the first in line. On the plane ride here, I was one of maybe five non-Chinese people on the flight, so I had to fight my way through customs. Even though there are signs all over the metro saying that you need to wait for people to get off the train before you get on, once the doors open, the people flooding in and the people flooding out hit each other like two opposing waves. Lots of pushing happens. People even cut in line at government agencies. I went to get my residency permit, and as I went up to the desk after my number was called, a lady cut in front of me because something was wrong with her friend's paperwork. I though it would be a quick process, but it turned out longer than I expected, and I was late to class on the first day of school. Nice.

I don't know if this actually qualifies as a widespread Chinese Phenomenon, but I had an interesting experience with the Nanjing Piano Club. I went to an activity of theirs the first week of school to see what it was like, and it just so happened that they were about to have a performance the next week, so they were rehearsing the pieces they had prepared and giving each other feedback. A few of the more experienced students took it upon themselves to tell the newer students what they were doing wrong and how to correct the errors of their ways, which I found a little awkward, seeing as none of them were teachers by any means. This wasn't the worst of it, however; none of these older students had the same opinions, so they ended up just surrounding the piano and the performer and all talking at the same time. It was chaotic and a little humorous at the same time. I don't think I will be going back to their activities anytime soon.

The last Chinese Phenomenon that I've come in contact with recently is the migrant worker problem. This is one of the big social issues in China right now. This problem stems from the Chinese residency registration system, which gives people registered in big cities better benefits those outside the city, including good schools. Better work opportunities and these benefits lure a lot of people from the countryside to the city, where they end up living. Unfortunately, becoming a registered resident is extremely hard for these people from the countryside, so they rarely (if ever) obtain these benefits. This lack of welfare, combined with the fact that they are noticeably different from the city-folk, makes life very hard for these migrant workers, and they usually have to work excruciating hours to make ends meet. This makes things hard for their children, too. Not only do they have to deal with not having parents around, they also can't go to the nice city schools; they have to go to special "migrant worker children" schools, which have little to no amenities. It is at one of these schools that I came in contact with this Chinese Phenomenon. This past week, a couple of classmates and I went to teach English and music to the kids at one of these schools on the outskirts of Nanjing. The school was nowhere near the city -- in fact, it was hard to tell that we were even near the city, it was so isolated. The school was a very small, dirty building filled to the brim with elementary school kids. We talked to the principal of the school -- an evident chain-smoker with a heavy Nanjing accent -- and he told us where to go. We ended up teaching four class periods, which was absolutely exhausting. While some of the kids showed a lot of potential, there were a lot of them that were very misbehaved -- we even had a little scuffle break out when we were teaching the sixth-graders. Seeing the kids in these circumstances was very eye-opening. Hopefully reform will take care of this problem soon. Until then, all I can do as a foreigner is continue to volunteer occasionally.

China is an interesting place. I'm glad I'm here -- whether I like it or not, living here is making me expand my views and learn more about the world first-hand. Some of the things I experience here are humorous, some are annoying, and some are just plain sad, but they all have one thing in common: they are for my profit and learning.

Until next week,

-小强

Sixth-graders Doing Between-class Exercises

Piano Club Chaos