China Bound, Revised A Guide to Academic Life and Work in the PRC (1994) / Chapter Skim
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3. Settling In
3. Settling In
Pages 46-82
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From page 46... ...
Addresses and telephone numbers for China Travel Service's two Hong Kong locations are provided on p.
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From page 47... ...
Many airports have China Travel Service booths with English-speaking personnel who can help you call or even assist in getting you to your destination. If you cannot reach your work unit, you will need to change money at one of the foreign exchange booths in the airport and hire a taxi.
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From page 48... ...
Whether it be a factory, research institute, or university, the work unit is a microcosm of Chinese society, with its own political hierarchy, networks of personal and professional relationships, services, and, in most cases, living quarters. It is primarily through the work unit that the Chinese government
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From page 49... ...
Until recently, an individual assigned to a work unit remained there for his entire working life. Now, many people are leaving danwei to join newly formed research institutes, joint-venture companies, or to strike out on their own, although permanent exit from a work unit often requires considerable negotiation.
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From page 50... ...
The complexities and strains within a work unit will be invisible at first. Over time, as you make Chinese friends, you will learn that the surface cordiality among coworkers may mask larger tensions- not only the remnants of previous political campaigns but also the result of new competition for scarce resources.
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From page 51... ...
The first introduction most new arrivals have to their work units is through the waishi banshichu literally "the office for outside business," but usually referred to simply as the foreign affairs office or waiban. The foreign affairs office exists in virtually all organizations and administrative units that have contact with foreigners.
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From page 52... ...
Such experiences, although often frustrating, also provide insights into Chinese society that are not always so easily glimpsed by those sheltered by status. Advice on how to deal with the foreign affairs office is difficult because the office varies so much from unit to unit.
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From page 53... ...
Because of their ties with foreigners and with other work units, waiban are particularly well placed to organize money-making activities, and scholars in China report instances of waiban officials disappearing for long periods to organize such endeavors. Scholars and students have come to recognize that their presence is often seen, quite frankly, as a means of making money.
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From page 54... ...
Often the most intense encounters occur when you are traveling, for many people talk more frankly with people they will never see again. The nature of the danwei system allows little separation between one's personal and professional life, especially for those who live on the campuses of their work units.
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From page 55... ...
And one researcher who stepped beyond the bounds of what Chinese officials considered acceptable behavior for someone in her status reports "both my activities and those of my visitors and guests are monitored, recorded, and sometimes submitted to the police for review.... Warnings and cartoon stories about foreign spies cover the walls and display stands at police stations, and other lingering fears about even casual contact with foreigners clearly still abound." If you are ever involved in political activities and rouse Chinese government suspicions, even nonpolitical Chinese friends could be called to task.
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From page 56... ...
Despite rapid construction in many parts of China, most organizations remain constrained by a severe shortage of space. Few of your Chinese colleagues enjoy the luxury of a private office or any office at all and their living quarters are often cramped.
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From page 57... ...
PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS Friendship The Chinese concept of friendship is powerful, and nothing has been more moving about the "opening up" of China than the renewal of friendships between Chinese and Americans that had been severed for 30 years. But Chinese friendships are often slower to develop than those made in the United States.
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From page 58... ...
Faculty elsewhere not specifically designated to engage in "foreign affairs" may be under similar constraints, which is one of the reasons so many American graduate students and researchers are disappointed that they interact so rarely with potential colleagues in their units. Less formally, it is possible to find good excuses to make Chinese friends.
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From page 59... ...
Lowe. Teaching China's Lost Generation: Foreign Experts in the People's Republic of China, pp.
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From page 60... ...
Anyone who steps beyond the confines of his or her formal authority to ease your way in China assumes that you will find a way to repay them. But social obligations are not necessarily as simple as your inviting friends to dinner in return for a similar invitation from the Chinese hosts, and you may wonder how to respond to such hospitality.
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From page 61... ...
Many Chinese train stations have special lounges set aside for the rituals associated with meeting and departing and to shield privileged travelers from the noise and bustle outside as they sip their tea. Banquets are another form of Chinese ritual, and both distinguished foreign guests and young students can expect to be treated to a welcoming banquet.
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From page 62... ...
Researchers whose work takes them to several sites will invariably be treated to a welcoming banquet at each one, even if the visit is only for a day. Many researchers agree with the assessment of one who found "this way of doing research stultifying and lifeless, not to mention emotionally and physically draining....
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From page 63... ...
"My unit was very concerned that I would let my frustration show at my long-delayed welcoming banquet, and they were pleased to no end when I behaved like someone who understands China and can be a good guest." Steven Butler describes using a banquet to bolster the standing of the local officials responsible for the day-to-day implementation of his work with a visiting official from their parent organization in Beijing. After demonstrating through relaxed, genial behavior how well everyone got along and toasting the importance of individual cooperation, he reports: The cadre from the Academy left for Peking [Beijing]
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From page 64... ...
One of the great advantages of the current openness in China is that you can ask Chinese friends for advice and help In negotiating the labyr~nth of behavioral expectations. And most Americans agree that although the Chinese appreciate sincere attempts to respect Chinese culture by emulating some of the modes of behavior that ease potentially awkward situations, there is no need to lose your own identity in the process.
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From page 65... ...
Foreigners are required to register with the Public Security Bureau wherever they are. Ordinarily, your work unit does this for you, and by registering in any hotel you are also registering with Public Security.
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From page 66... ...
Permission can be denied if the Public Security Bureau thinks your accommodations are not appropriate for foreigners.
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From page 67... ...
Romance is inevitably complicated when an American is involved; Americans who have married Chinese in China have invariably reported bureaucratic interference and delays. Casual dating, particularly by young Chinese women, is still not widely accepted, though the situation is changing in the more Westernized cities.
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From page 68... ...
Many U.S. students, teachers, and researchers live in foreign enclaves foreign student dormitories, special residences for foreign faculty, hotels, or the huge Friendship Hotel in Beijing, built in the 1950s for Soviet foreign experts.
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From page 69... ...
Students are almost always assigned to a campus dormitory reserved for foreigners. Most colleges and universities do not allow Chinese and foreign students to room together (the Johns Hopkins-Nanjing Center is an exception, which is one of its attractions to U.S.
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From page 70... ...
See Appendix D, "Regulations Concerning the Admission of Foreign Students in Chinese Schools, 1986." Chinese schools have separate dining halls for foreign students. However, foreign students may, if they wish, have meals in the canteens for Chinese students.
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From page 71... ...
Researchers who travel or work in the countryside have been housed in a variety of accommodations—from dormitories to moderately priced hotels. In recent years, many work units have begun charging flat daily sums for research in rural areas which include housing, food, transportation and overhead.
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From page 72... ...
Some Americans prefer to duplicate as closely as possible a Chinese student lifestyle. (Chinese students, however, live six to eight to a room, while foreign students generally live two to a room.)
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From page 73... ...
Smells bad, but usually functions. Foreign students can eat at the foreign student dining hall for a few yuan a day, or they can eat at the Chinese students' canteen for even less.
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From page 74... ...
One couple reports having to move to a higher priced hostel on campus in order to live together. Students bringing their spouses should check with their host institution in advance about the regulations and what alternative arrangements can be made.
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From page 75... ...
HOTELS Hotel accommodations in China range from the very expensive joint-venture hotels (some of which have five-star ratings) , offering Western amenities and service at Western prices, to very modest establishments that house Chinese travelers as well as foreign guests.
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From page 76... ...
And everyone occasionally wants to buy food from the market and find creative ways to eat "at home." Some hotel residents have lunch at their work unit for a few mao per meal, eating only breakfast and dinner at the more expensive hotel restaurant. Some units strongly advise their foreign guests against eating in the canteen sometimes to maintain the separation between foreigners and danwei personnel, but sometimes because the quality of canteen food is not good.
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From page 77... ...
On the positive side, getting to know hotel personnel and understanding how the hotel functions as a workplace offers another interesting perspective on Chinese life. ARRANGEMENTS FOR ACCOMPANYING SPOUSES AND CHILDREN Chinese regulations prohibit undergraduate students from bringing spouses and children to China (although some manage to do so anyway)
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From page 78... ...
The four of us lived in a single room in the old foreign students dorm, with a gas ring and bathroom down the hall. As we were on the third floor, we frequently had water stoppages due to the low water pressure in Nanjing.
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From page 79... ...
Fulbright faculty are given stipends to send their children to international schools. One parent whose son attends the International School of Beijing at the Lido Center writes "It is an excellent school, even better than American schools." Writes another: Our daughter attends the Beijing International School [and]
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From page 80... ...
Further information on these schools can be obtained from the appropriate American consulate. One difficulty with the international schools is that they are often a considerable distance from one's residence.
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From page 81... ...
The second term begins around the end of February—depending on the date of chunjie—and runs through late June. The pace in most work units slows considerably during these holidays because staff often travel to visit relatives or sightsee.
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From page 82... ...
Foreigners are not entitled to time off for their own national or religious holidays, but many units arrange for celebrations of Christmas, Hanukkah, and other holidays. Americans have reported great success throwing Halloween, Christmas, and Easter-egg parties and even celebrations of Thanksgiving without turkey—and inviting Chinese students, colleagues, and friends.
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