I figure sitting in a café over some not-so-café-like beverage is the best way to update my blog. It’s been a while. I’ve been back and forth between travel. The most recent bout was returning from Cairo, Egypt, where the company sent me to work on the acquisition. It was quite an adventure. 15 hr flight in, and straight to work the same day at the Egypt offices. I will not go into work details, but I will say that again, in observing the differences between Eastern and Western culture, I seen several further differences by being exposed to the Middle Eastern workplace. It was definitely another facet to add to understanding relations in the workplace, which I appreciated.

Egypt

The first thing I observed is that, in my (very uneducated) eyes, Egypt was a very spiritual yet ironic country. This is because at given times each day, mosques start piping up in chants and songs at their towers, calling people to pray. The men and women, who each have different entrances to the mosque rush to do their spiritual deed. I learned they have spots on the carpet inside the mosque where they kneel and praise their god, and the angle at which they kneel to pray is affected by the sun. Sometimes, if people are at work and unable to go to the mosque, they have a prayer room, or bring a mat to kneel on. All this to say, entering a mosque, where I had to remove my shoes and wear a robe covering my head to toe, I was very surprised at just how powerful the spiritualism was. I had nothing but respect for those who follow their religion, as I sat on the sidelines and watched. It was a similar sort of wonder I experienced entering a Christian church in Europe or a Taoist temple in China. I left happy with the fact that I had visited.

When I exited back into the streets to the Khalili, the 14^th century night market, I immediately experienced the irony. That is, although the women are covered quite modestly (and those covered in the face do so by choice if their husbands request them to), I noticed that Egyptian men were all very aggressive towards women, some verging on—no, actually, reaching the standard of—harassing other women. I cannot emphasize how many times I was physically grabbed (in not nice places), cornered or followed on streets. Yet, all in all, anyone with the right amount of street smarts can get away traveling on their own and be absolutely fine.

That same night I smoked a shisha, a traditional Egyptian pipe, with fragrant tobacco. Of course, since I do not smoke, it was difficult to suck all the smoke up the pipe. However, it was definitely an experience...the smell was very lovely, soft, fruity, but the smoke itself was harsh. I also went to the back alleys of the locals markets, which were padded with clothes and narrow pathways, where people were carrying large loads on their heads.

I have never heard ‘konnichiwa’ said to me so many times in my life. That, and long phrases of Japanese coming from the mouths of several locals following me up and down streets. I also heard ‘kawaii’ non-stop, and other Japanese things I did not understand. Everywhere I travel, it never fails. In fact, I have stopped taking it so personally, as I now realize, no matter where one travels, people are seen for the colour of their skin and nothing else.

Now here is the part that gets me going. The first observation of being in Egypt was: “WOW! It’s GREAT to be noticed for being a foreigner, so people give me the benefit of knowing I do NOT in fact understand what’s going on half the time!” This is in great contrast to my life in China, where, because I am Chinese, people still double back when I say I cannot read a menu or a street name.

Reverse Racism

This is the post I said I’d make a long time ago. Since traveling to Egypt, I feel it even stronger. And here it is, plain and clear, a simple observation—backed up by several individuals who have either had the benefit of the positive treatment or the downfall of the negative treatment.

The Chinese love foreigners from Europe or North America. Basically English speakers. They chase foreigners up and down streets to say “Hello!” and run away. Obviously, I don’t look too foreign, so I don’t get that, which is ok. But foreigners also receive lots of benefits locals don’t. Free dishes at the restaurant. Tables first when there is a long wait in line. Extra attention and service. VIP or free entry into clubs.

Take that and turn it around, and that is the treatment locals get: the cold shoulder when asking for service, being ignored when asking someone for a simple thing like how long the wait will be, and getting shoved and downright elbowed in the face in subways (foreigners who read this, please observe: visible foreigners do not receive this treatment).

I first came to China with an open mind, thinking that as a foreigner, people would understand and treat me with respect. But no, I have yellow skin and slanty eyes, so when people see me, they think ‘local,’ and I get the same treatment, BUT most often worse, for speaking bad Mandarin (hey, at least I try!).

I tried several experiments while with foreigners—several dozen in total. I would approach a restaurant or store and speak in Chinese, asking for a seat or if they could help me with a product. Cold shoulder and ignored each time. One woman sneered at me when I asked her for a direction. A different instance, the man heard me, and brushed past me, not caring to give me the time of the day. One lady stayed looking at her magazine and said ‘find it yourself’ when I couldn’t read the menu. All this for speaking Chinese.

The next step in the experiments, I approached and spoke English. INSTANT service. Attentive, courteous and responsive. While with a foreigner, it instantly escalates to star quality service. While without another foreigner, it is still above average.

To me, this was shocking. And speaking to Chinese foreigners, I realized it was a common phenomenon. One girl left her job in China to go back to the Netherlands where she was born and raised—because of the shitty treatment she was receiving as a Chinese foreigner in China.

Here is the hierarchy of “good to bad treatment” (opinion through experience only):

White foreigner à “other" non-Chinese foreigner à local Chinese à Chinese foreigner who speaks shitty Mandarin

I think I am treated on the cusp of “speaking shitty Mandarin” and “local Chinese.”

This is distressing to me on several levels: which culture has so little respect for itself that it has to revere another culture all the more? And why would you treat people in your own culture with such little regard? To a Westerner, this is shocking. I know patriotism exists in China. I see militant flag-raisings and red flags and stars everywhere. But why does this mistreatment happen?

I wanted to know. I asked several local friends. They all said YES it is a true phenomenon, what I observed. Some of these friends actually hang out with us foreigners to learn English, or more about foreign cultures—one particular friend said he was proud to have gone to “a very Westernized University,” while other local coworkers were proud to have gone to North America to work or school for a year or more.

Everywhere here, Westernism is a stamp of pride. I recently learned that prior to me being hired, in the posting, my company actually wanted someone who was physically foreign in appearance, more specifically, Caucasian. In North America, you’d get your ass sued. Good luck.

So racism is alive and thriving. And the funniest thing is, the MOST racism I have ever experienced is from those of my own race. Despite people biking feverishly up streets in South America JUST to yell “konnichiwa” to me, or people in England saying “do you like sushi” after just meeting me at a fish and chips shop, or an old Irish lady who once said to me, “oh, you’re Chinese? I have a doctor, he is Chinese—do you know him??” …despite all these things, I think I am most offended by the reverse racism here in China. It is quite an eye opener, but it reminds me, no matter what, and especially outside of Western countries, there is still a long way to go to reach acceptance and equality.

/end rant!