You wanted me to come back this forum and tell my experience, should I?

[Angelina]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/01/07/venezuelas-bizarre-response-to-mcdonalds-running-out-of-french-fries/

"Public figures, including Venezuela's president, have also taken to Twitter. Earlier today, sandwiched between tweets about domestic issues and an international investment deal with China, president Nicolas Maduro retweeted this tweet by news outlet Russia Today, which translates roughly to "Japan: Human tooth found in french fries at a McDonald's."

No wonder he was confused by what is happening in China.

[studychinese]

I have read three pages of this topic so I haven't read all the replies.

Firstly, my sympathies for your problems with the university. They told you the course was taught in English and it was not. That's awful.

Secondly, Harbin is a terrible city for newcomers to China. I have been to many cities in China and I think that Harbin is definitely the worst that I have visited. For example, I detected a hostile vibe against Russians in Harbin, and unfortunately I look Russian. I didn't get that anywhere else in China, including nearby Dandong (which is much nicer than Harbin, and shockingly has honest taxi drivers). I wouldn't recommend Harbin to anyone that isn't a China veteran and isn’t prepared to live in a city with very little infrastructure and very shallow cultural scene.

However the invective against the foreigners living in Harbin is unwarranted. The foreigners fornicate and take drugs? That's not your concern and not a legitimate complaint.

Clearly you are suffering from culture shock, aggravated by legitimate grievances against your school. I had two months of culture shock when I was living in Japan and Japan is relatively friendly to foreigners (ironically I got over the culture shock when I started dating local girls).

Your best bet is to change to the Chinese language program, if such a thing is possible. Even better would be going to a university in a different area. Shanghai, perhaps. Beijing, Nanjing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, any of these cities are better than Harbin.

Good luck!

[AdamD]

Public figures, including Venezuela's president, have also taken to Twitter.

 

I love how journalists always report people 'taking to' Twitter, like it's a huge effort and a massive imposition. "I'm so angry I'm forced to go all the way to twitter dot com and write a sentence!!"

[Lu]

I asked the mods to split off the native vs non-native teacher debate and then I was suddenly a moderator myself. That discussion has been split off and is now here. And with the powers newly invested in me, I'd like to request everyone in this thread that if you want to discuss something that has nothing to do with the situation outlined by Sujeto, consider making a new thread.

[roddy]

Further off-topic posts moved here. Isn't this fun. 

[Simon_CH]

I must say I read sujeto's post with some pleasure and I for one appreciate his writing style, very candid and straight to the point. And I am pretty certain that this is exactly how he experienced it, and he's angry for a reason. 

 

But, and I have to say this sujeto, we told you so! I like many others told you to not study in China, to not be impressed by some space program or some other marketing BS. I also told you that there's a very big chance that many courses are not in English as advertised, as I had the exact same problem in Guangzhou's finest Sun Yat Sen University, supposedly one of the top schools in the country. And realistically you learning Chinese won't help you one bit because the education won't improve even if you did in fact speak the language. 

 

Much of what you wrote mirrors exactly what I experienced in my exchange semester a couple of years ago, and I can tell you honestly that I didn't learn a thing while there. But that doesn't make me hate China, I simply have a realistic picture of the country and feel no need to defend the country against allegations that are true. I take the good with the bad, and there's plenty of both. If you're used to living in a functioning country where people trust and are nice to each other China is not for you. If you take a somewhat morbid pleasure in experiencing a rather dystopian society morph into something a bit more positive then perhaps it is. People live in bubbles regardless how well integrated they consider themselves to be. I don't like living in China, I like living in my tiny slice of China that I created with the help of work and good friends. So in a way your current position is not so bad, as it can only get better going forward. Forget the notion that HIT will teach you anything, you have to learn things by yourself. Don't expect anyone to help you or give you a hand, but appreciate and recognize it if someone does. 

 

So if nothing else this thread serves as a warning to anyone with similar plans as sujeto, because chances are you'd better study anywhere else but in PRC. 

[studychinese]

Simon_CH, spot on.

In many ways all the foreigners banging girls (or possibly even slurry foreign girls and their 'licentious' ways), taking drugs and so on criticised by Sujeto can be coping mechanisms.

After all, if you went to China and got tricked into attending a course that is not taught in English, why wouldn't you start banging hot chicks and start taking drugs. I would!

The whole China as communist utopia is ludicrous, but even I expected a little bit of it when I first went to China. My eyes opened when I met CCP members that openly mocked communism and said that communism doesn't work.

[Demonic_Duck]

After all, if you went to China and got tricked into attending a course that is not taught in English, why wouldn't you start banging hot chicks and start taking drugs. I would!

 

I certainly can't imagine any other reason for having sex with attractive members of the opposite gender!

[Angelina]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Venezuela

[Johnny20270]

So if nothing else this thread serves as a warning to anyone with similar plans as sujeto, because chances are you'd better study anywhere else but in PRC.

 

People should be candid about their experiences as it serves as a good guide for others intending to come here 

 

What about a thread on things you like and dislike about China. Might be useful for newcomers

[jbradfor]

We already have a thread on "why did you leave China" which is basically that.  People already vent a lot about China, I have as well.  This whole "this forum is so pro-China it must be sponsored by the Chinese government" is absolutely ludicrous to anyone who's actually read many posts.  I don't see a whole lot of "un-candidness" going on here.

[Shelley]

Where sujeto? Come back, let us know what you doing and how things are going.

[abcdefg]

Where sujeto? Come back, let us know what you doing and how things are going.

 

 

#132 -- @Shelley -- Can you really not answer your own question?

[Shelley]

No not really or else I wouldn't have asked. I genuinely wondered what had happened to sujeto and was trying to encourage sujeto to let us know what had happened since he first posted in this topic.

 

Do you have an idea as to why?

 

I suppose I may be showing my naivety and faith in human nature but I do actually care what has befallen sujeto. For all the ranting and raving, underneath it all was unhappy person trying to make sense of whole new world and dealing with culture shock.

[Angelina]

(downvoted by mistake)

 

Maybe he is busy. 

[Shelley]

oh true maybe he is busy, might be a good sign I suppose

 

Shame you hit the wrong button, maybe someone will reverse it.

[LiMo]

@Shelley T'was meee! Balance is restored 

 

Should I bother throwing in my two cents to this ever growing pile of change? It has been an interesting thread. I just hope he can turn things around and maybe utilise the internet better next time. Most of his troubles can be read about on this forum and many other places. 

 

An attitude change would probably do him a world of good! When you smile the world smiles with you 

(Yeah it's a cognitive illusion but it's a darn good one)

[Angelina]

It's not an illusion. If you force yourself into a fake smile, there will be chemical changes in your brain and you will feel happier. 

[Shelley]

@LiMo thank you.

 

I agree with
 

An attitude change would probably do him a world of good! When you smile the world smiles with you 

(Yeah it's a cognitive illusion but it's a darn good one)

 

 

and yes Angelina

 

If you force yourself into a fake smile, there will be chemical changes in your brain and you will feel happier.

 

I believe that too.

[abcdefg]

#134 -- @Shelley --

 

Do you have an idea as to why?

 

My hunch is that Sujeto abandoned this thread because it became bloated with hundreds of irrelevant posts, including plenty of unsolicited self-help advice, rants, criticisms and diatribes in response to his original question. He probably decided it was not fruitful to post here any more.