Worried about coming to China

[Awais Kazi]

I'm coming to china, as a foreign student..

having no command with chinese..

I'm kinda scared now, how would I talk to ANYONE in china? like going to a doctor at time, or perhaps a tailor or a barber .. can anyOne guide me?

[歐博思]

www.nciku.com

It has vocab for different situations : see a doctor, tailor, barber.. and many more.

[renzhe]

Make some friends with local students when you arrive, and they can help you when things get really tough.

But for the most part, you'll have to improvise, point at things, use body language, smile, try English, draw pictures, and after a few months, you should know enough Chinese to get by in everyday situations, even if it's just a few crucial words. Be inventive: take a photo of the haircut you want to the barber's shop, take a calculator to write numbers, bring a booklet with photos with you so you can point (they have them in many travellers' shops) -- like pointing to a cow if you want to but some beef in a supermarket, talk to young people who are more likely to speak some English. Find something on Wikipedia and then follow the link to the Chinese version and write the term down.

It can be a scary thought, but some of us look at it as adventure and are addicted to the feeling. .Recently, I had to get some sort of medical certificate, except people only spoke Portuguese, and I didn't. Somehow it worked. People are good at improvising when they really need something ;)

[Awais Kazi]

OMG .. you scare me man .. lol .. I've never been to such situations .. anyway, I have to live 4 years in china, I guess I'd be pretty fine with Chinese in about a year what say? how was your experience after your arrival to china?

Plus, how to be friends with locals when I don't even know their language, nor do they know mine or English even.. lol ..

and what did you say? young teens know English? are you sure? I haven't heard anything like that before..

[renzhe]

All kids learn English in school, for many years. This does not mean that every young person speaks fluent English, but there are enough young people who can (and want to) communicate in English. Students are students everywhere, they like to go out, like to make friends and, especially in China, they like to practice English.

I have travelled in China, never lived for a longer period of time, but I've done the "new country, don't speak the language at all" programme twice before, and I'm doing just fine. Chinese is a hard language, but if you don't mess things up very badly, you should definitely be able to communicate enough to talk to a doctor and a barber after a year.

What will you be studying, and in what language? Have you travelled much abroad? In many parts of Italy or Spain, you'll be surrounded by people who don't speak a word of English, and people manage. If you are really terrified of the thought, then you might want to think hard about doing this programme before you go. Nothing bad will happen to you, but this sort of experience really requires a certain love of adventure.

[abcdefg]

OMG .. you scare me man .. lol .. I've never been to such situations

Why did you decide to come to China for your education? Maybe you need to re-examine that decision in the light of your concerns. Perhaps some other country would be more suitable and less scary. Some people thrive on a challenge of this sort while others disintegrate from the stress. It's not for everyone.

[amandagmu]

My guess is that you're coming here to study because you got a full scholarship - which they tend to give to students coming from countries that are underrepresented. Am I right? If so, do not despair. At the university in Beijing that I'm affiliated with there are a ton of guys from small African countries who are placed in language programs alongside their normal classes and within a year they speak Chinese just fine. I believe that taking Chinese classes is necessary, I don't think it's a choice. The uni will make you take some.

[jbradfor]

OMG .. you scare me man

Just curious: what were you expecting? It sounds like you thought younger Chinese spoke no English, so the situation is already better than you expected, right?

[DullM]

@Awais, all big cities (and even not that big, too) in China have their expat community and a place (like a cafe or bar) to hang out. There you will meet a lot of English-speaking Chinese and they tend to be very helpful to foreigners.

Speaking no Chinese will definitely make the life difficult in many ways but it's not fatal. You will meet A LOT of non-chinese speaking people here and they will tell you how to survive.

Many cities also have a fair number of halal food restaurants too.

[Lu]

Here's what to do:

- Ask for help. Many Chinese will be delighted at the opportunity to practice their English and help a foreign friend; many foreign students will be happy to show off how well they get around and how well they know the place. Some people won't be delighted, if you meet those people, just ask someone else.

- Make some friends who speak better Chinese than you. Can be either foreign or Chinese (language partners are also good). Ask them for help as well.

- Study hard. That way, your Chinese will improve fast and life will get easier quickly.

You're not the first student to come to China without a word of Chinese, it's certainly doable. And at least you speak English. A classmate of mine once told me about an Italian girl she saw at the dorm at the beginning of the semester. The girl spoke no Chinese and also no English, and had the hardest time making herself understood. Half a year later or so my classmate saw the girl again, happily chatting with some friends around campus. Have faith, be brave, chances are you'll have the time of your life.

[Awais Kazi]

Thank you alot guys, this made me feel lot better..

Oh and Yes, in my country too, people like to practice English (I'm one of them ) .. I just hope my English skills don't get ruined while my stay at china .. If I learn Chinese, I'd not be practicing English anymore .. anyway, I'm going for my Bachelors in English language at Nanchang probably ..

Plus, those guys who're suggesting me to go to some other country .. I wanna tell you that I'm coming on scholarship, full scholarship that is.. and I don't think any other country is offering such scholarship ..

Oh and to someone who asked about my experiences to some other country is ..

I've never traveled outside my CITY .. YES, CITY that is .. lol never even got inside a train lol, I know thats strange

[LA Guy]

Hi,

Recommend you watch / download all the youtube videos for Peggy Lee.

Channel: PeggyTeachesChinese

This should give you some basics before arriving.

Search for older posts on Learning Chinese on this forum.

LA Guy

[Lu]

I've never traveled outside my CITY .. YES, CITY that is .. lol never even got inside a train lol, I know thats strange

Perhaps you can practice this a bit before leaving for China? Bring a phone (so you can call home if you get really lost) and some money, pick a place that's not particularly dangerous, perhaps bring a fellow future scholarship student and go adventuring a bit in your own country. This way you can find out how you react to unexpected situations, how you feel when you're away from home, etc. That knowledge will come in useful in China.

Good luck!

[Awais Kazi]

@Lu

thanks for your idea I will surely work upon it ..

Plus, what did you mean by dangerous places ?

[Lu]

You're in Pakistan, right? I'm not very familiar with Pakistan, but I know from the newspapers there are areas there that are dangerous with militia and Taliban-related groups and whatnot. Best make sure you don't travel to those areas.

[Awais Kazi]

Oh you're talking about Pakistan ..

Yeah, you're right .. there are places, those places are metropolitan cities .. Terrorism has increased a lot from the past five years in Pakistan .. anyway the place I live is Completely safe Plus, the bomb blasts and other hits are probably at Govt places/army/Navy stuff .. anyway, what I was thinking .. I heard China is really really safe, so are there dangerous places there as well? Cause the place I live in is full of cell phone snatchers .. they just show you a gun and snatch your cell phone if you have got a better/expensive one..

[Awais Kazi]

**there place where I live (Pakistan)**

[DullM]

In general, i think China is very safe compared to certain western countries and the major issue in big cities is petty crime like pickpocketing, motorbike snatching, bicycle theft and, to many tourists, a teahouse scam and overcharging. I had once my wallet nearly picked by a small group of theft in Shenzhen and my bicycle stolen in Xichang (in Xichuan). This is not a big deal to me, comparing to the dissatisfactions that many people have grown when living in China for a year.

So far all expats, including a Bangladeshis I met, have a lot of complaints on many aspects - people don't smile, they look depressed, the food has too many oil and meats have too many bones, the traffic rules practiced half heartedly, they talk when munching a food, they're anti-american, they're a big fan of America...anything you could imagine. Even a vietnamese girl who spoke perfect Chinese once told me that "In my country, people are more honest than the Chinese and they don't overcharge." As appalled as I could be, I never took it as a fact-telling and tried to challenge her on this, because it certainly shows a sign of negative sentiments.

Pakistan and China on the government level has a very strong friendship which is "higher than the mountains, deeper than the oceans, stronger than steel, sweeter than honey" (the words of a Pakistan diplomat in Beijing). My friend (Chinese tourist) told me Pakistan was extraordinarily hospitable, friendly and helpful to him when he was there, and he felt grateful for all of these, but he was also wondering if the local Chinese would do the same. In certain ways, the Chinese, regardless of their distrust on Americans, tend to think in an American way when talking about the Middle East and South Asia.

[Lu]

I agree, China is very safe. Typical crimes you might want to watch out for are pickpocketing, being overcharged, having your bike stolen, or being scammed. Crimes you typically don't need to worry about are random violence, robbery, shootings and terrorism. So the crime that's there is generally annoying, but not very dangerous.

My suggestion was about travelling a bit in your own country, as that is relatively familiar, and you can still get an idea what difficulties you might run into, how you feel when away from your familiar environment, and how you can make yourself comfortable there. So yah, I was talking about Pakistan, in your case.

[Awais Kazi]

@ DullM

Thanks a lot man .. Yes, Pakistani's are extremely hospitable .. Plus the food you're complaining about, is what I've been eating here since I was a child lol .. so that won't be something I'd complain about .. mobile/bike snatching and pickpockets are okay.. I've never seen shooting/robbery here in my city (pakistan) since I was born .. heard about it, but never witnessed myself ..

@Lu

ahan.. so, I should be coming to china eh? .. yeah, I'll be traveling through my country real soon .. just confused about my CSC application .. I don't even know if it made it to the beijing office..