Chinese people won't stop waking me up

[crazy-meiguoren]

Ah, the hazards of living in a culture of early risers. Like jbradfor said, it is good training for the days when you become a parent. Been there, done that, still not rested.

[Chinadoog]

calling before 8 am is a bit much. my old boss did that a couple times.. a serious wtf. calling early on the weekends is also pretty lame. turn off your cellphone, put a sign on the door... and if they still keep knocking on your door you might have to punch some people.

[Guest realmayo]

I remember being astonished at the persistence of people knocking on the door or phoning while I stayed in bed pretending to be out -- either they were persistent, or they somehow knew I hadn't gone anywhere....

[Brian US]

I remember being astonished at the persistence of people knocking on the door...

And it's not the polite O...OOO.O.....O..O knock (if anyone here understands that). It's the pounding for several minutes.

[roddy]

If you're on a small campus, the security guard, the cleaners or the guy that runs the shop has probably told them that you're in. Get used to it. Or do a lesson about it, that might get the word spread around. But with the students, you're effectively dealing with bored teenagers with little comprehension of personal space or time. Even if you put a sign up they'll knock on the door to check you mean it, or because they've brought you spicy duck neck, and who could possibly not want spicy duck neck. For breakfast. With the teachers and bosses - you're employed by the school. As far as they're concerned, that doesn't come with time restrictions.

[Lu]

If you're on a small campus, the security guard, the cleaners or the guy that runs the shop has probably told them that you're in. Get used to it. Or do a lesson about it, that might get the word spread around.

I was thinking something like this as well. A class on cultural differences, you don't even need to make it about you personally or show your irritation, but then at least next time they come to your door you can say Remember that class? We Americans don't like this!

[carlo]

Teaching English still sounds like a dream job. Try consulting or investment banking (no need to go to China). I can't count the number of times I've finished work at 4am the previous day only to get a call three hours later from a client or boss shouting "what? You're not up yet?"

[WestTexas]

Teaching English still sounds like a dream job. Try consulting or investment banking (no need to go to China). I can't count the number of times I've finished work at 4am the previous day only to get a call three hours later from a client or boss shouting "what? You're not up yet?"

bro it's probably the easiest job you could ever have. Actually since I posted that first post people have stopped coming by so early. I work for like 15 hours a week, I get 3 months of paid vacation a year, loads of holidays, free apartment, free utilities, etc. Granted I'm significantly below the poverty line as far as my home country (the US) is concerned, but in relation to the Chinese I make a middle-class salary that is enough for me to live comfortably.

[Matty]

Since I have an inability to sleep more than 5 hours a night... I'll give you my very biased opinion.

Wake up at 4am a few times see how they are going at 5am, wishing them well with small breakfast gifts to make sure they feel really welcomed.

Then again if you make friends with the guards and just say hi every morning, if one day you're woken up eary, go out to buy something and when the guard asks how you are tell him you feel a bit like crap because you like to sleep in to x o'clock on weekends and though it's nice and you appreciate that they come to visit it's a pity they come so early as it makes you really tired. Do it in a casual chatty way, the words will spread.

[bunny87]

lol, maybe they don't want you to have time to think about missing the US. and if you don't sleep long enough, you can't dream about it either.

annnnd, to all that "i'm older/i have kids/get used to it" crap. are you serious? no training will prepare you for kids except perhaps working as a nanny or in a day care. why bother ruining whatever responsibility-free days that remain? and why make 'younger' people wake up early just for the sake of it? so the streets can be filled with more grumpy or cranky people?

[jbradfor]

bro it's probably the easiest job you could ever have. Actually since I posted that first post people have stopped coming by so early.

Glad to hear it's getting better. Maybe you're not quite the novelty you were a couple weeks ago

Also good to hear you like your job teaching English. Could you provide more details? e.g. how you found the job, the school, pay and benefits, if you are willing to share those details. There seems to be a lot of people looking for jobs teaching English in China, and the more datapoints the better...

[renzhe]

I don't think you're going to like this answer, but my suggestion is to just get up early on the weekend, you lazy bum! Think of it as practice for when you have kids.

I agree. Other activities I suggest:

- bring an electric drill to your honey moon, as practice for when you renovate your kitchen

- walk to work in crutches every day, as practice for when you break a leg

- limit making love to once a month, as practice for when you get old

- punch holes in your molars on the beach, as practice for when you go to a dentist

- turn off the AC in your office in the summer, as practice for when you go to a safari

[bunny87]

well put, renzhe.

[jbradfor]

Haha. This is the second time my post has been misinterpreted, so I guess I'll have to blame myself for phrasing it poorly.

What I meant, and others have phrased it better, is that the OP is now living in a place where people do not, by and large, sleep in on the weekends. Rather than complaining about it, and expecting the world to change for the OP, I think the OP needs to change to reflect the environment the OP is in.

As one who used to sleep-in quite late on the weekends as well, I understand how frustrating it is to be woken up "early". But now, some 10+ years later, I have adjusted to waking up early on weekends, and I can assure the OP that it isn't the end of the world, and in fact isn't as bad as I thought it would be.

[renzhe]

You'll have to forgive me for my tongue-in-cheek response, but I take my sleep seriously ;). Also, it is telling that you say "10 years ago", as people's sleeping habits (and the need for sleep) change drastically as one ages. Young people need lots of sleep.

But you're right in another way. I used to live in Germany and curse the gardeners who would come and make nuclear explosions in front of my window at 7am every morning, all in the name of order and cleanliness. No amount of complaining helped, but I was still miserable for basically a decade. Now I live in Portugal, and have people partying loudly under my balcony 365 days a week. From midnight to 6am.

There is no point trying to reform the whole city to fit my sleeping habits. I have to close the windows well, sleep upstairs and use earplugs, OR move to a quieter location. But one way or another, I MUST sleep. Luckily, I can sleep in on the weekends here, which I do regularly. I do not wish to exercise discipline and train for when I have children if it means I have to drive to work half-asleep every morning in a town full of children playing in the streets.

[jbradfor]

Also, it is telling that you say "10 years ago", as people's sleeping habits (and the need for sleep) change drastically as one ages. Young people need lots of sleep.

Well........ From my reading, it sounds like a lot of the people waking up the OP are students (younger people). Unless you want to argue that Chinese youths need less sleep than western youths, I still believe it is a cultural issue.

Also, for me personally, changing to waking up earlier came some years after I started to need less sleep, another reason I think when one wakes up is more of a cultural issue.

P.S. I take my sleep seriously as well. Even more so now after having a kid.

[renzhe]

Unless you want to argue that Chinese youths need less sleep than western youths, I still believe it is a cultural issue.

Some western youths need lots of sleep, others sleep little. Same with Chinese youths. The Chinese youths who like to sleep a lot are most likely not the ones bringing him spicy duck neck on a Saturday morning

[amandagmu]

I can't adapt to this either. I was pissed off when the university visa guy, who I had been bugging for weeks to give me my visa, called me at 8AM one Monday morning just to yell at me (in an annoyed voice) that I better get to campus ASAP and get the passport. I mean, I had called him in the middle of the day for several weeks about it, and he was the one who kept avoiding giving me a response, then HE yells at ME. Or then there was the time he called to yell at me about a health exam (within those same weeks), again in the morning, and I yelled back in Chinese "I ALREADY WENT!" and there was a pause "oh. Hao le. Zaijian."

The kuaidi people are a bit better. They wait until 9AM or so. The kongfz.com people are mixed. I once had a bookstore call me before 8AM on a weekday just to see if I got the book and was happy - I said I did and immediately hung up the phone, rolled over, and went back to bed.

My main solution had been putting the phone on silent or turning it off... That was until they decided to do construction in my building (again) a few months ago. The jackhammers began at 7:30AM. Mind you, I was usually up by then, but I nearly lost it when it happened once on a Sunday. Luckily, I have a few packs of ear plugs, so that my best suggestion for you is to find a place that sells them and wear them on those weekend days when you really don't want to be bothered.

Personally, I don't think the sign thing will work... ever tried that in a hotel? The maid will knock and still enter. The best suggestion from other posters, imo, is to make friends with the guard and make it clear you don't like being woken up that early. That might stop most people from being allowed to come up to see you, or at least get him to lie and tell them you're not in. Guanxi goes a long way here in Beijing at least.

Everyone's sleep schedule is different. I don't have kids yet, but I'm getting to an age where that kind of thing will probably happen soon. Frankly I'd like to savor my last days of sleeping beyond 6AM, thank you very much.

[WestTexas]

The kids at my school were doing "military training" this week. I can sleep through anything now. "Military training" at the Chinese schools is funny. It has nothing to do with the military at all aside from the uniforms. They do no exercise and do not use guns, they just march a little bit, yell, and stand around in rows. They asked me if we had to do this in the US and I said no, students don't do it, and the military training for soldiers in the US is much more serious. The military training for American soldiers is about killing people.

[fanglu]

"Military training" at the Chinese schools is funny. It has nothing to do with the military

Do you think the Chinese government would want their citizens to know how fight against a professional military? The only aspect of the military they're interested in their citizens emulating is the follow orders and don't ask questions part.