Juniper Armstrong

By now I should come to expect/accept the cultural differences that I encounter on a daily basis...but there is just one thing I can not accept is the lack of responsibility I see here. Let me explain:

The foreign teachers have been having some issues with some customs students who are living in the same hotel as us. I had one try and enter my room and a drunk customs student tried picking a fight with another teacher. Needless to say, we complained. We were told by the International Office that they would take care of the problem etc etc. On both accounts, the chinese customs students lied. They told me that the guy made a mistake about trying to enter my room and that I was 'blowing it out of proportion'(next time you are in a strange country and a guy is entering your room, you let me know if you are frightened by it or not). And in regards to the drunk student picking a fight, that it was actually the foreign teacher who was the aggressor...WRONG!

Instead of taking responsibility for their actions, you often have people over here try and blame someone else or pass the buck. It often works out to their advantage, because their are so many layers of people you have to jump though that you can actually do this. Also, the whole concept of "saving face" means you never admit to being wrong. THAT IS SO FRUSTRATING to me because I think one of the greatest aspects of a civilized culture is the ability to admit your mistakes and realize what you have done wrong SO THAT YOU CAN GROW FROM IT.

So just in case you ever encounter a giant, fat customs official when traveling in China and he obviously has a dislike for foreigners (and his favorite swear words are 'f*** your mother' in both English AND Chinese)...you will know it is our fine friend who tried attacking one of the teachers.

P.S- Because of these incidents, the customs students have been removed from our floors... but they have now told everyone that it is our fault for both occurrences. Let's just keep shifting the blame and changing the stories- ARGHHH