Culture in CHina -- It differs from the West!

Mike, in Japan, a rich country, we deal with this all the time. I'm sure you've heard of the Asian idea of "saving face." I find I have to be extremely careful about offending the Japanese. Actually, this makes most missionaries to Japan very polite people! Is this your experience?

 

I wish it were my experience, however, there are some missionaries that just do not get it. You would think they went to John Wayne the Baptist Bible College, you know what I mean? On the whole we Americans are very arrogant people. I am ashamed sometimes the way we treat those from thord world countries. We think we are so much better than them. We treat them differently. I intentionally used the first person so that I would not be accused of spewing poison at others. I try not to be this way.

 

Mike, in Japan it is so difficult to reach people that we find ourselves falling over our feet trying to be nice to the people to get them to listen to us. As one of my colleagues says about methodology here, "You fail your way and I'll fail mine!"

There are a lot of "ugly Americans" here though, as per that novel of the 1960's. To paraphrase Pogo, the great philosopher/comic character and my role model, "We have met the ugly American, and he is us!"

But you know what? The most arrogant visitors we ever had here in Japan was a couple of missionary ladies from a third world country!

 

hey! you might be describing the mission field here as well! (like among the chinese here, specially the older generaion.)

But do you think among the younger generation, they're too caught up with themselves or love material goods and money and the new age lifestyle to think about God?

 

For the american missionaries who have the heart to work with the peoples of asia, i don't think i've met a single one who's arrogant. They come with an understanding that the world is bigger than the USA and other cultures and attitudes exist.
(Thank God for that! I thank God for the many Americans who are willing to GO.)

The most "ugly" American i met in the ministry was not a missionary but someone serving the Lord from out of the States. It was his first time to this region and to my country and he informed me (albeit jokingkly) that my name sounded like how they call out to the pigs back home. Wow, like that was culturally insensitive.

He was redeemed by an american missionary to Laos (and married a lao-atian). When i told him my name, he said "aw, that means beautiful in Lao." (Actually, in Chinese, it means simple, delicate flower. That's what my name means...)

So i told him of my other encounter concerning telling an American my name and he apologised on his behalf and said remarks like that coming from an american, he's not surprised...

And about the hungry ghosts festival i talked about in the preceeding post. I mentioned that on this board before and the responses i got from americans were like they thought i was talking about Halloween or something. Like people going about to play spook or something fun like that. They don't understand that chinese ghosts are different from the english ones.

 

I promise i'll try to take some pictures this year's hungry ghosts festival and post them here...

 

hello! I've visited China only once. Been with an underground church there and I was truly moved by the people's hunger for truth and for the Word of God.

After so long being kept in the dark, the light surely shines brighter!

There are many China migrant workers coming to Singapore and we are trying to reach China from here. Pray for us.

The younger generation in China grow up in a very different setting than their parents. The one child policy has changed family dynamics so much. Most of them are spoiled rotten by the six adults at their beck and call.

And then there's the opening economy. Chinese people have become very materialistic, (like being taken to a banquet after having been starved for days...).

 

I had not thought of this, Su Wei. I can see a little of what this would do to the society. Thank you for sharing it.

 

Acually, sir, that was pointed out to me by one of the brethren of that church i visited in China!

I noticed it too while i was there. Kids get away with murder. The anti-social behaviour they exhibit is taken very lightly by their adults. It's even viewed as amusing and adorable.

 

Su Wei, the interesting thing is that we see this in Japan, too. Japan does not have the one child law that China was, but the average Japanese family has only about 1.5 children. And they mostly don't believe in corporal punishment anymore, and it was even outlawed in the schools about ten years ago, so kids here get away with murder, too. Very sad.

 

well, i read in the newspapers about violent crimes happening in Japanese schools. Maybe outlawing corporal punishment in school was a reaction to that?

Some sicko teachers punish their students the way their soldiers tortured their captives in WWII. I remember one about the teacher slamming his student's head in the school gate as a punishment.

But you know what? I thank God here in Singapore, i have the freedom to spank my children without the fear of getting arrested. And Corporal punishment is still practiced in schools (for boys)... and, my teacher husband is one who is authorised in his school to cane offenders.

 

From all I have read about Singapore, it sounds like one of the best places to live in Asia! Well, the Lord in His wisdom called me to Japan, instead. The people here need the Lord just as much as anyone in Asia, of course.

 

Sigh... but singaporeans always think about the big houses in Australia.

The five room flat (three bedrooms each just big enough to put a double bed and wardrobe and leave you barely enough space to walk) i own with my husband can buy us a bungalow house with four bedrms, two baths, garden and back yard in Perth, Western Australia, 4 hrs away by plane.

 

I know how it is, Su Wei. We lived in Yokohama for 13 years, and could never afford to rent a house. Buying a house in Japan is out of the question, since banks won't give us a loan without permanent residency, and they don't give that to missionaries!

Anyway, we usually rented a four room apartment--tiny rooms, too! Our last apartment there was a little bigger, but we paid $1500 US a month for it, including a parking place three blocks away!

Is it about like that for you, His In China? Up here in Hokkaido, Japan's frontier, we rent a nice house for much less.

 

That's a lot cheaper than I thought it would be there in China! It is so incredibly expensive here, but it is getting better because of the long Japaneses recession. We have a lot of 100 yen stores and 2nd hand stores nowadays.

God takes such good care of us though. Even when the dollar was at it's weakest, every need was met, one way or another.