I know I’m pretty positive about living in China and for the most part I really do love it. But there is a thing that every foreigners has to deal with, and it’s called a Bad China Day.
It’s a day that starts off normal enough, but one thing sets you off, like someone pushing you out of the way, or someone looking at you and laughing and soon not one single chinese person can do anything right and your venting to your foreign friends about “fucking chinese culture and people.” I think it’s just the result of a slow buildup of the culture differences until one day you freak out. Once you release it, it’s fine, things stop bothering you and you go back to normal. Until the next Bad China Day of course.
It happens to everyone, but luckily not at the same time so the other foreigners can talk you down. In fact, it’s really the only way to handle these kinds of problems. We helped one foreign teacher to relax after he freaked out on a poor young girl who cut him in line during one of his Bad China Days and my friend in Beijing once called me and said, “You love China. Tell me again why I should too?”
So relying on foreign friends and co-workers is pretty much the only solution to a Bad China Day. Unfortunately right now, all of my co-workers are having a Bad China Day and venting is not helping at all, only working us up more.
That’s because about a week ago, they cut the water to our buildings. No one told us. About 5 days ago we all started returning from holiday. It has not been pretty. I was one of the last to arrive, school does start in 2 weeks after all, I like to rest and prepare before the semester, and had no idea about the water. “At least 2 days,” was the answer we got.
Well, guess what, it’s 4 days later and still no sign of it being fixed. I have plenty of drinking water, but the problem is cooking, washing, showering, and of course, the toilet. Add to that that it is still spring festival holiday so everything near the school is closed. Excuse me, not everything. Out of the 50 plus stores there is one restaurant (with overpriced crappy food), one haircut place and a glasses shop. Yep. Eye glasses. How helpful.
So the no water thing, mixed with typical small town chinese things of staring at me, yelling Laowai when I’m shopping or walking on the street, and other small things has me in a 2-day Bad China Day spell. Add to that I have yet another cold, and the weather is dreary, dark, drizzly and freezing and you have a perfect downward spiral. I was so looking forward to this quiet time to do some writing, catch up on movies, make my favorite foods and just relax. Instead I have to eat only packaged foods that don’t need cooking or utensils and figure out how the heck to flush my toilet at least once a day. It sucks.
So enough is enough. I’m outta here. Going to Shanghai for the next few days to see my friends, have some fun, and use a working toilet and shower. I can’t wait.
So China I love you, but fuck you.
Been there…