Foreigners in China often found themselves in shock in a lot of situations. It doesn’t matter how much you read about China before you get there, whether to travel or to teach English. Your expectations will almost always be different from reality. Maybe not every single one of them, but it’s funny how quickly that reality check can set in.

在中國(guó)的外國(guó)人經(jīng)常發(fā)現(xiàn)自己在很多情況下都處于震驚之中。無(wú)論你在到達(dá)中國(guó)之前讀了多少關(guān)于中國(guó)的書(shū)，無(wú)論是去旅游還是教英語(yǔ)。你的期望幾乎總是與現(xiàn)實(shí)不同。也許并不是每一個(gè)都是如此，但有趣的是，現(xiàn)實(shí)檢驗(yàn)可以如此迅速地開(kāi)始。

Expectation 1: Everything looks like ancient Chinese temples.

期待1: 一切看起來(lái)都像中國(guó)古代的寺廟。

Reality: Nope!

現(xiàn)實(shí): 不！

There is no doubt that China is a beautiful country. In just about any place you can go, you will see things that will truly make you happy to be alive and have the experience of being in China. But not everything has that ancient style to it. Some of it does, but other things are incredibly modern in the bigger cities. What’s fascinating is seeing the modern architecture juxtaposed next to ancient relics of the past.

毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)，中國(guó)是一個(gè)美麗的國(guó)家。在幾乎任何你能去的地方，你都會(huì)看到一些讓你真正開(kāi)心的事情，讓你活著，讓你有在中國(guó)的經(jīng)歷。但并不是所有的東西都有那種古老的風(fēng)格。有些確實(shí)如此，但是其他的東西在大城市里卻是非?，F(xiàn)代的。令人著迷的是看到現(xiàn)代建筑與過(guò)去的古跡并列在一起。

Expectation 2: My students will all hang on my every word.

期望2: 我的學(xué)生都會(huì)記住我的每一句話(huà)。

Reality: Nope!

現(xiàn)實(shí): 不！

Just because you’re their English teacher doesn’t mean they’re going to listen to everything you say. Kids are kids anywhere you go. Your Chinese students will mostly be a wonderful bunch anywhere you teach but you will always have those that are bored because their level is higher and those that are behind the rest of the flock. It’s up to you to be engaging to capture their attention and make them excited to learn English.

僅僅因?yàn)槟闶撬麄兊挠⒄Z(yǔ)老師并不意味著他們會(huì)聽(tīng)你說(shuō)的每一句話(huà)。無(wú)論你去哪兒，孩子們都是孩子。無(wú)論你在哪里教書(shū)，你的中國(guó)學(xué)生都會(huì)是一群很棒的學(xué)生，但你總會(huì)遇到那些無(wú)聊的學(xué)生，因?yàn)樗麄兊乃礁?，而且落后于其他學(xué)生。這取決于你是否能吸引他們的注意力，讓他們對(duì)學(xué)習(xí)英語(yǔ)感到興奮。

Expectation 3: I need to know Chinese to live here.

期望3: 我需要了解中國(guó)人才能在這里生活。

Reality: Nope!

現(xiàn)實(shí): 不！

Learning Chinese will definitely help and it will enrich your own experiences, but you can arrive and even survive living and teaching in China without knowing more than “ni hao.” You don’t need it to teach English either and many schools often prefer you don’t speak Chinese to your students so they can fully immerse themselves in English.

學(xué)習(xí)漢語(yǔ)肯定會(huì)有幫助，也會(huì)豐富你自己的經(jīng)歷，但是你可以在不知道更多“你好”的情況下到達(dá)中國(guó)，甚至在中國(guó)生活和教學(xué)中生存你也不需要它來(lái)教英語(yǔ)，而且許多學(xué)校通常不希望你對(duì)學(xué)生說(shuō)漢語(yǔ)，這樣他們就可以完全沉浸在英語(yǔ)之中。

At the same time, knowing some basic social etiquettes will help you transition to the local life more smoothly!

同時(shí)，了解一些基本的社交禮儀會(huì)幫助你更順利地過(guò)渡到當(dāng)?shù)氐纳睿?/p>

Expectation 4: No one will notice me.

期望4: 沒(méi)有人會(huì)注意到我。

Reality: Nope!

現(xiàn)實(shí): 不！

Chinese people are really curious about foreigners. In the big cities, it’s less of a problem, but living and teaching in China, you WILL have people come up to you and ask to either take your photo or take a photo with you. You may even feel like a celebrity at times. Try to embrace it and remember they’re just excited to meet you.

中國(guó)人對(duì)外國(guó)人真的很好奇。在大城市，這不是什么大問(wèn)題，但是在中國(guó)生活和教學(xué)，你會(huì)遇到一些人來(lái)找你，要么給你拍照，要么和你合影。有時(shí)你甚至?xí)X(jué)得自己像個(gè)名人。試著去擁抱它，記住他們只是因?yàn)橐?jiàn)到你而興奮。

Expectation 5: I love Chinese food. I’ll just order what I loved back home.

期望5: 我喜歡中國(guó)菜，我會(huì)點(diǎn)我在家鄉(xiāng)喜歡的菜。

Reality: Nope!

現(xiàn)實(shí): 不！

Chinese food is very different in China. You may see some similarities to dishes you loved at the Chinese restaurant in your neighborhood back home, but for the most part, it’s going to catch you by surprise. Don’t let that stop you though. Surely there will be some things you will not like at all, but there are going to be even more things you’ll want to eat every day.

中國(guó)的食物在中國(guó)很不一樣。你可能會(huì)看到一些相似的菜肴，你喜歡在中國(guó)餐館在你的鄰居回家，但在大多數(shù)情況下，它會(huì)讓你吃驚。但是不要讓這些阻止你。當(dāng)然會(huì)有一些你根本不喜歡的東西，但是會(huì)有更多你每天都想吃的東西。

Expectation 6: I can enjoy the sights during the holidays.

期望6: 我可以在假期里欣賞風(fēng)景。

Reality: Nope!

現(xiàn)實(shí): 不！

In China, you’ll need to get used to the crowds. Even if you’re from a big city, the crowds in China are larger than you’ve ever seen. If you want to do some sightseeing, avoid it during the major national holidays as that’s when they are most crowded. Do use your school schedule to your advantage though. During summer or winter break on weekdays for example, it’s a great time to go to the Great Wall and other landmarks. During Chinese New Year or National Week? Not so much!

在中國(guó)，你需要習(xí)慣擁擠的人群。即使你來(lái)自一個(gè)大城市，中國(guó)的人群也比你見(jiàn)過(guò)的要多。如果你想去觀光，那就避免在重要的國(guó)慶節(jié)期間，因?yàn)槟菚r(shí)候人最多。不過(guò)，一定要充分利用你的學(xué)校時(shí)間表。例如，在工作日的暑假或寒假期間，是去長(zhǎng)城和其他地標(biāo)性建筑的好時(shí)機(jī)。在中國(guó)新年或國(guó)慶周？沒(méi)有那么多！

Expectation 7: China is an interesting country.

期待7: 中國(guó)是一個(gè)有趣的國(guó)家。

Reality: Yes, very much so!

現(xiàn)實(shí): 是的，非常是這樣！

You may have days where you can’t handle it and want to hide away, but most of the time, you’re going to love living and teaching in China!

也許有些日子你無(wú)法應(yīng)付，想要躲起來(lái)，但大多數(shù)時(shí)候，你會(huì)喜歡在中國(guó)生活和教書(shū)！

Yes there will be a lot of surprises and challenges for foreigners living in China, especially if they’ve never been overseas before. However, Chinese people are very welcoming, you will soon find it your second home!

是的，對(duì)于生活在中國(guó)的外國(guó)人來(lái)說(shuō)，會(huì)有很多驚喜和挑戰(zhàn)，特別是如果他們以前從未出過(guò)國(guó)的話(huà)。然而，中國(guó)人民非常歡迎你，你很快就會(huì)找到你的第二個(gè)家！