Friendly people.

You certainly remember some a week ago when I promised you to tell you something about Thai people or rather their stereotypes. Well, personally I do not have that much prejudices against them and as I have mentioned erlier I really have a fair impression of them.

So far I had the pleasure of visiting Thailand twice in my life and everytime I came there I was welcomed by the most warm hearted (Asian) people you can ever imagine! Of course one can argue that this kind of hospitable behaviour seems to be quite natural for a country like Thailand because of its huge tourism branch. However I am convinced that this is only partly true as personally I had very pleasent experiences with Thai people outside of Asia. They were as friendly as in e.g. Bangkok or Pataya. Always having a sincere smile on their lips so I just cannot help myself smiling back!

Nevertheless there is one single prejudice against Thai people that is quite popular among non-Thais. Again I do not intend to generalize anyone and of course I do not want to spread nasty things about these ever-smiling people (who are probably the friendliest Asians in Asia – at least from my point of view!)! Well…how can I put this? I often heard from both Asians and non-Asians whenever the talk comes up to Thailand: Aren’t there lots of prostitutes over there? AAAARGH!!! I really do not confirm this and I hate saying it but… honestly I saw several young girls holding hands with some old farts coming from the West, as well. That kind of shocked me since there were more than a few who were my age.

It is definitively wrong and ignorant to say all Thai women are seeking for “rich” white men in order to get a better lifestyle for their families and themselves. (Of course prostitution is by no means uncommon in Thailand but this is not a Thai-only problem. Brazil, the USA, Peru, India, the Dominican Republic, Russia…they all have to cope with this as well!) So I busied myself with this topic for a while since my task is to vanish nasty prejudices of any kind and thereby I found an interesting website, called thailandguru.com. The author himself  is Thai and so he is perfectly able to give us an insight from a native point of view based on his own experiences:

“In Thailand, there are generally two sorts of lady: Prostitutes, and Mainstream (non-prostitutes). Based on statistics from various sorts, only about 2% of Thai ladies are prostitutes. However, these prostitutes tend to concentrate themselves where the business is, which includes a few square kilometers in the tourist and expat concentration areas in lower Sukhumvit and in Pattaya, and they tend to stand out since they try to get the attention of foreign guys. It is very important to understand that what you see in those zones is very different from what you come across in the rest of Thailand (except other hot spots).

There is a big difference between mainstream Thai ladies and those you can meet in bars and nightclubs. What is often said about “Thai ladies” in general, actually applies only to [ex-]prostitutes, who seem to make up the majority of girlfriends and wives of foreigners, so don’t believe everything you read and hear … e.g., “Thai girls are unfaithful”, or “Thai girls just want your money”. Substitute the word “prostitute” for “girl” in those sentences and it makes more sense. If you’re old enough to read this, and sophisticated enough to use Internet well, then you should be old enough to not believe everything you hear and read about Thai ladies and smart enough to think by yourself…”

Although I am perfectly consious about not to generalize anyone and anything it was interesting for me to read these articles and I felt a little bit more enlightened afterwards. I can only recommend you to have a look at his page since he provides you with a bunch of impressing background knowledge!

Nail salon.

To give you an idea of Vietnamese accent.

Haha, she really takes the biscuit:

Con nhà ai? Bố mẹ làm cái gì??? – some Vietnamese impressions

Do you know that kind of feeling when you have got lots of things to say but no frigging idea where to start?

No kidding, I could spend at least a whole day talking about Vietnamese clichees because that is my every day life experience. Wherever I stand, wherever I go… They are everywhere, indeed! And since I know so many stories and prejudices it is hard for me to find a proper starting point. Uhm, what the hell!

I am not quite sure how much you know about  prejudices against Vietnamese people. If you did not completely miss to twig the silent Vietcong-invasion than you should be familiar with at least one or two things… Who do you think is running all the various restaurants and take-aways, flower shops, texile shops, gift shops and nail salons? Not to mention: Where do these mysterious small yellow packets of (cheap cheap) cigarettes come from? Ha! You know ecxactly what I am talking about!

I have always been the kind of person who does not take herself too serious. That is why I can easily cope with prejudices like that – well, as long as the jokes are tolerable and not too lowbrow. (Robert,you better watch out. “I’ll slap your face so super hard!” ) Sometimes it is sheer lack of knowledge that makes people saying awkward things. But don’t you worry! It is my job to get to the bottom of it.

(Don’t bother looking for me: You won’t find me on this picture anway!)

There is nothing Vietnamese people could not do!

That’s right! Certainly you know the small Chinese-Thai-Viet-Sushi or whatsoever restaurant just arround the corner? I can ensure you for 100000% this is runned by Vietnamese!

Back in the days there were Chinese take-aways only. But in the course of time people were not satisfied by spring rolls, egg fried rice and noodles any longer. They demanded for a greater choice of products concerning “Asian food.” Of course enterprising Vietnamese business people sniffed their chance to give them what they want: Change has come and in order to beef up the stale menu some new exotic dishes like Tom-Kha-Gung, Po-Pia-Tord springrolls, inside-out-rolls or Futo-maki were added. Now this is something I would call true versatility!

Haha, no surprise ignorant people start to generalize Asians not only to look the same but to eat the same things as well. Naturally you may ask yourself, why the hell do we do that. Why do we mix up Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese and Japanese food? Honestly, I asked this myself a thousand times as well and I came to the conclusion that Vietnamese people are probably not very creative. You have to know that there are lots of immigrants who came here in the hope of making money. What they do is to observe their fellow country-men and then to copy their business concepts. I used to call Vietnamese people the “great pretenders.” With this impression I do not mean to be insulting or something but I rather tell you the way it is. Since there are lots of them who actually do not have an idea of e.g. what is real Japanese culture about at all. The Sushi-concept works, this is all that counts.

The same is true for nail salons. Besides the fact that personaly I do not like these bling-bling plastic thingies at all I doubt whether any of those ladies really received training for “designing nails”… Because the thing is that time is money! And in most cases Vietnamese people from the prior generation do not want to waste time with nullities like that: They would rather learn all the necessary skills and moves within one week’s time in order to start earning money as soon as possible. Finally it depends on the quality of the resulting service. I do not claim that Vietnamese people are running inferior quality shops but they are rather superficia regarding to their business idea’s “soul.” Do you know what I mean?

Nevertheless there is one imprortant thing I would like to point out: You should not forget that at least Vietnamese people from the prior generation are extremely hard-working! Okay, they might do not spend that much leisure time with their children but instead they sacrifice their whole time working in order to offer them unlimited chances for education. It took me years to understand this complete devotaion is the very – let’s say – Asian way of how parents prove their parental love. And every time I recall this in mind I am more than just thankful for being their daughter!

We like to eat in huge groups with our family and friends.

We ♥ gossip! (The more scandalous the better)

This is something that gives me a true pain in the arse… My mum and her friends used to love these kind of phone conversations with each of them holding at least two mobiles guffawing and cackling the whole time! Jesus, I seriuosly felt like lost in a chicken-coop! Favourite topics are their “latest shoppings, children’s school performances, the children’s (boy/girl) friends, money, Huong’s new beauty salon and how she manages to keep it…but have you heard of Dung and Mai??! They just recently bought a second Ferari! I mean,where do they take the money from anyway??? There you are: I knew they are corrupted!”

In the course of time I learned to accept “Vietnamese gossip” as some kind of amusement. Never take it too serious. Put yourself above such things and have a laugh!

Our men like to drink and gamble.

Actually this is something I simply cannot help myself grinning about as Asian people in general are said to be less hard-drinking compared to others. There are rumours in circulation saying we are supposed to lack the special alc-enzym… (From my point of view this is the sad truth. )

Now can you imagine up to eight Vietnamese men sitting in am circle drinking and gambling? After having had one booze or two everything seems to be even more jolly. The thing is that Vietnamese men used to play for money (For sure, this must be some kind of addiction!) so the room is as well filled with tension where some are likely to give a testy reply. And besides the fact that we are said to be hot tempered anyway, the alcohol contributes the rest.

Every time I am visiting my grandparents in Vietnam I can observe such every day life scences on virtually every street corner. You know, after lunch or supper it is either time for taking a nap/ going to bed, watching TV or gambling with some buddies.

Honestly, I do not know where this habit comes from. I have the faint suspicion that this is an ancient behaviour of (indirectly) proving one’s virility. In addition it might serves as a kind of “relaxation” from hard work. At least there is the opportunity of winning easy money. Well, as long as you don’t exaggerate!

We do not mince matters!

No, Vietnamese people are not afraid of asking very personal questions at all. We used to speak out loud whatever is on our minds.

Initially, if you are not familiar with this Vietnamese mentality, this downright directness could be very offending in a way. Often enough I experienced embarrassing situations myself as well. And even though my parents told me to not take it too seriously some cheeky biting remarks really wound my pride! For illustrating this let me give you an example: Everytime I come to visit my relatives in Vietnam I am ALWAYS asked whether I stay on a diet since I eat very little. But actually I could do with losing some weight because…I mean, look at my butt, these bingo-wings! Indeed, I am regarded as to be an elephant baby over there.

Also Vietnamese people do not hesitate telling you…

…that your nose looks somewhat funny.

…you recently have got lots pimples on your face. (Then they might show you a fancy fashion magazine pointing at a cheezy-smiling third-class part-time model and saying: “Look,this is what I call blemish free!” Sure, they probably never heard of PhotoShop!)

…the dress you are wearing is anything but pretty because it makes you look short. (OMFG how could you even dare to walk outside dressing like this??! This is so not “mod!” – Vietnamese expression of being fashionable. )

Haha. In the course of time you will get used to it and your skin will certainly become thicker. Simply ignore it, that’s the trick. Moreover you need to know that in most cases people do not even mean to offend you – I know this is pretty hard to believe but it’s true! They just feel the need of putting in their two cents since they are so bloody honest.

By the way this is a characteristic I might inherited from my Vietnamese roots: People who get to know me a bit closer will shortly note my bluntness. Honestly, I do my best to watch my language but sometimes I just can’t help myself… Guys, sorry for that!

Okay, now finally I would like to clarify my mysterious post heading. More or less it means “Whose child is this?/ Who is that? What’s his/ her parent’s profession???” You know, Vietnamese parents used to have this steady habit of asking their children questions about their friends and their friends’ parents. It might be that they know each other. Personally I suppose that they secretly compare each other concerning money, reputation, children, work…etc. in order to determine who’s the best. So it is by no means uncommon when meeting your (Vietnamese) girlfriend’s parents the first time they may ask you about your marks, your achievements, your goals in life and so on. Or rather saying it in my dad’s words: If you really want my princess you first have to prove that you are worth it!

You see, as they want to get the most important facts immediatly they just cannot beat about the bush!

Without a spot.

Let’s move from Japan over to the west back to mainland: Korea.

Due to the fact of Korean division it is difficult to refer to one country. As far as I know some part of the poupulation does have this opinion or they rather do not care about ever being reunited. Some months ago my friends and I went to see a movie about the Korean division. Afterwards there was an interesting discussion and Korean attendants told me that especially young people from the south do not seem to be interested in the whole thing. In times of increasing prosperity and consumptionit is obvious that they could not identify themselves with their parents and grandparents generation who probably still have relatives living in the northern part. Furthermore they did not witness division hence this subject is something they have only little use for. Well, this is how I understood it.

That is the reason why whenever I talk about Korean clichees I precisely will refer to South Korea.

Honestly, it was difficult to find something like that anyway so I can imagine it is even harder to find out more about North Korea. Since foreign journalists are not always very welcomed over there …(And then the question arises whether North and South Koreans are different from each other at all? Wouldn’t it be kind of ridiculous because actually all of them are Koreans?)

I am under the impression that Western people are not very familiar with Korean clichees such as they are with e.g. Chinese or Japanese. So are there any existing at all? I was raking my brain and from an Asian point of view there is at least one thing that crossed my mind. Among Asians Korean people are said to be the most beautiful ones because they satisfy every criteria of the Asian ideal of beauty: tall, long-leged, white skinned, big eyed, small noses… etc.

Of course  those are not the average Koreans at all (Now, that would be scary…) but in fact it is their own standard they would like to achieve. As Asians in general are said to be very perfectionistic and constantly willing to do anything possible in order to reach ultimate perfection…why not having a plastic surgery? Sounds shocking to you but as a matter of fact this is just daily routine in South Korea!

Korean actors and actresses are very popular among Asians. Take a friend of mine: OMFG, she is simply mad about all these beautiful people! (Yeah, but what is in it for her anyway?) Well, I do not mean to be offending, but for me it is even hard to say who is the prettiest because they look so similar. (Prejudice, prejudice!)  Sorry but that is just the way it is. For example  Song Hye Kyo. She is one of the most famous Korean actresses with a blemish-free face. But she is supposed to be somewhat artificial as well…and still people praise her to be a natural beauty.

I asked my Korean friend and he affirmed this common assumption of plastic surgeries. If I got it right he has a cousin, very sweet girl with lovely face. But her father suggested her to do some small corrections on her nose just to make her look even more beautiful!!! Is he nuts ore something? I mean, he was talking to his own daughter! In my opinion (Korean) people who carelessly decide to go for unnecessary surgical interventions do not esteem their own body. Of course one could discuss the matter of when operations like this really do “make sense” but this would lead us into an endless discussion and finally it is an individual decision everybody needs to arrive for him/herself. The result might be compared to a goddess but can we still call it “beauty?” But yet I think that especially girls who look  – in the true sense of the word – pretty normal should learn to love themselves as they are. So do I. Nobody is perfect. Finally, isn’t it slight incompleteness that makes a person adorable?

If you take a look at those average faces you will notice the differnces:

Naturally I do not mean to say that all Koreans are somewhat “artificial” as well as they are not known for their attitude towards beauty only!

As I have menioned already I got a talk to my Korean friend.  It was an interesting conversation because I could learn a lot more about them. Did you expected Koreans to be impulsive, straight and headstrong? I had no idea so far and to be honest all these cute-nice-lovely looking celebs do not make me assume this. According to my friend’s words they are known as “the Italians of Asia.” Compared to the self-contained Japanese Koreans are the entire opposite because whenever there is something on their mind they do not hesitate to speak it out loud, no matter it is offending or not. The same is true for their politicians. I have never seen serious men like this fighting with each other intending to bash the other one up:

By the way they are extremly food-centric! So it is hardly surprising that Koreans are willing to drive 2 hours by car just to have lunch in a good restaurant.

To put it in a nutshell: I was very surprised by the Korean mentality and they appear to be pretty likeable to me! Indeed, there are even some similarities to Vietnamese mentality!

Still waters run deep.

Awe, don’t they look nice and harmless?

…yeah, probably at first glance. But don’t judge a book by its cover!

Okay, as I don’t want to pussyfoot arround any longer let’s get to business right now:

Why do Japanese people always have to carry their cameras with them?

I know this is probably the most poupular prejudice however the answer to this question is pretty obvious if you know a bit about Japanese (working) culture.

It is a matter of common knowledge that Japanese people are real workaholics (also see “Why Japanese people appear to be married to their work?”). Consequently they do not enjoy that much time for vacation compared with us. In my opinion this is simply related to their attitude towards work or rather their hierarchical thinking. You might guess that leading executives at least indulge themselves in holidays but thereby you are barking up the wrong tree. Especially CEOs seem to have a distinctive addiction to their work! For that reason normal employees do not even dare to take more days off than their superior thus they better wholly abandon holidays. So to speak they are monitoring each other as everybody shares this attitude. This extreme modesty ist deeply rooted in their culture and society so it is not easy to get rid of it. I shouldn’t wonder if some of them have to suffer from inferiority complexes. According to their thinking “minor” employees are not entitled to too much of holidays. It might harm their reputation among colleagues and within the company.

Dude, this is something I would call control freaks!!!

You see, as Japanese people only have few time for going on journeys they want to capture as many moments and impressions as possible. That is way they always make so many click-clicks of basically everything – even of those things that seem to be unspectacular to us.

I have a Japanese friend, named Yuma, who came to visit me in Dresden. We went to the Christmas market and he was so fascinated by a huge ugly plastic Santa Claus!!! Of course he wanted me to take a picture of him standing next to this thingy…

Why Japanese people appear to be married to their work?

Due to the unwritten laws at work each Japanese business man silently obeys to there is a kind of social pressure. Probably they do not even want to work that much but it is fair to say that they are forced by society because no one wants to expose oneself. Well, this would also answer the question Why they would rather die than losing their face in public. Being employed is regarded as to be a social status everyone should be aiming at. It is a virtue that brings you respect and acceptance among society. Therefor hard working people are easy to recognise: You will find them sleeping, snoring and slobbering on the train.

Another point I would like to mention is the high living standard of Japanese people. This means that food for instance is extremely expensive and in order to afford life they are forced to work hard.

Furthermore they ♥♥♥  prestige brands just like Louis Vuitton. No matter how much your income is, everyone is seeking  for a Louis Vuitton bag! The size of the bag is unimportant, the main thing is the brand itself.

Why do they dress themselves so…well, individual?

The everyday life of Japanese students is dominated by school uniforms, discipline and homogeneity. Dyed hair, pierced eyebrows, lips, noses… and make up – things that hardly surprise anyone in Western countries are prohibited at Japanese schools.

But as soon as school is out they slip into completely other characters and clothes just to escape from this mishmash. In consequnce of this everyday homogeneity Japanese students seem to feel more individual by clothing themselves in an exorbitant way that nearly dwindles into indescribable indescribability. Whether they dress like their favourite Final Fantasy character or just …different.

And finally…why the hell do they have a liability to sadistic TV shows???

As we know by know, Japanese people tend to be real control freaks. They always have to be aware of containing themselves by day and in public. Never do they complain about something – you could even spit at them and nothing will happen! (Well, what they probably do is to dream about you being tortured because of your offence… Sort of scary, isn’t it?) They need a compensation for all the things they bottle up inside their souls. This finds its expression in daft and weird TV shows e.g. where candidates have to recite jawbreakers and are punished if they make mistakes.

I do not mean to pose a negative view of Japanese people. Quite the opposite, these facts help me to understand these baffling people a bit better. Above all they proof that Japanese are not necessarily “crazy” or something but some of them possibly have difficulties with making a racket independently of what teachers, executives, parents and the rest of society think. I guess that is why suicide rate in Japan is so high. Especially pupils and students are not able to measure up with this social pressure on the one hand and extreme self-control on the other one.

Finally ther is one thing I will never get:

You know what I mean?

Land of the rising sun

What do you guys think about this video? Personally I think it is hilarious! Sort of stupid idea but yet I could not help laughing my head off! ( For your information: I tend to have a down-dumbing humor… That’s why! Anyway. I don’t care!)

Okay, but after calming myself I was just wondering who the hell could hit on such an idea??! I mean I do not get the purpose of anyone tieing an elastic band round his/ her nose and trying to catch a piece of marshmallow… Perhaps the point is that there is none but it rather serves as public amusement in general?! – In fact I do not have the least inkling.

Question to you: Could you guess where these nuts Asians come from?

Exactly, they are Japanese. I know you certainly will point your finger at me saying that I am no better! (And you are dead right!) Since whenever there is a new crazy – I mean very crazy! – trend I am always 100% sure it comes from Japan! The same is true for this video…

You see, not only non-Asians have certain prejudices against Japanese people but also Asians among each other. Just like Germans have prejudices against the British, French or Spanish people and vice versa.

Please don’t get me wrong! I do not mean to generalize all Japanese people are that way! So at this point I want to apologize to all Japanese readers for my ignorant mind!!! Well, let’s put it in a nicer way: Japanese people tend to be very special and extraordinary in many ways.

Personally I heard the Japanese are said to

…carry cameras with them very often.

…make that peace sign on every photo. (Everyone wants to be kawaii.)

…live in their very own world surrounded by characters from animes, mangas and computer games.

…dress theirselves in a flashy way.

…be married to their work and love it even more than their families.

…be very proud and careful not to lose their face within society.

Moreover they appear to have sadistic features if you take a closer look at their TV shows. Haha.

Of course these are pretty hasty and superficial impressions! Consequently I have to busy myself with the matter of Japanese stereotypes in order to gain some intellectual enlightenment… This will be my personal mission for this week!

Anyway what do you think about such cliches? What is your very individual opinion about these claims? (But once again I do not claim all Japanese people to be that way…)

犬和猫

Maybe I am still not used to this blogging thingy so posting weekly seems to be tough business to me… Anway, I do not mean to complain!

I was racking my brain about what might be interesting for you to know, as usual. So this time I decided upon why not going into more detail about stereotypes? After stating that Asians certainly do not look alike I think it is time to go one step further, that is to find out about the delicate differnces I was talking about all the time. Well, at least I will have a try…

Due to China’s huge jump in economy and consequently its increasing political importance it became simply impossible to imagine a world without it! Indeed China became quite popular among people in the last few years. That is why I would like to start with the Middle Kingdom.

The have got the look

First, Chinese people are said to be short and have slitted eyes. Well, this is definitaly not true for all Chinese since the tallest person on earth is a woman from the Chinese province Anhui: She is 2,36m high! Okay, but I have to admit she suffers from a pathological growth disturbance that would explain why she is so tall. Maybe you have heard about Yao Ming? He is a professional basketball player who plays for the Housten Rockets. By the way he is the tallest member of his team!

Nevertheless besides extreme execptions like this Chinese people are not short at all. Similar to Europe and America body hight differs regionally. In Europe Spanish people or south Italians tend to be smaller than the Swedish or the Polish. With China it is the same. Normally north Chinese from Beijing or Tianjin are noticeably taller than south Chinese like from Xiamen or Guangzhou.

Likewise this is true for their almond-shaped eyes, which is typical for Asians. As a rule Chinese eye sockets lie less cavernous than from Western people. That is why they appear to be smaller, rather round but not “slitted.”

Sure, they look like Asians, but what is the delicate difference now? Yeah, except of black hair and dark brown eyes. Well, I would say Chinese people often have slanted eyes and flat round faces.  However naturally this is not true for all of them!

Do you want a taste?

When you ask people about what do they think Chinese food is about they would probably say: “Don’t they eat cats and dogs??!”  This is only partially true because not everywhere in China people eat cats and dogs. The southern part, especially the province Guangdong, just north of Hongkong, is quite popular for its “individual” food even among Chinese! Believe it or not but there are people outside of Guangdong who think it is repulsive to eat a dog. On the other hand others view this as a regional tradition to try a bite of dog or cat meet when coming to visit Guangdong.

To put it in a nutshell one can say that most Chinese do not eat dogs or cats but they rather have the same livestocks like Europeans. However we shall not forget about China being a huge country with lots of different cultures and regions…

The anthill

Of course there are very hard-working Chinese. But equally there are also extremely lazy people – like you can find everywhere in the world! Whereby regarding the working morale  it might not only differ from person to person but from company to company as well. Additionally it can differ from town to countryside whereat people from the countryside used to have a lower education. This can be indicated by certain  behaviour like cleanliness or reliability.

By the way having a nap is widely in China and you can even call it an ordinary ritual. But the funniest fact is that people used to sleep right where their working places are! So pictures of employees sleeping on their office tables hardly surprises anyone…

You see Chinese people definitaly do not work continously. They simply do not make a big deal out of where they spend their snooze or who can possibly watch them because they do not need to lie in bed for doing so. Furthermore everyone does so who cares?

And then there is the working morale. This prejudice sounds so unbelievable this cannot be true! And in terms of reality we are a 100% wrong as well since every individual (and consequently every Chinese) is different.

In addition people in China tend to have a lower school education compared with Europe. It is often the case that qualification and know-how are less trained because there is no consequent educational system – especially on the countryside. That is why on average a Chinese employee is less efficient so that he/ she needs to work more in order to achieve the same result.

Hu is watching you

“The Communist Party got a firm grip on the Chinese society and controls everthing!” – Well, at least they wished they do. As a matter of fact the whole thing is a bit more complicated since… who is this party anway?

For a start there is actually no “Communist Party” in a literal sense but rather does the Chinese CP consists of lots of people and regional structure  parties. Especially the ruling powers of the CP in each single province often have their very own aims. So consequently they care about whatever Beijing (the party headquaters) says only of second rank.

Therefore the party does not seem to be able controling itself. In fact they consist of lots of wings and groups who are frequently fighting for increasing their influence within the organisation.

Particularly the head of state and the party leader constantly have to worry about keeping up their authority among the regional structures. At this it is quite helpful for the party leader possessing the three most important positions of the country at on go. Acting president ,Hu Jintao, is the head of the state, the party leader of CP and the head of the national military commission.

Here the national commission of China is probably the least public conspicously position but however the most important one Hu Jintao holds. Since only its leadership ensures the actual power against potential rebellious provincial potentates.

But yet this position of power does not guarantee unlimited influence or authority in all areas within Chinese society because often enough unwelcomed information do not even reach the capital – or at least only on detours.