White People ....

One of the most interesting things I have noticed while I have been out here has been the amount of attention all the white people get out here. No seriously! There have been incidents of modeling agencies contacting the director of our program looking for "WHITE PEOPLE," people have been coming up to us and asking if they can take a picture with the white people (as if they are micky mouse in disney world or something), and even incidents of Chinese people being attracted to the some of the most "questionable" people simply because of the color of their skin. It's white glorification to a level I would never have dreamt of. One of the most interesting "personal" case studies I have seen has been the level of discrimination when trying to find a job. This has been a very interesting experience for me. Basically, there's a section in a popular magazine called, "That's Beijing," that allows for people to post ads geared towards finding people who can tutor English. Originally, I thought this would be a simple process. Especially because I would assume having a background in teaching, for various different programs, sets me apart from a lot of the applicants that are simply just looking for an afterschool job with no experience at all. My neighbor told me she got a job within a day without even having to send in her resume! (She's white, of course). My assumptions of this process were much more optimistic than they should have been. It has been a week and I have still received no replies. Even my native Chinese friend was shocked that no one has "snagged" me yet. Some of the blatant ignorance and discrimination within some of these offers could illuminate some of the reasons why I have been so ignored. APPALLING if you ask me! The requirements include: must be white, must be American, must be attractive, must be Harvard grad student (not so much for teaching English), must be blonde, etc. The more features the applicants have, the higher the pay. Someone with most of these qualifications could make up to 300 yuan/hour, whereas someone like me would be lucky if she can even find a job, let alone for anything more than 100 yuan. Needless to say, the job hunt continues and I REFUSE to give up on this quest. I will find someone that needs my help. I came out here hoping to contribute some of my labor to the community so that I could further be immersed witin this community. I will find a way to accomplish this. At least this experience serves as an intersting subject for me to take notes on and add to my field notes.