OK, don't take any of that shit about "we are trying to help you in our scary big bad country and everyone is out to get you and we are telling you exactly what to do for your safety, etc. etc." It is utter garbage, it is just a mechanism of authority because they want to be watching you at all times. Don't put up with it. Put your foot down when they start doing that.
The thing is, I chose to live in a family because I thought it would be a supportive environment in which to get better at Chinese - and it really is. I feel this is just their way of being supportive - and I like it better than the other alternative, which is that they ignore me. It does remind me that I need to keep my own freedom in the back of my mind, though.
I had wanted to mention I was puzzled by your quip about Korean Catholicism earlier, since all the Koreans I've met have been Presbyterians, Methodists, or other Protestant denominations. What's interesting to me is that most of the politically relevant Koreans today have Christian backgrounds or are professed Christians. Even the bacwkwards dwarf in charge of the North is the descendant of firebreathing Protestant ministers!
Let me know if you pick up on this when you meet young people, but I find a large number of Christian converts in China are people who encountered Christianity through their English learning. I often had students read the Bible in class as part of English self-study. Perhaps the way they discover Christianity in their scholarly pursuits places them in a different relationship than those who have the Creed drilled into them from an early age without reflection or volition.
I'm not going "Bwahahaha", I'm not going "Bwahahaha"...
*Sigh* I think your family means good. You know, in China people lean on their parents even after they graduated and began to work. So, long history of over-protection. Just smile and nod accordingly and do things you think is right. My father just told me not to get out too late on the phone, despite that Dalian is much safer than my hometown and I never went out after dark anyway. I think it's cute.
Yes, I think they only want to help and avoid problems. It was just a bit of a cultural non-sequitur or whatever. "Just smile and nod accordingly" is definitely my chosen course of action - I'm not in a position to be argumentative even if I wanted to! They did the right thing. I will definitely bear you in mind as a shopping guide if I ever get six minutes free in a row! Thanks :)
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Let me know if you pick up on this when you meet young people, but I find a large number of Christian converts in China are people who encountered Christianity through their English learning. I often had students read the Bible in class as part of English self-study. Perhaps the way they discover Christianity in their scholarly pursuits places them in a different relationship than those who have the Creed drilled into them from an early age without reflection or volition.
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*Sigh* I think your family means good. You know, in China people lean on their parents even after they graduated and began to work. So, long history of over-protection. Just smile and nod accordingly and do things you think is right. My father just told me not to get out too late on the phone, despite that Dalian is much safer than my hometown and I never went out after dark anyway. I think it's cute.
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