Break the barrier: The understated nature of local Beijingers Good Samaritan

My first experience with Chinese culture occurred before I’d even stepped on my flight, that being Chinese Bureaucracy. My visa was delayed an additional fortnight after already having delays which caused me to miss the first leg of my flight (cancelling the return trip, which I only found out 5 days prior my scheduled departure).  However, after you can get through this Trial of Job-esque visa application process and arrive in mainland China, the friction between state administration and foreigners lessens.

Once in Beijing you truly appreciate the profound changes the country has gone through, both economically and culturally. Malls scattered everywhere, brutalist high-rise apartments framing the skyline, with Hutongs and parks nestled here and there. It is daunting at first but as you settle in you can navigate your way around this truly beautiful city.

A lot of the time with the aid of a local simply wanting to practice their English. The dichotomy between the cultural barrier of access and the good Samaritan nature of local Beijingers cannot be understated – every person I met was always ready to lend a hand to help you through a place not designed for you. On my first night, I met a girl from Shanghai, we shared our WeChat, and she sent me a list of the places to go for students. I managed to get to most of her recommendations which I feel chuffed about. Some were jazz bars, art galleries, electronic music venues, and the likes. They’re out there but speak to the locals if you don’t want to trial-and-error your way through Beijing.

I was studying at the Beijing Institute of Technology whilst there. The language program they offered was full of people from almost all continents, a real melting pot. All varying degrees of fluency, which was good. It allowed me to both learn from others and learn through teaching. There was a group of Italians who knew little to no Mandarin, so while I was learning how to discuss my studies at home and my political views, I was teaching them in their dorm room how to buy a beer and tell taxi drivers to wait while they got dressed for the club scene. The essentials really.

Overall, this trip will stick with me, shifting the scale of the world we live in. We are small, very small in the world. But, that’s comforting, we can live without being important and enjoy these places in the world still, and even enjoy them that much more because of that fact.

Aaron Behmer
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Language and Multicultural Practice Program at Beijing Institute of Technology, China
New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant recipient