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jeffofarabia -

living in japan i was always called a gaijin. after three years on the jet program i returned to
the states. when i ran into some japanese people at an amusement park i pointed at them and said
"gaijin." i know it was mean, but i felt it was fair play. they just seemed confused about the
whole affair.



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jeffofarabia -

a friend of mine had the laowei coming and going tee shirt. he wore it all of the time.
a saw a better shirt a couple of years ago in egypt. it read: "my brother went on jihad and all he
got me was this stupid tee shirt." talk about a brave tee shirt.










necroflux -

I think that for most people in Asia 老外 is not equivalent to "chink" or "nigger". That is, in
Asian society, I don't believe the word has anywhere near that degree of negativity. I say this
because I have a number of lifelong friends who are native to Taiwan, all of whom were very strong
in their insistence that the word is not negative in nature, but rather a term of endearment.

Certainly that doesn't mean it can't be used in a negative way. Any word can be used to emphasize
a particular difference, and depending on the tone and exactly what is being said, along with the
person's attitude as a whole, its meaning could vary from adulation to utter hatred.

The cultural moreys of Asian society are fundamentally different from those of the West, so I
think we just have to take a step back, completely reset our expectations, and start with a fresh
mind. Judge people based on their intent and their intent alone, and save semantics for the
natives.

As an aside, does anyone else think it's strange that half of the shows in Taiwan introduce women
with their height, weight, and bra size? And then talk about it for the entire show? Wow, you're a
B cup?? 看不出來啊! I thought A for sure!

It's a totally different set of rules out here.










dalaowai -

In my experience the term 老 is often used as a form of endearment, such as 老婆，老公，etc.

I've been here four years and 90% of the time I heard 老外 directed towards me, it was usually
it attached to some negative or childish comments. It was also used when the speaker thought I
didn't understand.

I met an elderly Singaporean woman last week and she had been living in Shanghai for 6 months. She
asked me how I felt being called a laowai, which surprised me. I asked why and she said that in
Singapore it was considered quite rude to refer to foreigners as laowai.

But yeah, the term 老 is definitely most often used in polite ways, but not when the 外 is added.

With that being said, I have Chinese-North-American friends who don't find the term Chink as being
racist. So it all depends on whether a person will be bothered by a label or not.










mandarinstudent -

At first it was funny.
Then for a while it was infuriating.
Now I don't hear it.

First of all, the way I see it, if you are in China working and making money, you don't have the
right to bitch. In the case of students, bitching is ok because you are only adding to the Chinese
economy, not benefiting from it. Whether you are a business expat or an english teacher in China,
you are making buttloads more than your Chinese counterparts just for your white (or other
non-asian) skin. That same skin is going to cause gawking and racist remarks. In the case of the
foreign teachers, that is the price you pay for being paid a kings ransom (by Chinese standards)
just for being able to speak English. Foreigners make too much money (again, compared to regular
Chinese people, not what it would be worth in your home country) to complain about anything. If a
little "laowai!" is the price to pay to live 5, 10, 50 times better than the natives, I say get
over it. I'm going to say the same thing as I said to people bitching about the US while making
money there...If you don't like it, go home!

Secondly, people from the countryside make up around 80% of the Chinese population. These people
are poor and uneducated. If you are an educated black man and walk through a trailer park, are you
going to be offended when some redneck swilling Pabst Blue Ribbon calls you the "N" word? If you
are an educated white person walking through the ghetto, are you going to be mad if some gangsta
calls you a "honky"? Of course not. You would chalk it up to their lack of education and move on.
Why would it be any different in China? Everyone knows that it isn't the well educated people that
are shouting, "laowai!" Apply the same reasoning that you would in your home country.










magores -

I don't hear laowai or waiguoren very often in my daily life in Beijing.

Sometimes, I'll hear it when I go shopping in one of the 7 story wholesale "malls" that Beijing
has. I have big feet (by Chinese standards), so I have to go to wholesale markets to find my size.
And, I'm cheap, so I buy electronics in Zhongguancun, rather than normal stores.

I'll walk into an area, and someone, usually an "ayi", will say "Laowai lai le" or "Waiguoren lai
le". I just look at them, smile, and say, "Dui. Wo dao le." It gets a giggle every time.

Never had any problems at all.

Much more pleaseant way to go about my business than worrying about what the person might have
been trying to insinuate.

At least, thats how I figure it.

Magores










woliveri -

My Bagua Shifu calls me LaoWai and I'm one of his most devoted students. I don't feel anything
negative about it.










gougou -



Quote:

'll walk into an area, and someone, usually an "ayi", will say "Laowai lai le" or "Waiguoren lai
le".

When I went to my local fruit vendor the other day, they were having a merry family get-together
behind their little kart, and somebody from the back exclaimed: 欧元来了!










mrtoga -

mandarinstudent talks some sense here. In the boonies we are something very different, remarkable
in fact - so people make remarks about the fact. And the reason you do not hear the word in
Beijing is simply because there are so many of us. It is no longer worth the exclamation!


Laowai is similar to foreigner in literal meaning, but the perceived divide between speaker and
object is much larger with laowai than with foreigner. Laowai is perceived to be fundamentally
different in some hazy sense, whereas foreigner simply refers to someone who speaks in a different
language or with a foreign accent, however there is no perceived fundamental difference










back -

Hi, I am a Chinese.I like this forum very much. and I learn a lot of English here.

Actually, I often say "laowai". but I dont think it is rude. I think it is also very interesting
and ... friendly.

Dont be too sensitive. And most importantly, please remember: most of Chinese are very friendly to
foreiners.

Regards.












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