By KAROLINA KOPEK: I cannot believe I have been in Shanghai for over two weeks. It feels like I have left USA merely a few days ago. I think that I have finally adjusted to this city and love it just as much as the last one – and surprisingly, I no longer feel eager to come back to Hong Kong in a week. There is just too much to explore in this city and I have fallen in love with my research; something I never thought would be easy. Every conversation teaches me something new and valuable, even the two hour lecture about Chinese economics I received from one of my male subjects…
Even though most of my interviews take place on campus, I try to see a new place every day. Some of my recent discoveries include the Longhua Temple, Shanghai Museum (had to visit it three times because I came too late every day), and marvelous Luzjiazui Park at nighttime. A few days ago, I decided to make a trip to the Chenshan Botanical Garden outside of Shanghai which required an hour and a half commute. I took the metro followed by a taxi ride, and took in the splendid views of the garden. Unfortunately, my chronic lateness allowed me only two hours to explore the territories until they closed. I ended up being one of the only people left in the garden as the sun went down, and a question of “will I even make it back tonight?” came up. Thankfully, I found a bus and gloriously ate crepes when I got back to the city.
When I told Chrissie, the first administrator I met, that I am interested in coming back to China to teach English, she connected me with a colleague who needs to practice his English skills. In return for me chatting with him a few times a day, he offered to set up four back-to-back interviews at his company in Pudong New Area. This was an exciting opportunity as it gave me a chance to work with a different sample, professionals in their 30s. Two of them identified as males and two as females. One of them was their boss, her English name was Michelle. I gained some valuable information from her as she is a woman who had to fight through varying degrees of discrimination throughout her career. Before she was promoted to her current position, she was blatantly told by her male director that she will be unable to get it because of her gender. However, she does not believe that she actively “fought” the forces acting against her – instead, she kept quiet and patiently waited until she was promoted months later. She never had any intention to advocate for change on her behalf. There was a lot of emphasis on how much harder women have to work than men in order to achieve the same thing, and how much more ambition is required. She believes that most women would not actively speak up when faced with workplace discrimination because they do not care about success as much – many women, like her, want balance between work and family.
There was mention of sexist double-standards in China such as women over 30 having a harder time finding a partner, women not being able to express their sexuality as much as men, and feeling pressured to show less skin. I continue to see a pattern of people recognizing the issues but feeling completely helpless in terms of changing them, showing a significant lack of activist force/knowledge in China compared to other nations. I also see interesting patterns in terms of abortion, many women having negative attitudes towards the procedure but treating it as if it was inevitable. I have women openly tell me they have given up babies and treat it as a norm, and at the same time other women are unaware of the large percentage of abortions performed both prior to and after marriage.
Some pictures of Chenshan Botanical Garden:
