China is a place where an expat can learn about a different culture, a different language and how to be independent. It can be a place where you learn exactly what you’re made of and where you live out you’re big city dreams. It can also be a place where you pick up really, really bad habits. Unfortunately, the longer you stay, the more likely it is you’ll pick up at least a few habits of which people in the Western world would be appalled. But becoming just a bit more self-aware can help you avoid falling into a pattern of these eight bad habits.

1) Overeating
In most parts of the world, each person orders his or her own dish at a restaurant, ensuring that you know exactly how much you eat and what. Granted, many restaurants serve mammoth individual portions, but there is always the option of doggie bags. In China however, the massive communal plates of food and the fact that you’re sharing with an entire table can trick your body into eating just for eating’s sake. So next time you reach out for that extra bite of pork belly, take a moment to think “Am I really still hungry? Or am I just eating because it’s there?” Many expats have complained about their expanding waistline here, and social eating is one of the main culprits…

2) Drinking and smoking
Food isn’t the only culprit. Drinking excessively is a common issue amongst expats, especially among the younger (early-20’s to early-30’s) crowd. With drink specials and happy hours at practically every bar, cheap (if not genuine) liquor, and an opportunity for women to drink for free literally every night of the week, there is no short supply of booze in this country. So sure, go crazy for a while when you first move here, but just realize – these “exclusive” parties and “one-night-only” deals will always be around, so you might want to give your liver a break once in a while.

Similarly, people tend to pick up a smoking habit after moving to China, partially because so many people around then smoke, partially because the cigarettes are just so cheap. Since many people like to smoke while drinking (see the beginning of this paragraph), it can become a vicious cycle, one that becomes increasingly hard to break.

3) Forgetting your manners
Yes, people shout at each other here. Yes, they spit on the ground and urinate in bushes. We all see it, we all experience it, and (most of us) are annoyed by it. But that doesn’t mean that you should forget the manners with which you were raised, no matter where that might have been or where you now live. Just because some Chinese citizens are rude to a waiter or waitress doesn’t make it any less demeaning if you do it. Some expats act in certain ways or treat certain people in ways they wouldn’t dream of doing at home. But as cheesy as it sounds, it’s true that we are all representatives of our respective countries. Keep that in mind next time you go out, and do as you’ve been taught, not as you see.

4) Not making an effort to spend time outdoors
The air quality in China, especially in the bigger cities like Shanghai and Beijing, does very little to inspire the desire to spend time outdoors. Unless you live in the country or expat suburbs, usually the only things to greet you there are concrete sidewalks, high rises and smog. But there are patches of grass to be found somewhere, and it’s time worth spent to find them. It becomes much too easy to go from apartment to office to restaurant to bar and back to apartment without ever really taking a look at your surroundings. So the next time a (semi) sunny day appears, take a stroll around your neighbourhood, or a bike ride, or simply find a bench on which to sit and read. There is something rejuvenating about the outdoors, even if it’s not quite fairytale surroundings.

5) Forgetting table etiquette
This one is really easy to fall into, as table etiquette does not appear to exist in China. While adopting some Chinese table manners is perfectly acceptable – eating dishes as they come out instead of waiting for all the food to be placed on the table, for example – some are better left to the natives of this country. Spitting food on the table is unsanitary no matter how you do it, and chewing with your mouth open is just… unnecessary. You’ll probably find yourself reaching across people to grab some food at some point or another, but try to remain aware of the Western table manners you grew up with – at least the basic ones.

6) Relying too heavily on your ayi
It still amazes me how quickly expats tend to lose even the most basic ability to clean up after themselves once an ayi enters the picture. It is a glorious, glorious thing to have someone come and clean the bathrooms and sweep and do the dishes for a few RMB per hour – but that doesn’t mean you should forget what a paper towel is for or where the clothes hamper is. Never cleaning up after yourself because “the ayi will do it” is a surefire way to trigger depression when you go back to your home country and realise you forgot how to use a vacuum cleaner.

7) Feeling superior
This happens more easily when you’re an expat living in a smaller, more remote area of China. In that case, expats are often the first non-Chinese people those residents have ever seen. This tends to lead to a lot of fawning and, incidentally, some expats begin expecting the “royal treatment” that they have so quickly gotten used to receiving. If you ever feel yourself beginning to think things like, “Well, of course I got seated first at this restaurant, I’m a foreigner!” you might want to try picking up the latest issue of Cosmopolitan magazine, just to remind yourself of what a non-celebrity you are. Sometimes reality is the best medicine.

8) Only speaking/hanging out with other expats
It’s almost impossible to avoid this one, especially if you speak little or no Chinese. Bonding with other expats who are going through the same experience as you can be a healthy and practical way of staying sane in this often bewildering country. But not making the effort to get to know at least one Chinese friend is tragic – you’re essentially missing out on a chance to really discover this country from the inside out, to hear a different perspective, and to perhaps become a little more empathetic to your surroundings.
 

Related links
Protect Yourself from AFS (Arrogant Foreigner Syndrome)
10 Things I Wish I’d Known Before Coming to China
Sticky Expat Etiquette: Dealing with Other Foreigners in China

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Keywords: expat habits China 8 bad habits China Bad habits China