You may already be familiar with the writer of the translated excerpt below. Having previously written about the Chinese virgin complex and different standards of beauty between China and the west, this anonymous female blogger on Tianya.cn loves to ponder about the differences between China and the West, while using her foreign boyfriend as the contrasting example. This time, the blogger talks about the seemingly contrasting attitudes to education (and to a lesser extent, parenting) between foreigners and Chinese.

I'm a very standard person from the 80's generation, following the prescribed order step-by-step: first school, then college entrance exam, then a studious stint at university … I think most people are more or less like me.

Not so with the boyfriend however. After graduation he went travelling and afterwards wasn't sure whether to continue studying or not. He asked his dad for advice and his answer was: "Do whatever you love doing."

What kind of a father is that? So irresponsible! As a result, the boyfriend left to work as a chef on an oil tanker (no wonder he's such a good cook now!). After finishing his cruise of the world, he started feeling bored so came back home to look for a job. As he was job hunting, he inevitably got sucked into the allure of university life and so, decided to apply to uni. He began reading lots and lots of books during his freshman year, building up a strong interest in philosophy. In the end he opted to study social sciences.

A degree in social sciences is really broad, and I still don't have a clue what it is they study or what kind of job you can get from it afterwards. A social worker maybe?

After studying for one year, the boyfriend realized that the degree isn't really that useful, so once again he asked his father what he should do: change the degree or drop out? His father replied: "Do whatever you love doing." (unbelievable!). So acting on his own initiative, the boyfriend decided to change his degree to finance and banking. He eventually graduated successfully. Hearing about his experiences really dazed me; how can it be so easy over there – it really must be true that you can just go ahead and do whatever it is you love most.

One of my younger relatives wants to go abroad to study so I asked him which universities are the better ones abroad. His strange reply was, "How am I supposed to know which ones are good? You should ask your relative; she probably knows herself which ones are the best." I explained to him that it would be good if he could just recommend a few reliable, famous universities. After thinking a bit, the boyfriend asked if it has to be a famous school. He himself didn't go to a famous one and received a fairly good education. "Your school isn't famous – really? It's in the Top 5!" He responded by saying that apart from Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and Yale, all other universities are more or less the same. Nobody cares about Top 5 lists.

Despite his degree from a Top 5 school, he didn't end up working in the finance sector. Instead, he ran off to China to teach business English. When he told his dad that he wants to move to China to become a teacher, his dad replied, (you've probably guessed it!) ""Do whatever you love doing."

At the beginning, I would think that perhaps fathers in the West are indifferent because they have several children. However, it was seeing a post card written by his mother that ultimately creeped me out: "Mommy loves you very much. Mommy misses you. Don't get fat, but don't get too thin either. I want to come over to China with your brother to visit you. God bless my darling baby."

Heavens, he's almost 30!
 

Source: Tianya.cn
 

Related links
An Education: How China's System Differs from the West's
Tiger Mothers and Chinese Parenting: Is Strict Discipline Really Superior?
Are Rubbish Theses and Low Academic Standards Crippling Chinese Academia?

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Keywords: attitude to study China West attitudes to education china Tianya blogger