5 Ways to Make Friends with Chinese People
Contents
Making friends with local Chinese people is an important part of your life when you stay and study in China. Some good Chinese friends cannot only be good company for you when you’re far away from home and family but also facilitating elements for your language study.
For an outgoing or a people person, making friends is something very normal and easy. However, for those who are shy or sensitive to cultural differences, it could be something challenging.
If you’re one of them, I would say you will find it’s not as difficult as you imagine after reading this article.
The most important thing when making friends with Chinese people is staying open mind and being yourself.
You might be curious or frightened when you first arrived in China. Why do people keep staring at me and giggling? Do I look weird or have something wrong with me? Am I behaving rudely? Stop! You’re just worrying too much.
Most of the Chinese people are friendly and enthusiastic to foreigners. However, as you can tell, there are big differences between the appearances of Chinese people and foreigners. When Chinese people are staring at you, it’s mainly because they’re interested in your exotic looks and curious about your culture. They just don’t know how to show their hospitality to you until they can confirm whether you speak English or Mandarin.
People say that only common values and interests can bring a group of people together and be friends. Still, the differences between cultures are the biggest attraction for communication and information exchange in this situation.
To integrate into the local people’s life, you don’t have to act and speak exactly like them. You just need to stay open mind, be friendly and be yourself.
Join in some local events and activities to expand your friend zone
When you start your new life in an extraordinary city, it would be difficult and no clue. Where can I meet good people? What kind of activities can I attend to find someone sharing common hobbies?
A local sports club would be a good option for a sports fan. Basketball, Rugby, Soccer ball, cycling, hiking, etc., you can find any sports club that you can name out if you’re in Kunming. This is a dynamic city full of fun for the sports lover.
Except for sports, there are also various activities you can join. Dancing club and dancing class, free language exchange event held at Keats School every Wednesday night, theme parties at different pubs and bars. Social life in Kunming can be active and lively. Lots of Chinese people also share a love for the party too.
Besides these bustling events, you can also find places to learn handcrafts such as pottery and painting while meeting people simultaneously. Or you can also go to the professional gym workshop to make friends with lovers of workouts.
Attending a small Chinese class could also be a good way to meet people with common interests and who share the same values. The small group Chinese class offered by Keats School is always a good platform for foreigners to meet people and make friends.
They love gourmet
Most Chinese are a fan of gourmet, not only local gourmet or Chinese gourmet, but the gourmet across the world.
It would be good to invite Chinese people to join a meal together. They would take it as a sign of hospitality and friendship. During the meal, you could share lots of information and get to know each other furthermore. Don’t know what to order in a Chinese restaurant? Check out the TOP popular 20 Chinese dishes to order in a Chinese restaurant.
Among tons of Chinese gourmet, hotpot is the most popular meal among Chinese people. The boiling soup and smoking hot flavor of the food is just like the hospitality of Chinese people. The steaming air of the hotpot can melt any ice among strangers or people still not that familiar with each other.
Inviting Chinese people to enjoy a meal at your place is also a good way to show your hospitality and friendly attitude, especially when you can share the food of your homeland. It’s a good way to introduce your culture and let others know more about who you are. At the same time, you guest would know that you’re happy to make friends with them.
Show support as a friend
Like an old saying, “A friend in need is a friend indeed,” your support and encouragement will let your Chinese friends feel your sincerity when they confront problems. The best thing about having a friend is always about getting supported and encouraged by somebody you trust and love. Because the power a single person can have is too limited, and true friendship enables you to get supported by your friends, therefore you can produce great and magical power.
To be respectable and honest.
In fact, we all know that getting along between people is a very complicated thing. Friends are so precious; it is not really that easy to have some true friends. But if you can treat others sincerely and show your respect and honesty, you will harvest the best friendship.
When facing problems with people around you, the best way is to tell them your truest thoughts and cover up the problem with so-called white lies. When you don’t know what to do, telling the truth is the best way to solve the problem.
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I have 2 teachers, and I do 4 hours a day. So I have got Dong Laoshi and Jin Laoshi. Both of them are very good. They made the experience very nice to me. They are willing to help you whenever, so if you ever have a question here, the teachers are always there to help you whether it is visas, whether it is getting around the city. Everyone wants to talk to you.
The teachers at Keats know how to read the students and how to help students learn Chinese language easily. They know the level of the students. I am a slow learner, but they managed to adapt to my learning. They made the class very fun, very exciting. I am pleased that not only I got to learn the culture and the language, but I also got to make amazing friends, really unbelievable, Chinese friends and European friends, American friends, from all over the world.
My first semester that I studied at another school, and the pressure there was pretty high, the classroom hour was long, and the homework was pretty tedious. Since I came to Keats, I found I have a lot more opportunities to speak in the classroom. My classmates all are fluent and love speaking and participating in the class. We have great classroom dynamic.
I think the Chinese learning environment here is great. The teaching methods are also very interactive and fun. What I particularly enjoy here is the fact that my teacher does not stick to the textbook. We spend a lot of time discussing general topics, such as Chinese culture, world news, typical expressions used by local people. We also discuss social and economic topics.
My school is amazing. I recommend Keats School because it is a more convenient way to learn Chinese in Kunming.
They really care about what our interests are, what questions we have, what requirements we have. Then they adjust our Chinese language program content according to the situations. One teacher and one student, so it is easy to keep your focus for the 6 hours of immersion Mandarin lessons. It is very convenient to study, live and eat in one building.
It doesn’t matter what level of Chinese you have, or even you can start from the zero level. Your teacher will prepare the lessons according to your requirements. The advantage of living in the school is that you will have your tutoring, you will have your private accommodation with your own bathroom and all the meals provided. I highly recommend everybody to actually take the whole package because you get to meet other students.
I decided to learn Chinese in Kunming because I like smaller cities and I like the climate here. We had four hours a day study here and my dear teacher taught me very much and never lost her patience with me. It was a really wonderful experience to be here and I recommend Keats school and the teachers here to everyone who likes to learn Chinese in China.