# Moving to china with our baby



## luluwannabeinchina (Mar 29, 2015)

Hi all, I know this thread is old, but I'm hoping to get help.

Me and My husband are contemplating the same move with our 9month baby, we are fairly flexible people and aren't all together new to travel with various members of our families spread out globally. We currently reside in South Africa and live a fairly comfortable life.

The big snag or worry is that we are not Caucasians, we are black. I have a few friends that have made the move and haven't heard of any real bad experiences from them, to the contrary they are loving it and rate there's a huge peace of mind in moving to china, but they are not a family, they went as individuals, and the general parent worries we deal with aren't really in their frame of reference. 

I guess my question is twofold. first, as black South African's moving as a family, do we really have much hope in getting an assignment that side. we are both fully qualified individuals, myself a marketer by profession, with my postgraduate degree, but have mentored and taught for a few years while in varsity as a tutor and my husband a fully qualified primary school teacher. I have heard about prejudice and racism towards dark skinned teachers in the interview process but my friends didn't seem to encounter such problems, outside of what they call general black curiosity. From your experience and engagements, is this black skin not worthy of teaching English phenomenon still prevalent in china? 

this leads to my second question. Me and my hubby can manage a fair amount of racist ignorance, but we obviously do not want our baby bullied and ill-treated in any way, shape or form, do you think this is something we should be seriously concerned about. It concerns me now, but again I have no real understanding of it and what I get from the net is the same story around people just being extremely curious and Unknowing about the existence of blacks as a people all together, in which case you cannot really get mad at someone for staring of poking ( although i would imagine it to get really frustrating) 

This is not a comment intended for any racists or purists who believe equal opportunity for all races isn't an option in society. I would appreciate constructive honest feedback from people with real intention to help, whether it be with bad news or good. I have very little patience for people who choose to use these forums to hammer on about their beliefs around a separated world. 

Thanks all, looking forward to some fruitful advise


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## cschrd2 (Oct 31, 2011)

Although I am Caucasian, let me give you my 5 cents. Chinese are more racist against some of their own nationalities then towards foreigners (of whatever race/nationality). Specially countryside, according to me, there is no racism visible BUT in bigger cities there might be some. Like in other Asian countries a part of the night live is controlled by black people and not in the best line of work. They create a lot of negative press. As far as the job, I have seen ample darker tanned teachers in the international schools my kids went to. For local schools I can't say it with the same confidence as I don't have that wide experience. In fact I see more racism in the US (where I live now) or the EU, then I have ever seen in China.
Concentrate your worries on the health of your baby (air pollution, food quality) which might cause much bigger concerns for the three of you. Good luck with the choice you have to make.


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## luluwannabeinchina (Mar 29, 2015)

Thank you for the speedy response. I am doing extensive research and am getting a mixed bag of opinions and information, I suppose that's life no 2 people are the same. You are very right in saying I should focus on other factors as well i.e. pollution and food quality, from what I have read, the worst hit places pollution wise are the big cities like HK, smaller cities, while also polluted are not that bad, we are looking at Sichuan province, so I'm hoping that means better conditions. Food quality, our baby is quite young and is exploring foods right now, that can be a good or bad thing, but I think because he's pallet isn't yet acclimatized to any particular food outside of baby food, we could get away with introducing foreign foods ( that are fresh and clean of course) but it is something we will be monitoring seriously. Thank you for your help


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