Did you use your amazing powers of whiteness to get the woman’s manager to talk with you guys? Maybe things are different in Suzhou, but in Beijing whenever people start acting like that, I totally utilize the white-worship of them or the people around them to embarrass the crap out of people in front of their boss. I love using face as a weapon, it’s pretty effective.

@Kotsengkuba: Great advice about keeping your papers on you.

@Stuart: Been a while m8! You’re absolutely right that no matter how long I live in the country, my white skin makes me a foreigner for life.

I’ve often tried to explain the Canadian difference to Maggie, as she was quite worried people would down on her as “Chinese” or as a “foreigner” in Canada – and though there’s racism in every country, being “Canadian” means being a foreigner. Only something like 20% of the population is of original British decent, the entire country is a melting pot of cultures, and no one would assume she’s not Canadian.

The problem at the PSB though wasn’t so much racism towards myself, but classism towards Maggie. Because she wasn’t a Suzhou local, and because she wasn’t working for a registered work unit (danwei) the woman treated her like she was some country hick, and though that too exists in Canada to some extent – class elitism here in China is much worse.

I think this must be a big problem with living in China. Surely not everyone there thinks this way, but it seems that, overall, no matter how long you live there or who you’re married to, you will always be waiguoren, always be loawai, always be an outsider. I think that’s pretty sad. I’ve never lived in Canada, but I’m fairly certain that Maggie wouldn’t have the same experience. I think at some point the label of “foreigner” would fade.

Also, our embassy informed us that we should always have our VISA and all the papers in our pockets during these “special circumstance” because the police may be checking for them every time.

I thought there was some restriction on the family L visa–I’ve heard you have to go back to wherever your wife’s hukou is and you have to be married for a certain number of years (that last part I’ve heard varying numbers).

@Kim: I say we send them out to the countryside for re-education. And should any prove difficult to re-educate, well, I hear there’s a blossoming medical tourism industry on the go.

@From TO: Not as difficult, but certainly far more condescending. The Canadian visa application may be more invasive, but it’s done with a certain level of respect. While applying for the Canadian visa, no one ever treated me nor my wife like we were less than equals.

Just wondering if it is as difficult as you apply your wife’s visiting visa to Canada?

J.