Chinese Overseas, as in my Neighborhood

There is much written on the internet about Overseas Chinese (huachao, or huayi), and not so much about Chinese Overseas, as in Mainland Chinese people that visit overseas. I live in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, a part of North Eastern Toronto. My neighborhood has many Chinese people that visit from mainland China.

___Our Chinese visitors come to stay from 3 months to a couple of years. Most are retired, called here by their married kids to help raise their grandchildren. For the most part, these visitors from China are devoted to their families and add a lot of flavour to Toronto culture. They bring with them traditional Chinese values and thinking from an era of China that may be long gone, or at least buried deep in the past.

___I must tell you that Scarborough and neighbor Markham has the highest concentration of Mainland Chinese and Mandarin speakers in Canada. We have large shopping malls that cater to the local Chinese community. Many of our local malls have only Chinese stores. Banking and government services are offered in English and Chinese. The local big box grocery stores all carry Chinese foodstuffs, though there is no need, because there are so many local Chinese grocery stores. We have hospitals that will translate, and traditional Chinese doctors and pharmacies. We have 5 or 6 Chinese language newspapers, though there is no XinHua news. Of course there is the internet. There is almost nothing we cannot buy that is available in China. You can speak Mandarin at every Chinese store or restaurant with no difficulties.

___What this means is that in my neighborhood on my road I speak 50% English and 50% Mandarin to my neighbors. As white and Hong Kong owners move out, Mandarin speaking families move in. Once a family knows you can speak Mandarin, there is real cohesion that develops. Even though they need not learn English to live well in my neighborhood, they seem eager to greet a friendly face in their mother tongue. I miss China and happily comply.

___After a couple of years living in China, it is pretty easy to spot a Mainland Chinese person in my neighborhood. While there is a predominance of Asians here, not all are from China. We have families from Vietnam, Hong Kong (different culture from China) and China. For people from the Mainland there are some odd behaviors that stand out. Here are a few:

• ¤ Walking on the road with the whole family: We have wide sidewalks for pedestrians, but for some reason, newly landed Chinese seem to prefer to walk on the road. I have guessed that this is due to a lack of sidewalks in China. They seem to believe Canadians will not run them over. This is so not true.
• ¤ Taichi in the morning: This is not unexpected. Actually it is welcomed by white and Asian families here. There are informal taichi groups that congregate in our local parks and even on people’s front driveways in the early morning
• ¤ Lack of maintenance of the front of their house: It seems like there is no interest from Chinese families to maintain the front of their house. In my neighborhood, where many Canadian families take great pride in their manicured gardens, this really stands out. In the winter, there is a distinct lack of proper snow removal. And no, you cannot remove 20cm of snow with a broom. This is unlike Beijing dust.
• ¤ Predominance of large SUVs: Chinese people seem to prefer buying a large SUV, even though they only have 2 people in the house. Maybe it is seen as a status symbol amongst their friends, I don’t know. It would also be helpful to learn to properly drive such a large vehicle. Watch out for the other Mainland families walking in the middle of the street.
• ¤ All year Bicycle riding: Interestingly many elderly Chinese will ride their bicycles all year, rain, slush, snow be damned. They do ride slowly, but still ride. They are greeted with astonishment by Canadians of all stripes, not because of their all-weather capability, but that at that age they can still ride. We are slovenly here. No they don’t wear helmets or other protective gear. Yes they ride on the sidewalks, but they ride slowly and do slow down when passing pedestrians. It’s as if they KNOW how to ride through pedestrian traffic.
• ¤ Lack of understanding of garbage rules: While these rules are translated and printed in many different languages, there seems to still be a disconnect with Chinese families. Granted, our rules are complex. Separate garbage amongst organic, recyclables, and non-recyclables. Alternating weeks are organics and recyclables, and organics and non-recyclables. There are special pickups for Christmas trees and fall leaf pickup. For large appliances you need to call a special phone number for pickup. Yes, it’s complicated, but after a couple of years we all learn it.
• ¤ The need for a building permit before a large house renovation: We have building inspectors that want to ensure that after a renovation you do not burn down your house and kill your kids. This seems to be completely foreign to mainland Chinese. While I agree that this is your house, you need to follow safety rules and regulations, just like everyone else. And NO, there is no exemption just because you are from China.
• ¤ Kids going to the bathroom on the public street: This is common in China, but to have your baby, with their split trousers peeing and pooing in the street gutter is not allowed here in Canada. It’s actually illegal. Worse, the neighbors will not understand why you would do this. We have diapers that take care of this. Logistically this is also difficult to do at -15C. Poor kids and their popcicles. We even pick up when the dog does his thing.
• ¤ Spitting: This is very common in China, and I see this here as well, though less and less. In the spring it does not get worse. Thankfully. Maybe because no other nationality spits, this trait really stands out.
• ¤ In the summer, cool down at the park: It is very common in the summer that after dinner, the local mainland Chinese families gather at the park to let the kids play and to talk to neighbors. There are so many Chinese families at the park that if you close your eyes and imagine that the lush green grass is a pale shade of brown, you might think you are in China. Hey, who is that Indian kid? Does he belong here? Oh, right, we’re in Canada. Every so often I get to translate and explain something about Canadian culture. Yes, you need to file your taxes and yes, Revenue Canada does speak Mandarin.

___I often joke with my Canadian neighbors that they really should learn to speak Mandarin, as our Chinese guest are simply too old to learn English. Many Chinese here regret that they cannot speak English and therefore cannot easily communicate to other neighbors. There are very few of us that are bilingual. Their adult kids never seem to be home, are too busy to walk around the avenue, or are not interested.

___We certainly have a cultural and linguistic split on our avenue, but would not have it any other way. I still get to practice my Mandarin, long after I’ve returned from China. Jiayou!