Metamorphosis

By Antony Peyton

his isn't anything to do with the Franz Kafka tale of a man waking up and finding himself turned into a gigantic insect. But, it is a tale of myself waking up one day and realising how China has turned me into a slightly different person.

All of us read about the constant developments in China, and that's very interesting and important. That's why most of us are here. In fact, a lot of people would have made a snap judgement on the title of this article, assuming it ? s another piece on the growth and change within China

Little or nothing has been said about how a country can influence our personality. Expatriates who've been here a while never talk about this matter. Perhaps they don't want to reveal it, which could actually be an example of China's effect upon them. Possibly they're not aware of it or they believe such a change doesn't exist. But, when I listen to some people I feel there has been a slight shift in their persona.

There's definitely been a metamorphosis within me. The first thing that struck me was my increased awareness of the value of money. I've become adept at the art of saving money, which isn' t a bad thing. Certainly I ? m shrewder with my finances and while having plenty of wealth isn't the key to happiness, have you ever been in a situation where having money made it worse?

It's possible that this adjustment is just due to the advancement in my years, as I look to the future more. That's entirely feasible, but like any expatriate in the Middle Kingdom we've learnt to become better bargainers when purchasing goods. Nobody wants to pay over the odds for anything, but as a foreigner we'll end up having to. Most people like to think they're streetwise and possess bundles of business acumen. You've probably read books or learnt about all the tricks when going shopping-walking away to feign disinterest, keeping a poker face to mask your true emotions, holding the RMB in your hand so the sellers can see it, etc., etc., ad infinitum. You probably know more about it than me.

I ? m prepared to negotiate over prices, but spending thirty minutes attempting to lower the amount by 1 RMB isn't a good use of my time. Some individuals will see any cash saving as a victory in the haggling process. They walk away with their heads held high and tell us all how they achieved their moment of greatness. I might spend a little bit more money, but time is also a precious commodity that is too short to waste.

This self-transformation isn't limited to one thing. When I lived in England and Germany I was direct, which hasn't and hopefully won't change. Now, I will think about things even more before giving an answer. That ? s not to say I didn't give plenty of conjecture to matters before coming here, but now an automatic delay kicks in as I find myself not revealing everything immediately. The questioner finds himself or herself having to dig a little deeper to pry the answer from my lips. Certainly, I've encountered many expatriates employing this lengthy routine.

That said, most of us would agree that it ? s best to think before speaking. I've always been fairly quiet anyway, which is why I'm a writer and not a game show host.

My vocabulary now employs “maybe”, “perhaps”, “possibly” to an amazing extent. If everybody around me is giving indirect answers, naturally I will follow suit in order to survive and prosper. I suppose we could be rebellious and go against the flow, but in most cases more can be achieved by bending the rules, as opposed to breaking them.

Of course, everybody likes to think they' re deep thinkers and capable of pondering over matters of substance, and then producing an answer of unimaginable intelligence and wisdom. None of us are going to start claiming, “Look at me! I'm so shallow!”

The problem with writing this article is that I can only provide details on changes that I know about. There could be some unknown or bad habits I've picked up and just haven't realised yet. However, in mitigation, if I had developed some unseen or unsavoury aspects, I know full well there are plenty of people who would be happy to tell me about them. I'm truly grateful for their existence.

I don' ? t believe for one moment that my descriptions in the preceding paragraphs are a major revolution inside my mind. That's why I used “slightly different” in the first paragraph. Look upwards if you can't remember. But, I do believe that there will be expatriates who can relate to my experience. Whether they want to talk about it is another matter. If you the reader were to examine your identity, you would be mildly surprised. I ? m not advocating a mass movement for introspection, just a simple analysis.

Then there are the people, for whom China has exerted a far greater impact. These remarkable characters have enormously altered egos and will think, talk and breathe in Chinese. For them, they probably didn't give it much thought, it just happened naturally. The irony is that we'll never really get to talk to them to find out more. They've consciously or unconsciously shunned contact with their compatriots.