Working in a Chinese company is a bit different than working
in other places. This year, when I arrived at school, I was told two things:
lunch would be provided to me and to bring my own dishes. The lunch thing was
good news. The dishes thing was weird. I asked what they meant about my own
dishes. I was then shown a large cabinet that was filled with mismatched
Tupperware type containers, porcelain bowls, and chopsticks. Apparently, I was
expected to bring in my own dishes and cutlery to “make sure they are clean”
when I use them. So, I went to Wu Mart (a Wal-Mart type store) and bought my
own Tupperware type container and travel cutlery set to bring to work with me.
At my first office lunch, I watched my coworkers carefully
to see what the office etiquette was for lunch. It’s different but,
straightforward. Everyone brings in their own container and cutlery. They use
them daily and wash everything before putting it back into the cabinet. I, too,
did this for a little while until I realized just how watered down the school
provided dish soap is. Now, I bring my stuff back home each day to wash with my
own, undiluted soap.
At school, we foreign teachers and our bilingual, Chinese co-teachers
share an office. In October, I started to notice that the office floor looked
exceptionally dirty. Then, I saw one of the Chinese co-teachers sweeping and
another taking out the trash. This happened again a few weeks later. Finally, I
realized that we are expected to clean our own office. I checked with the Chinese
co-teachers and they confirmed it. So, now, every few weeks, I take a turn cleaning
our office floor and dusting the communal surfaces with wet wipes.
Although I’ve searched around online, I can’t find how
common or uncommon my school’s habits are. However, the Chinese teachers seem
unfazed by everything. Therefore, I assume this is at least somewhat common in
China. So, if you come here to work, bring your own dishes for lunch and be
ready to sweep the office floor.
Office Supplies
__________
This looks almost exactly like my cutlery set. The chopstick pieces screw apart to make the set more portable.
__________
Like my lunch container.
__________
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