I'm back from China, baby!

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I don't know if you've noticed it I've been gone for half a year.
I've spent the last 6 months in China, working as a school teacher.

This has been an experience that has taught me a few things, and given me a few insights into myself and the world around me, and that I recommend to anyone seeking a challenge.
I'll be sure to share when it comes up, but right now there are a few things on my mind.

Working as a school teacher, you might think would be a horrible choice for someone with AS?
You have to deal with lots of people every day, stand in front of them and act all extrovert and jolly.
Must be quite a nightmare?
But I'm the kind of person that tries to better myself, all the time.
And to me, this was an opportunity to dive in, and face the bull head-on.
If I could survive this, then nothing is going to stop me.
Also, I'd get a nice certificate out of it...
And here I am, on the other side, still kicking, and I've learned a lot about how to act and interact in a normal social environment, how to appear confident and a leader, how to handle speaking to a crowd and I've even learned a few tricks about how to manipulate the normals.
I think my CHA stat has gone up at least 10 points...

Speaking of manipulating, that's one of the things I've learned in China.
Do you recognize that feeling that when you were born, everybody else kind of got a "handbook to life", that you didn't get, explaining how to behave and how to get all that obscure information that everyone else seemed to get through telepathy or something?
Well, I think I found the handbook when I was over there.
It's called "The Definite book of Body language" by Allan & Barbara Pease (orionbooks.co.uk) ISBN 978-0-7528-5878-4, and it is what the title says.
It was quite an interesting read that I recommend.
I actually thought specifically of all you guys when I read it.
It taught me a lot of stuff that I never knew before.

Learning how to read and use body language to "read" other's thoughts and to "manipulate" them is probably one of the most useful thing I've ever learned.
I see it like this:
Normal people use this without knowing it, and that's the "telepathy" that I've thought people have been able to do.
However, they generally don't know how it works consciously!
I, in the other hand, born without this ability to communicate without words, can learn this consciously, meaning that I can influence others, and also read their thoughts to a degree, thus gaining me an advantage.
After 25 years on the wrong planet, I think I can rightly do this to gain an advantage without being unethical in any way.

As an example, I've always found it unbearable to look people in the eyes.
I've started doing that a lot more lately, forcing myself at first, and, noticing that it didn't kill me, it became easier.
Result: People start liking me more, treating me better and overall creating better rapport.

Then I learned about how pupil dilation works.
Result: Now I know what that magic unspoken signal is that happens when people becomes a couple.
I can see if someone's interested or not in whatever, like a topic of conversation, an item, or perhaps, me...
This has increased the number of romantic encounters I've experienced lately...

I've learned a bunch of behaviors that make people like me more, and how to use signals and movements to sway peoples opinions and things like that.
Many times when haggling the price of something, a simple quick raising of the eyebrows - something you should do to everyone, by the way (hint-hint) - have made the hardened bargain ladies behind the counter let an item go at my price, for example.
These are tricks I didn't know about before, and that most normal people don't know consciously.


Well, this is becoming long, but in short "I'm back from China and I have a few treasures in the holds."

Hey ion,

though I'm new here, welcome back! Your courage and the good results you got from it are inspiring. I'll check that book out.

Best,
Xanadu

Welcome back to WP!

Tim

Welcome back!

Thanks for the info. I think I might check that book out.

So you learned to manipulate the little Chinese Hellians, huh?

Hi, nice to hear all that man, and thanks a lot for the book! will try to get it

Welcome back,ion.
China must be a very interesting place to visit these days.
I'm sure your own story will be inspiring for a lot of us.Although having AS means we don't
always know instinctively how to do things in certain situations,there's no reason why we can't learn to do them consciously.

Last edited by pluto on 15 Aug 2007, 6:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.

by the way, what does "CHA" mean?

I'm glad you're back!

Thanks everyone!
Maybe I'll take up some of the tricks I've picked up in the blog section... That might work...

I'm glad you asked.
CHA comes from role playing games and means "CHArisma" and is the measure with which you are able to talk to people, make friends, CHArm, flirt, manipulate, etc.
That is has gone up 10 points would suggest I've gone from an Arnold Rimmer to an Ace Rimmer. (Check out Red Dwarf)

Funny story: I was talking with a girl over there and the subject were in that general area.
She said "I'm going to be honest. You are not handsome..." (sometimes they are as blunt as a blackjack) "... but you have, what do you call it? Sex appeal! You know? Charisma!"
I was pleasantly surprised (not to mention chocked by her bluntness) and it got me thinking, sure, I've never seen myself as handsome anyway, but handsome is only good for a limited time, while charisma will work your entire life AND you'll be able to persuade whole nations to die for you...

You are very welcome!

"You are not handsome."
lol, man I should go to China. Good thing I know a little Mandarin.

Yeah, they're awfully straightforward when it comes to talking about physical stuff.
One girl said my friend "looks like a chicken" and that I was fat.

How much mandarin do you know?

Did you like China? I have spent 6 months or so there in the last 4 years, mostly in the nice South Western parts. And I speak fluent Chinese so getting around is not all that hard. It is a fascinating place but one that can get on your nerves.

There are lots of people who are there teaching English though. If you are white, unemployed and wondering what to do, going to China to teach English is a possible option. Unfortunately for me, I am not white and that hurts my marketability. Actually, many schools will not hire someone who is not white because the Chinese students want to believe that only Westerners know English. I have actually met Europeans who did not speak English but who were there teaching it to the Chinese. What to do? The Chinese will not know the difference anyway.

A little. You might be familiar with Pimsleur lessons.
http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Mandarin- ... 877&sr=8-1
I downloaded the mp3s and have been listening to them for about eight months now roughly every night before I go to bed. I'm almost done with them (all three units--90 total lessons--each one listened to twice or more, depending on the complexity of the content and covered vocabulary) and will then move on to French, I'm reckoning. So I'm pretty good with conversational Mandarin. I don't know any Kanji and Pinyin. I think I may teach myself Pinyin (Kanji seems pretty difficult). So unfortunately, I can't share with you my Mandarin skills over these forums.

How long have you been studying Mandarin? Know any other dialects?

I've heard of it and I'm intending on aquiring it myself to keep up my skills.
My Chinese is "Intermediary". I can form sentences and get around in a normal setting, and understand most things said around me, but don't ask me to write a science paper in Chinese...
Some Chinese people say it sounds like I come from southern China, which, incidentally, is where I lived for half a year, so I guess their dialect have colored my speech.
Also, I dislike the Beijing use of the "-r" suffix. I think it sounds weird and I don't really see the necessity.
But I don't really know any other Chinese languages.
I know how to say "water" in Cantonese.

The characters, or Hanzi (not Kanji) are the most interesting part of the language IMO.
I love to research their meaning, history, variations etc.

Yeah, I know what you mean.
The last weeks there, I went around thinking I would get a slant-eyed brain tumor if I met one more person who wouldn't do their job correctly.
If I want to buy a ticket from A to B, then all I should have to say is "B" and the time.
Why do they insist on keeping things complicated!? Keep It Simple, Stupid
Place, time, give me ticket, take the money, bye bye!

I was in Guangzhou, a city I've come to hate with a passion but one you always had to visit whenever you had to go someplace, trying to get a ticket back to my home town.
I'm tired, annoyed, dirty, hungry, and not really in the mood for chit-chat, after traveling all the way from Mongolia (another story) for several days down to the southmost tip of China.
The lady behind the desk only gives me the answer "There are no buses", so I ask again, same reply, ask again, same reply.
At this point, I'm walking around in a tight circle, sounding like a pissed off Donald Duck on speed.
"No more buses?" What? Ever? You've officially shut down civilization? No more buses ever? The last one for all eternity just left?!?! Ya stupid b***h!! !
I finally find a lady who can speak English, and find out that there are no more buses TODAY, but I have to wait until 6 o'clock tomorrow.
So I spend a hard night with weird dreams on a sidewalk in Guangzhou (because they wouldn't allow me to sleep in the waiting lounge, f*****g stupid security guards), just hating the place to bits and mentally jotting it down on top of my list to strike if I ever get hold of a nuclear missile.