Originally Posted by
mlin32
This true for a lot of countries, not just China.
People need to understand and respect the fact that other countries have different customs and languages, and that one is a guest when visiting as a tourist so it's necessary to find work-arounds and be accomodating as best as possible. I'm of chinese origins and can speak/understand spoken mandarin fluently, yet can barely read. I felt rather embarassed asking people to "tell/explain to me things" that were clearly written, and the locals were totally nice and understanding about it.
It's kind of like when I visit the US, which has a littany of unwritten rules, hidden fees, and rude people. I shrug and just accept that's just the way things are, that I'm visiting the country, and move on.
This might be controversial, but the tonal nature of Mandarin makes it much harder for foreigners because we are much more likely to make mistakes. “Shi” means a lot of things. Even if I know the Pinyin for something I’m trying to say, I could butcher the tones and be completely incomprehensible to the person I’m speaking to. On the flip side, I can completely piece together what a Chinese person is trying to say to me in English even if they butcher the pronunciation. I’m used to English speakers of a variety of accents and word choices.
That being said, I completely empathize with the stage fright aspect, the fact that I’m a visitor, and have no qualms with using translation apps when necessary.