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These two freshmen from the Guangzhou University of Foreign Studies asked me to participate in their survey of foreigners in Guangzhou. The survey was quite well written, but for some reason the questions bothered me.
It wasn't until after they had gone that I realized what bothered my was some implicit assumptions the students made about foreigners in Guangzhou (eg foreigners must think Guangzhou is not as developed as other cities, foreigners must have trouble communicating, foreigners must be bothered by the lack of English speakers and English signs). Though the choices of answers to the survey questions seemed comprehensive, they actually aided in misrepresenting what I thought.
This happens everywhere. Everyone wants to understand things in short, concrete, concise, and unambiguous terms that hopefully reinforce what they already think. This photo was taken on April 9, 2005.
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