u/OkRecover7192 wrote:
"I studied in China for 1 year for a language course, then continued my Data Scientist job. Below are some experiences that I had in China:"
"I reached China before noon, so I couldn't make it to the university dorm. However, the university dorm guards helped me find a nearby hotel, arranged a taxi, and provided food to me even though they didn't know English and I didn't speak Chinese."
"I wanted to purchase a SIM card at the university, so I asked a stranger for help. He was French and sent me to the wrong location, which was 1 km away, so some Chinese students helped me find that shop on the university campus. They helped me until I found the location."
"I Am Gay, So I Made A Boyfriend"
"I am gay, so I made a boyfriend at the university itself. Through him, I got to know many other Chinese students as well, so we played basketball, badminton, and also travelled together."
"My boyfriend invited me to his family during the Chinese National Holiday. They were very welcoming, and I became a celebrity in his hometown because many older Chinese people wanted to take photos with me."
In the replies, u/whoji asked whether the family knew the boyfriend was his boyfriend or only a friend. u/OkRecover7192 answered:
"No his family doesn't know about us. Also we are no more togeather as he didn't have any courage to come out infront of his family."
"Dating is not easy in China especially if you belong to lgbtq community.I luckily met him."
"The Store Manager Recognized Me"
"During the initial days, I wasn't used to Chinese food, so I usually ate at a convenience store. After a few days, the store manager recognized me and always said \"Namaste\" to me whenever I visit."
"I usually ate at the shops outside my university because they were a bit cheaper. Every time I visited, they always gave me free dishes (as I was their regular customer) and even showed interest in knowing about my culture."
The cats were not sold on the arrangement:
"One thing is that the university cats were not friendly with me. They always hid whenever I crossed their path. I even brought cat food for them, but they never ate it."
"I Didn't Face Any Racism From Chinese People"
"I always got compliments from strangers that I was very handsome. My skin color is neither too dark nor too pale, just like a Thai person having a light tan."
"I didn't face any racism from Chinese people, but I did face racism from people from my own country in China. Usually, I don't have a beard or body hair, so the Indians I knew at my university always made fun of me sometimes."
u/a9udn9u pushed back:
"Seems like you had a great time in China! Not to dismiss what you've said, but why would you consider other Indians joking about your lack of body hair as racism?"
The Replies
u/Fluffy-Shock9487:
"This really feels like a winner in a feel good post in a very long time - cheers to the poster."
u/SignatureBasic6007:
"Thank you so much for this post! I am planning to visit China and do a martial arts course there over 1 year and am a part of the Indian diaspora and was wondering just how much \"otherness\" or racism I would encounter there."
"This helps."
u/Nishwishes:
"This was genuinely lovely to read and I'd honestly enjoy reading more of your anecdotes. I'm so happy that you had a good experience and that you even got a boyfriend and welcomed by their family! As a queer person myself that's so cool."
u/Comfortable_Cell_138:
"Well put together! I am indian too, my third here and gotta agree with you on the racism part, it's always from your own people or chinese who have stayed abroad. For majority of the Chinese, you are a foreigner regardless of your nationality and ethnicity."
u/OkRecover7192, after a question about dating:
"Dating is not easy in China especially if you belong to lgbtq community.I luckily met him."
"Now we are no more togeather as his parents want him to marry a girl and have kids and they don't know that his son likes men."
The author ends with one line that makes the whole post feel like a beginning rather than a conclusion:
"There are a lot other experiences I had but these are just very few."
Source: Original Reddit post by u/OkRecover7192 and the named public replies quoted above. Direct quotes are preserved as a personal account; this article does not treat them as a universal claim or legal advice.