Ben The Barber: Working Like A Local

When I started this site, and this blog, my intention was (and is) to give foreigners coming to or recently arrived in China an inside look at the country. Of course, usually this means “from an expat perspective”. Well, Ben Ross, of Ben’s Blog, has taken this a step further:

“As an American living in China, I have spent the last three years of my life enjoying the benefits of being a citizen of a country which is far wealthier than the one in which I reside. I travel around town by taxi. I drink at expensive bars. I eat sushi. I take trips across the country, and when my apartment is dirty, I call a maid to clean it up. My life is not that different from the other several hundred Westerners who call Fuzhou home. We all come to China for the “China experience,” but we still live our lives with the advantages of being Westerners. But what is it like to be one of the 6 million Chinese residents of Fuzhou, especially those of the working class?”

That’s the question that led Ben to take a job as a lowly 学徒 (trainee) at a local barbershop/salon. Working 11 hour days, 6 days a week for just over $100/month, Ben hopes to connect with people that superficial class lines would otherwise prohibit, see how the other half (or as he more accurately states: 99.9%) live, and in the process, perhaps gain a deeper understanding of himself and his relatively privileged life.

“My work so far is quite simple. I am starting at the lowest possible position, so my responsibilities include collecting used towels, sweeping hair, and bringing cups of hot water to customers. I have about fifteen colleagues, they have all been friendly and helpful, if at first a bit confused with what I am doing.”

“I think it is going to be interesting to observe the divide between the locals and the outsiders. The divide is obvious. Everybody working a the shop, boss included, is an outsider. Most of the customers are locals. I have already experienced several times the degrading language and looks from the Fuzhou people directed toward the employees who are not local. Again, it is too early to make any kind of assertations or judgments, but I am interested if this pattern will continue, and whether this rude attitude has anything to do with the fact that the employees are outsiders, or if it’s just the typical way to address somebody who makes 1000 RMB ($120) per month.”

At the time of this writing Ben is well into his first week on the job, but judging by the post times, his plan for a “post a day” may have fallen a bit by the wayside. I’ll cut him some slack though; the free time expat life in China provides me is the main reason I’ve time to devote to blogging and site creation – if I was working 11 hour days without a break… updates would be even fewer than they currently are.

Being an expat, particularly of the “none-too-ambitious” breed that I am, is a pretty cushy life. Comfortably working 15-20 hours a week, being able to eat out a nice restaurants, enjoy drinks with your meal, get driven everywhere in taxis, and live in comfortable apartments with the option of an aiyi cleaning up your mess – kudos should be given to one of our ilk that has stopped (if even only in a limited capacity) to consider that we live in a country where our excesses (and by a much higher degree/frequency – the excesses of the affluent locals) are supported by a massive pool of people who truly do work just to survive.

Read more about Ben’s ongoing adventure.