The Difference

People love to talk about the difference between educational styles in the U.S. and in China, and how those differences are holding up the U.S. as China's global leader. The Chinese teach rote memorization, and hard work without individual thought. While Americans stress academics less, but raise leaders through sports, high school jobs, and critical thinking skills.

I have a strong dislike for national generalizations these days, but I had a Chinese Moment this afternoon which certainly supports leaders coming from the U.S. for a while longer.

As a gift for Chinese New Year, our management company has decided to gift each tenant with a 50 RMB phone card. This card will provide a free international phone call for 20 minutes, a small but kind offer. I went to the office to claim mine, and found it much more difficult than I had imagined.

Lynne (all super-friendly): Hi! I came to pick up the phone cards referenced in this letter here?

Receptionist (all super-friendly right back): Great! I just need to see your passport.

Lynne (only normal-friendly): Hmm. This letter doesn't say I need my passport. And I'm already here.

Receptionist (still all super-friendly): Yeah, that's right. I just need a copy of your passport.

Lynne: Um, why do you need my passport for this gift?

Receptionist: Because the phone company wants to know who received them.

Lynne (only cautiously friendly now): I don't really want to sell my passport to the phone company for 50 RMB.

Just then, the woman who manages the houses in my neck of the complex walked in. Her name is Sarah. Sarah was all super-friendly, too. And I'm not being facetious. All of the people I spoke with were genuinely friendly, which kept me genuinely friendly as well.

Sarah: Hi, Lynne!

Lynne: Hi, Sarah! I just came to pick up my phone cards

Sarah: Oh great! I think we just need a copy of your passport.

Lynne: Huh. Why do you need that?

Sarah: Oh, I don't really know. I think my colleague knows. Can you wait a moment?

A moment later.

Sarah: My colleague is on the phone. Can you wait for her to finish?

Lynne: Sure.

A moment later.

Sarah's colleague (all super-friendly): Hi! How can I help you?

Lynne: I just came to pick up my phone card, and I don't understand why you need my passport.

Sarah's colleague: Oh, no problem. We need it to verify that you are really a tenant. Because, you know, 50 RMB is not really very much money. And so many people here just say to their housekeeper or their driver, you can have it. Then maybe a Filipina would come in here...

I let this comment go. Not because I found in inoffensive, but because I was trying to stay focused.

Lynne: Oh, so you just need to verify that I am a tenant.

Sarah's colleague / Sarah (together, and super-friendly): Yes, that is all.

Lynne: Well, that's no problem. Sarah knows that I'm a tenant. She did all of my paperwork, gave me the keys, and physically moved me into my house. (I flashed Sarah a bright smile).

Sarah (bit of nervous laughter): Yes, of course I know you. We just need your passport anyway.

Lynne: I guess I just don't understand. (To my credit - I wasn't belaboring this. In the actual conversation, it sounded like they might be distributing my passport to various enterprises throughout the neighborhood).

Sarah's colleague: We just need to verify that you are really a tenant.

Lynne: Right. So that's taken care of.

Sarah's colleague (nervous laughter): No, we have to write down your passport number on a list, to show who has taken these phone cards. (See what I mean?)

Sarah (brightly): I'll check your file. Maybe we have a photocopy of our passport on file already.

A moment later. Sarah brings out my file.

Sarah: It looks like we do not have your passport here.

Lynne: Yes, but look. You have photos of everyone in my family, with our names and passport numbers written right next to them. This is everything that you need to verify I am a tenant.

Sarah's colleague: Oh, we know that you are a tenant. We just need to see a copy of your passport.


Through the full conversation, we established that there would not be any Filipinas living in our neighborhood; that I would not not consider giving this phone card to my ayi later; and that the ladies in our management center follow directions to the letter rather than to the spirit. They had verified my identity and that I was a tenant multiple times over by the time I left the office. But without viewing (not keeping) a copy of my passport, I could not walk out with my phone card gift.

We also established that they would like to have a copy of my passport on file, and asked that I come back tomorrow. As visits to the management office always end up taking much longer than they should, I said I would not come back tomorrow - but that she is welcome to walk up to my house and take my passports. Then when she brings them back, she can deliver my phone cards.

At this, she asked to keep my letter laying claim to those cards.

I pointed out how clever I was - that if she kept the letter, I could never ask for the cards again. I offered to give her the letter after she delivered the cards and passports to me tomorrow. She laughed. And her laugh said, Your idea could get me fired.