Could you share your thoughts on this weird teenager?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:China national was shocked that "following orders" and obeying authorities does not ensure safety eg in fire.

China national was shocked adult woman in authority position was seen with underwear showing.

How would you explain the British accent thing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How am I the weird one?

By making this post, by spending sooooooooooo much time thinking about an odd person you used to know. There are a lot of odd people in the world who are as odd, and even odder than, this particular Chinese boy. If you haven't met that many odd people, then you have lived a very sheltered life.

This was oh high school, a long time ago OP. Most people have moved on.

[Anonymous]

This was a lot of words for something unremarkable that happened 12 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm originally from Vancouver, Canada. I'm a mother now, but back in 2013, I was a high school student. At the beginning of my grade 10 school year, there was a new boy who arrived at our school. He was 15 years old and he had just recently moved to Canada from Shanghai, China. Even though he had just recently arrived, his English was already very good because he received intense English tutoring in China. And I recently found out that he graduated from an ivy league university in America with a master's degree in computer science. So he is clearly a smart and motivated person. But I also found him to be a very weird person, and I have no idea what was going on in his mind. So hopefully you guys can share your thoughts after reading all the points down below.

1a) At the beginning of the school year, one of our teachers was telling us about what to do and how to escape if there's a fire in the classroom. Later, this boy asked me what will happen if there's a fire and you don't escape. And I said "Then I think you will die". And he had a shocked expression on his face and he said "WHAT! What do you mean by we will die?". And I said "Well, if there was a fire in your classroom in China, and you didn't escape, then wouldn't you also die?" And he said "yes, that's true", but for some reason, he still could not fully understand. So then I said "It's very unlikely to happen, so don't worry about it." But he was still confused.

1b) Later that school year, flight MH370 went missing. And I said to this boy "See? This flight going missing was something that was very unlikely. But it still happened and people died. That's why I told you not to worry about the classroom having a fire due to how unlikely it is." At this point, understanding finally dawned on him. It was as if he was having a paradigm shift or an epiphany. I cannot believe it took him so long to understand this.

2) I am Chinese myself, so I happen to know a thing or two about the worldwide Chinese community. So I told this boy that in France, there are Chinese people who speak perfect French without a hint of a foreign accent. And I also told him that in England, there are Chinese people who have perfect British accents. He was stunned and almost in disbelief when I told him these things. It was as if he was having an epiphany. But what I'm confused about is, he already knew that in Canada, there are Chinese people who have perfect Canadian accents. So I don't know why he was so stunned.

3a) One time, one of our male teachers lifted his shirt and scratched his skin. This boy and I, we both saw that the teacher's grey boxers were sticking out of his pants. This boy did not seem fazed or surprised by it at all. Later that class, he nonchalantly said "This teacher is wearing a grey pair of underwear, by the way." Now, please read point 3b down below.

3b) Later in the school year, one of our female classmates was wearing low rise jeans, the type of jeans that come up to her hips instead of her belly button. And she accidentally had her underwear slightly sticking out at the back. This boy noticed it and he freaked out. His face looked shocked. He even scanned around the room to see if anyone else had noticed. And from this day on, whenever he noticed a girl's underwear showing, he would look around to see if anyone else noticed. But he never did this if it was a boy or a male. It was as if he had an epiphany where he realized that women's underwear can also be visible.

3c) I went to China for vacations when I was a child and when I was a teenager. I saw women wearing low rise jeans all over the place, so there's no way this boy did not see this when he was growing up in Shanghai. And I also happen to know that in China, underwear being visible isn't a big deal, no matter which gender you are. So it's the same as in western countries. Which makes me even more confused.

This has to be one of the weirdest troll attempts.

I think it's just someone who is prone to overthinking who randomly remembered a strange person she used to know, and now can't stop ruminating. Maybe she wonders if she could have helped him more back when she had contact with him. Maybe she regrets not being a better friend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:China national was shocked that "following orders" and obeying authorities does not ensure safety eg in fire.

China national was shocked adult woman in authority position was seen with underwear showing.

How would you explain the British accent thing?

Part and parcel of limited ability or experience with abstracting from specifics.
English learned in China likely attempted American accent. People may have seen American TV shows or movies. Then in Canada heard Canadian accent. But never abstracted to oooh maybe in France or UK they develop accents like people there have.
Plus not really thinking it through.

Same as not thinking about questioning authority and rules not guaranteed safety.

[Anonymous]

Why are you guys feeding the obvious troll?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are you guys feeding the obvious troll?

Don't think it's a troll. Probably someone with a mental health issue or ID.

[Anonymous]

I think you’re both weird. Lots of people are weird. Find weirdos you’re compatible with and enjoy your life.

[Anonymous]

There’s a weird one but it was not the Chinese teen.

[Anonymous]

OP, could I please have the last two minutes of my life back? WTF was that?

[Anonymous]

Its possible he was feigning surprise and "epiphany" to humor you in that moment, nothing more. It's a cultural thing to just be like "Oooh, is that so, interesting" when you really are not actually surprised or find it interesting. Its just a conversational crutch that most move on from but yes some people, like op, will be weirded out thinking this guy is truly as bewildered as he acts.

[Anonymous]

So you are still hung up on your high school crush?

[Anonymous]

So you shamed him about having a Chinese accent in high school? That really isn’t something to be proud of…
And a teenage boy noticing a girls butt and underwear? Most teenage boys would notice this, not just a Chinese immigrant teenage boy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1) You seem to think you are smarter than this person, and I'd infer that you seem to think you're smarter than most people.

2a) You seem to not understand that cultural differences exist and/or how they impact social aspects of interaction, and you also seem to lack some empathy for people experiencing cultural immersion in a new place. See below for related idea.

2b) Your post strongly suggests you may be on the autism spectrum, which is not an insult at all, just an observation about the way you observe people and how you sort and interpret that information.

3) You are probably overusing the word "epiphany."

I do wish DCUM people would stop thinking they can diagnose autism. It’s insulting.

I know, right? That and ADHD. It wasn’t helpful to make this way too long spectrum. Now people are being labeled autistic for not thinking like the mainstream. Kids who aren’t doing well in school now have ADHD.

I’ve never heard a Chinese person who moved to another country when they were over 10 years old to have a perfect accent with their new language. It doesn’t happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are you guys feeding the obvious troll?

What makes it seem so obvious to you?