For everyone (both of you, ha!) waiting impatiently for the conclusion, I did manage to get paid on Tuesday. My school’s director really came through for me, and I got my salary at 4:30pm, which is 6 hours after I first went to the accounting office to pick up my money, but still on payday. I’m quite annoyed that I spent most of my day going from office to office being told by each person that it’s not their job or their fault, but very happy that I did get paid in the end.
I’ve been in China close to two years, so I should be adjusted to the Chinese way of solving problems, but it still irks me that so much time is spent proving that whatever has gone wrong isn’t your fault. I really don’t care who’s made the mistake, and I’d rather spend the time fixing it, rather than being convinced by each person that they’re blameless and it’s someone else’s error. I really have no desire to point a finger or get revenge on the person who goofed… I don’t think the Chinese do either. I think the vague excuses are a face-saving measure, but as an American, I think a flimsy, complicated explanation of how your dog ate your homework is much lower face than just saying you won’t let it happen again. Time spent explaining why, for example, you couldn’t possibly have been the one who used up all the copy paper, is time better spent refilling the paper tray.
