China, HSK and Muslims

I have my ups and downs with the Muslim population, and sometimes it really drives me insane. Recently, guess what it’s been? Cheating.

I grew up in America, home of creative licensing and copyrights. Maybe some of you may think I’m too high-strung, but I consider cheating one of the most dastardly things you can do growing up. I don’t care how desperate you are, it’s breaching the rights of your fellow classmate, teacher and if anything at all, your SELF. Cheating on tests is disgusting to me. I remember in high school, some of the grades would whisper to each other, “Whats the answer to number 56?” whenever the teacher trusted the class enough to walk out for some air or something. Thankfully my class never stepped out of line. Maybe in part because I was the principal’s daughter, maybe in part because the class as a whole had a higher standard of morals. Either way, I was fairly happy with my own condition. Oftentimes, if I accidentally caught a glimpse of what I knew to be the right answer, I would purposefully mark it wrong on my paper. Just because I felt it was wrong that I saw it. Maybe this was overboard or being a bit TOO careful, but I was satisfied with my own actions.
Growing up with this sort of belief, I have always been highly sensitive in tests and made sure not to mess around to convince others that I may possibly have been cheating. HERE now comes my issue with HSK testing and the Middle-Easterners who REALLY let me down.
HSK testing was on Sunday morning, starting at 9 AM. I came early, but forgot to bring my passport for identification. Thankfully the test proctor said to me, “it’s okay, I know you, go on.” So I went in. Thankful for his slip, I tried to sit in my rightful seat number but was told by the impatient woman proctor that I was in the wrong place. Turns out she was wrong though. I ended up shifting back three rows to where I was originally seated. Anyhow, the test started without much ado. Flagship kids filled up about five rows. I was smack in the middle.
Throughout the test, a proctor dressed in a bright red coat stalked the aisle beside our seats and would sometimes stop more surreptitiously and peer over our shoulders, sweeping her eyes over our test sheets. In fact, I would almost have considered her doing this for mere amusement as opposed to being anything close to making sure we weren’t cheating. After all, when I slipped my answer sheet beneath the test booklet, circling the answers on the book itself, she came by and pulled out the sheet, organized it over the section I was reading and said in a very loud whisper, “You’re doing it wrong, this first, this first.” (In Chinese) I was more than irritated, and sort of brusquely told her, that I knew what I was doing. After placing my answer sheet away again, she sauntered down the aisle and began shifting Andre’s paper ahead of me (he had placed it at a 90 degree angle, out of habit), discussing with him the issue of paper-placing DURING the listening section (excuse me, did you not realize we aren’t Chinese native speakers or LISTENERS for that matter?). After making her point she came back up the aisle, attempting to chat up several other students and then made a beeline back towards me, asking urgently, “where’s your passport??”
Thank you for organizing priorities lady. Not leaving when I didn’t answer, I eventually blurted that I had left it in the front with the bags (a lie), and not being able to do anything, she moved back to the front.
Now here’s my issue.
At the end of the testing, Earl noticed the people testing in front of him were all cheating. As they went around the room collecting papers, the Middle Easterner male in the front row slipped his paper down alongside the edge of the desk and showed his answers to the row behind him, allowing them to copy all the answers. Mind you, the ones copying? They were hijabis. Can I tell you the shame I felt when hearing my classmate tell me about this? Hijabis. Please. Do you realize what putting a headscarf even CONSTITUTES? It hurts me as a Muslim to see that people who also represent my religion can do things like this. Yea, maybe it’s ‘just a test’, but to me that reflects the fact that you are willing to bend to dirty methods to obtain results that are not rightfully yours. I don’t care how important this test may be to your career or future, by giving this fake result to your company, you are lying about your own abilities and only causing more problems for YOURSELF in the future. Yes, some may say, let them be, because they ll be reaping their own results. HOWEVER, to see people in my own religion doing dirty things like this makes me feel especially hollow, irritated, upset and depressed. Do you know what you represent? Not only are you a representative of your country, youre a representative of your RELIGION. Do you know how many people you have just affected thanks to a miss in judgment? Thank you so much for making my life just a little harder. And please, learn what that scarf means to all of us.