Toughing things out only goes so far before you reach the end of the rope, and everybody has one. It would be okay to tough things out and ride it out so as long as there is a certain amount of fairness involved. What I do not tolerate is the fact that training center bosses will talk about the lavish spending they did on things they did not earn honestly. This leads to problems such as co-workers who are local asking about your salary and how rich you are back in the west. Of course most of us are not like that, and this leads to condescension and gossiping about our lives that will lead to bad treatment. I mentioned a public school job I had where a cleaning lady yelled at me and treated me rather rudely in a manner uncalled for. When I complained I was given the runaround. It still says in the contract (which is something that the Chinese will love binding expats to) that you are entitled to a clean, comfortable environment. But at the end of the day when you realize you judged in status by the locals as a foreign migrant worker you will lose the faith, hope, and ultimately respect that you had for the country. Not a good way to live a life.

Young backpacker types and retired military personell are two groups who can bear this - they're pioneering types used to living rough abroad!

They don't even like each other all the time, either.