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Sign up with Google Sign up with FacebookQ: Of all the places you could have lived and worked, why China?
We all have different experiences and ideas about China both positive and negative, but what made you come to live and work here? China is a challenging country for us all, with opportunities and frustrations we don't encounter at home. But it can also be a life changing experience what do you think?
Because why not! To be honest, I hear so many people complaining about how challenging it is here but I don't think China's more challenging than moving to some large Western city like London or NY. Here, the biggest challenge is overcoming the language barrier. Then there comes the challenge of getting over the cultural differences and accepting them. In terms of bureaucracy this country is much more straight forward than the UK for example. In the UK it's a big pain in the ass to open a bank account for example, while here in China you just stroll in with your password and they'll do the rest for you. Everything is simple here once you figure out how to do it.
Because at the time I moved here, all flights to Mars were already fully booked and Baghdad didn't seem a very favourable option either.
Back then, on a very good salary salary with free accommodation, an exchange rate of 15.6 rmb to the GB Pound and beer costing no more than 10p per bottle, China seemed like a very good option. That's before even mentioning the attention from the pretty girls.
My job requires me to go where the most amount of money can be made, I was only suppose to be here for up to 5 years until Obama signed a 3 year extension on foreign investment immigration, otherwise I would be back in Malibu, I was told that my next destination could be the Philippines or Thailand, which ever country takes the manufacturing business out of China, so if one day, I post my good byes and say where I moving to, that would be the country to invest in hint hint, , my worst financial mistake before moving here was not investing because I did not believe the economy could hold such a heavy development, but if I would have invested from 2006 to 2008, I would retire at an old age of 40. That mistake will not happen again.
I'm fascinated by different cultures, ancient history and yes there is probably some strange part of me that likes a challenge.
I've also lived in Canada my whole life. I will be able to live in Canada for the rest of my life. So why not take the opportunity to see something different?
Don't most people want to see and experience something different from their regular lives?
And then, for whatever strange reason, I tend to get along very well in Chinese society.
Finally, yes, unlike the weirdos on here who are ashamed of their jobs (as if they should be in loftier positions) I actually love teaching young people, helping them out and making them laugh or share in some new experiences, foreigner stories and maybe I make a positive difference after all?
I still believe that is a great thing.
*The one thing I did not count on - my time in China (previously) counted for nothing back home. I mean on the resume.
Worse than that - it was almost like a gap in my employment. The same as if I'd dropped out of the workforce entirely.
Not that I had sizzling career opportunities but you know I would like China to be a plus not a negative in the future.
sorrel:
thanks for sharing. Even on a 'bad China day' having 1 student say 'you have made a difference' can make up for the frustrations (obviously not all, I am human after all - ha ha.) having just experienced my worst semester so far, I have tried to learn something positive. that might sound lame, but I believe, you get out of life what you put into it
Every time I re-enter the U.S., Homeland Security asks me, "Why China?" I think this time I'm just going to reply "temporary insanity."
I was online .. searching the whole flipping world, both for a place to go ( have some fun) and to meet somebody to have some fun with..... certainly never expected to end up in China..... but this flipping girl/ my wife ....... well I just had to come and meet her and once I did...... couldn't leave her... I still do have dreams of going to other places, but now they include the two of us ,,,,, makes it a little more complicated...... flipping China and it's visa's and reputation... pain in the ass!!
BHGAL:
P.S. ..techeeze..... I'm loving freedom 55 .... you I think have a way to go...
more to my last BS ..... China is a very big country ..... large land mass ..... and I think, pretty sure, I picked a pretty decent little piece of it to live at.............. I would never live in Beijing or Shanghai....... or any of the big stupid cities I hear about .....pretty decent city I live in ...
I wanted to learn Chinese, because I assumed it would be a smart skill to have in the future. Now, I am stuck in this little Catch-22 where I really don't want to learn Chinese and get a job where I have to deal with it (everyone knows what 'it' is...) 40+ hours a week, but I speak it well enough that I would be stupid to move somewhere else and start fresh with a new language. Seriously, I don't know whether or not to cut my losses and go to graduate school for something other than my original interest, or chug along and hope I don't hate myself for this too much in ten years.
If I had a time machine, I'd either be sipping coconut water on a beach in Vietnam or learning Japanese in Kyoto right now.