Final Thoughts of a Year Away In China

Well where to start...

First of all, I'm happy I started this blog, without this.. I feel I would had forgotten some of the moments I had this year (2007) ... There just has been so much that has happened, so much I have seen, so much... and to summaries seems almost to cut this all short!

The Humble Beginning...
The Beginning is always hard to look back on, yet as I reflect back... I would have to say I had no clue or other experience that would had prepared me for the shock I would receive in terms of...
- Culture
- Living in China
- Leaning to Speak Chinese
- Getting Around
- Shopping
- How People would treat me
- Humbleness... I was knocked clear off my feet... I thought I knew how the world worked... I really didn't....
- and a million other things....

The Shock for me literally was boarding the plane in London, from the bang go, stepping into the cabin of the plane, Chinese was spoken to me all the way to Beijing, China.

Finding work, was a difficult start... because your overwhelmed with the amount of jobs for English teachers... It is not hard to be a English Teacher in their eyes (in China) as you speak the language is good enough for a lot of people.
However one needs to be careful, So you need to ask yourself these questions....
- What is available?
- Who do you want to teach?
- How many Hours would you like to teach?
- Will you get a chance to learn Chinese?
- How much time do you get to do your Chinese Homework?
- Can you budget on what they pay you? do you need more pay?
- How long do you want your contract to be?
- How far do you want to be from Foreigners...
- Will be nearing Foreigners (english expats) help make friends make you less homesick..?
- Will you end up only speaking english as a result?
- Do you feel making friends with expats easier then making Chinese Friends?

What I decided to do, was to dedicate more time to my Chinese studies, I would teach on weekends via private jobs and pick up a weekly job for an English school as well.
My Speciality ended with my Charge in Language Exchange, with a Big focus on Everyday English.

Shock Shock Shock.... for me was living with a Chinese Family for a while, Stuck to using Chinese everyday as my means to ask, talk and communicate to the family.
- Another part of this was having to share a room with the son of the family,
- Having to be home everyday by 5pm...
- Travel for an hour each day to and fro to...Chinese School... in the Rush Hour!
- Strictly Shanghai Chinese food... No Meat... No rice.

Getting around I was forced many times to use Chinese, countless times I would be asked in the streets or the shops for directions or the time. It scared me a lot @ the start with the amount of questions that would fly at me....
- Where are you from? 你是哪国人?
- Why do you say your english? ... your Chinese 为什么你是英国人?.. 你看中国人
- Why is your 中文 (Chinese) so bad ? 为什么你的中文水平不好?
- Cantonese is not good enough... 汉语 (普通话 mandarin) is!!!!
- Are you sure your an english teacher?
- Where are your parents from? 在那里你的父母? 你的父母是哪国人?
- Where are your ancestors from?

The internet has come a long way... hunting for Chinese schools was very easy.
Really if one hopes to push their chinese a lot more I would advise going to a Chinese University. The one in Shanghai to go to even for foreigners is Jiao Tong University.
My post on the below link will guide you to places to go to....
http://lifeinthefareast.blogspot.com/2007/08/studying-chinese-in-shanghai-china.html

In the end I settled on Mandarin House, after studying for 3-4 months I decided to also pick up
Hanzi 汉字 as well... to read Chinese Characters. It is vital for one's Chinese education as you will be able to read maps, buses and find your way in a Shopping Mall or Department Stores.

If your stuck like me, who learned Cantonese first... you must drop everything you know... people in North China aren't too happy with people speak Cantonese... to them... it just doesn't count or cut it!
My 1st 2 months I was stuck in Cantonese tones, and my chinese Teacher would reap me for stuck in my ways!





The Rest Of It...
After my Chinese barrier was broken down, I wasn't so scared going out with a textbook, or phrase book!
So that left me loads of places to go, by myself granted... and it did take me a while to finally get the balls to drop my fear of making friends in a strange place.

Generally all expats are very friendly, wish to network, hang out with new friends and are very upfront about everything.
As a Oversea's chinese guy I can blend between both worlds, now I can speak a bit, I can talk to both worlds... Obviously to both parties I'm a surprise when I start talking...
Cost of living is so reasonable, I can now understand why so many expats work in China and end up staying sometimes a bit longer then they expect to do so.


What Have I Learned?
- Confidence from somewhere very hidden in me, to face a challenge of a year away and not buckle the pressure and run crying back to London.
- Chinese Culture, History and Way of Life.
- Body language is not the same all over the World.



What Will I Take Away From This?
- China isn't just some strange far away place next to HK to visit... It's a vibrant places with so many changes happening, One can feel embarrassed being left behind!

- I do want to work in China in the future, even for a couple of years!
- Chinese isn't so hard, if you make the time to practice all the time!

Shanghai maglev rail route may detour to avoid residences - People's Daily Online

Shanghai maglev rail route may detour to avoid residences - People's Daily Online

Check out the route (possible) for Shanghai to Hangzhou... will include, Hongqiao airport and Expo 2010 for the Maglev Service...

Learn Chinese Through Chinese Pop Music

Another way of learning Chinese songs... Please check out the below link...
Contains all popular Chinese songs with Chinese Hanzi, Pin Yin and English Translation too...

Learn Chinese Through Chinese Pop Music
http://www.learn-chinese-through-music.com/

Comparing the differences....

I know this blog is titled Life in the Far East, but I thought I would keep this open for a bit still as I settle back into Life in the UK (London).
*this blog is also syndicated on my facebook notes as well, so I know that my readers there cannot tell this is related to my Life in the Far East blog (www.lifeinthefareast.blogspot.com)

Travelling back from playing Badminton last night (9.30pm), took me nearly over 1 hour and 40 mins to get home (some time after 11pm), I was not pleased... as the journey time should normally only take 35 mins.
I waited on the platform, with an out of service tube @holloway Road. That didn't leave until 10 minutes later... NO announcement made at all... Yet I don't get this... during the daytime, the tube itself makes announcements every 3-4 mins and @ each stop apologising for something or something. (during the daytime the airways on the tube are filled with announcements yet in the evening they are dead!)
Then, took another 10 minutes for the tube I got on to move....

After that, trouble free till reaching Arnos Grove (on the Picadilly Line) stuck outside for 15 minutes to get to the station and told to move it, as the train is out of service....
Heard an explanation from a fellow passenger as she was crying on the phone to her boyfriend that the Picadilly line was going to be closed early due to problems @ Arnos Grove, and had taken her nearly 2 hours to get home from Central London.

So yeah... took me another 20 minutes as well to wait for my bus to come @ Oakwood, till I was able to get home... I was pretty pissed it took so long... and no Annoucements saying WTF was going on!

Then on the bus, 2 boys got on... on the way down to my stop... flashed on the bus, hoping that the driver wouldn't notice they weren't using their travel passes, or would be bothered to stop them...
He stopped them, they spent 5 minutes to reason with him, no money.... blah blah... Oyster card expired... blah blah... and then they ended up pulling money to pay for it... after pleading they were only going 2 stops... (which they didn't... they were going more like 6-8 stops).

You see man, the difference I'm seeing is that... on the subway in China... there wouldn't be a huge delay... but there would not be an announcement either....
On the Bus... the driver if faced with a facety punk would have just kicked them off and slammed the door and ran them over....

*side note... is it my imagination, or am I seeing even more mice and rats on the track in London... I was in Leicester Square on Sat night.... waiting for the tube... and watching a family of 20 mice run all over the tracks... So much so people were leaning over the edge @ the entertainment... which prompted a safety announcement by the platform assistant... to pull back and go London Zoo to look @ snakes and elephants instead... for watching animals.

I'm hating the delays of Transport for London on the buses... and the tubes...
As well as the steep cost of paying for it!


Last note: Please note that I'm just comparing things, I may bitch about things costing a lot, and the delays... but I was doing that long time before I left for China... I still love things here in London in spite of these things...!

我不配 - I'm not worthy...

Currently watching this Jay Chou 周杰伦 Song... 我不配 - I'm not worthy...
This is pretty interesting lyrics...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQyrKQ-xpSI

Translation below...
*Copied from user http://www.youtube.com/user/protogurl
They translated and interpret the below...

This crowded street is filled with many people with untold stories

There is fog on the glass and whose past has been hidden

The look on your face

during the last rain

This alley is too confusing and we can't go back to the original story

Days are no longer as green

We have had our arguments again

What's left behind is an empty big space

The seats in the cinema

Have such a distance in between

If there isn't a on-screen partner, if feels like playing chess by yourself

I don't have time

in detail

to pen down everything about you

describing how much I love you

But your already gone leaving a smile

This feeling is no longer right

I have tried to salvage

Just a little bit more, I should have taken more consideration

This feeling I didn't give

As you were unhappy, the tired wishes you made and the compromise

I've neglected them all you actually just wanted someone by your side

This feeling is no longer right

I finally understood

Page by page, I can't bear to flip the scenes

You are tired

You are silently repeating to yourself, and have shed many tears for me

You look so tired

Yet my heart aches and you suffer

Your something I am not worthy of

Starting to see more of my mates...

Day 2 back @work... seeing more of my work colleagues... lots of warm greetings and hugs with all the girls and guys!
So funny... as even the new managers are asking... who's this guy... receiving all the hugs and pats on the back from everyone!

Feel really good to be back, realise how long I've been, and how much I indeed missed people and they in turn missed me...

@ Badminton today was mobbed... by all the guys! But was really all good!
Good mates that I remember and respect a lot! Try not to get more mushy... but I really love being back,

1st day back at work....

Man oh man...

One hell of a long arse day... even though I started late... 12pm-8pm...
Lost myself for 10 mins trying to locate to locker room... Whole brand new corridor made...and lost myself inside the John Lewis Food Hall section as well!
Met everyone... shocks from everyone that I was back... lots of big hand shakes, hugs and smirks from everybody!
Wow... even I'm shocked how much I miss everyone... and they missed me too!

Got back into the swing of things... some things I remember, others I forgot...
So much to remember.. and relearn... I'm getting there...
Also Struggling with my english a bit still... I stutter, I can take up to a minute to try to remember something simple as muffin cases...when trying to ask colleagues where things have moved to... or been removed permanently from stock!

Tis good to be back.. however So hard to always keep telling everyone what I've been doing for the last 10 months, saying same things and being sincere too...
After all it's not there fault, that they asking... or that I'm telling same stories for the 12 time that day!

Day 2 continues tomorrow... Let see how I do...