Why did I choose to go to China anyway?

I get asked this question all the time and I mostly give a vague and ambiguous answer, and mixed in with a few correctly positioned shrugs, it usually satisfies the person asking the question. But, really, when thinking about it, I haven’t sat down and thought about why I made the decision, so I’m going to attempt to do this in this week’s entry.

It is a well believed theory that you go abroad because you are running away from something or running towards something. Back in England, I have an amazing family and group of friends, my qualifications are up to date and I enjoy living in Lincoln. So I must have been running towards something – change. As a military child, it was a common occurrence to up-sticks and move on an annual basis. Therefore, it made me able to adapt to new places, countries and languages relatively quickly. And yes, even though I’d nipped to Chester for three years to do my degree, I was bored of the routine of daily life and needed new experiences to fulfil me. Hartsholme Park and Daisy Maid weren’t exciting anymore.

I always wanted to travel, but in reality, sleeping in hostels and working on a banana farm just isn’t me. I need my own space and a relatively stable job otherwise panic mode sets in because I will obviously run out of money in thirty seconds. China offered me my own apartment and a one year contract for a teaching job. A safe and secure lifestyle was a definite. Also, most people thought I was crazy for leaving the country as soon as I became a qualified teacher, but for me, it’s been the best decision. What happened if I got a job at an amazing school that I never wanted to leave? Who knows if I could have travelled after starting off my career. Better to complete the gap year before grown-up life commenced.

So why China, out of all the other countries? China has an intense fascination with anything English, so factor in my English degree, teaching qualification and a holder of a British passport and they were practically wetting themselves with excitement. The pay isn’t as good as other countries but the cost of living is ridiculously cheap (hence why most people go looking through my bin bags when I put them out) and I’ve managed to save money whilst living here. Also, I was offered the job in China. I didn’t have to spend hours scrawling the internet looking for jobs; unbelievably, the job offer fell into my mail inbox.

The fact that I couldn’t speak Chinese didn’t scare me; I was excited to learn a new language and culture. And I’ve accomplished that. Did you know that you shouldn’t place your chopsticks facing down into the bowl? And I bet you didn’t realise that greeting a shopkeeper that you don’t know is considered highly offensive. Well neither did I, until time and patience in this fascinating country taught me these things.

I guess what I’m trying to get at is how enriching living abroad really is. China drives me completely insane, makes me howl with laughter and has reduced me to nearly throwing my laptop off the balcony multiple times because of the awful internet speeds but I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else for this year.

With five weeks to go until I’m home (where has the time gone?), I feel ready to come home and start a new chapter of my life but I really am going to miss living in China. Age 23 (well, nearly), with an English degree, teaching qualification and year abroad in China under my belt....who would have thought it ey?....

On a quick note – I haven’t done much as of late because it’s like the Amazon rainforest every time I step outside my apartment. Summer in Britain is definitely more refreshing. However, these are a few highlights of the past two weeks or so.

- Walking along a shopping street with Paul when a Chinese woman runs in front of us and starts snapping pictures on her phone! After telling our new ‘paparazzi friend’ off, we then had a man behind us shouting “Hello!”, which forced Paul into pushing me into the nearest shop. We then had to pretend to be interested in Canon cameras for at least ten minutes, to ensure that the coast was clear.

- Going to Hanyang for the day and ending up having to walk through a half demolished building to reach Walmart. Instead of closing the whole shopping centre, they’re knocking it down bit by bit so that you can still do your weekly shop (with added extras of live wires hanging down and glass all over the floor).

- Doing a presentation about life in England at Mr Mai’s and being asked the most hilarious questions by some Chinese people.

“Does England really hate France?” (Oh France, we just love to hate you!)

“What is a Yorkshire pudding?” (Why are you so hard to explain!?)

“What is there to do in Wales?” (I told them viewing sheep and hills were both possibilities)

“Do all the countries in Britain like each other?” (Scotland made that much more awkward).

- Realising how little people care about inconveniencing your day. Had no water on Tuesday for the whole day and you can’t drink tap water. So instead of the maintenance guy trying to fix the problem, I saw him playing a few rounds of badminton with the security guard. Brill – no water and the possibility of being burgled but a free badminton match for me to enjoy. Also, there seems to be some sort of DIY going on in the flat below me, and so I would expect there to be workmen here Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm, you know, the usual working hours. Oh no, every day this last week, there has been drilling, banging, shouting from 6am! 6am. GIVE.ME.STRENGTH. 

OH CHINA.......