How life is in China. The story of a Kirov native who moved to Shanghai

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

China is far from the most popular country among Russians, but nevertheless, many compatriots live in these exotic lands. As part of a series of materials about fellow citizens who have moved abroad, Lenta.ru publishes a story by journalist Alena from Kirov about how in a year and a half she managed to get used to the Middle Kingdom and change her profession to a more relevant one for a new place.

Chinese dream

I was born in Kirov. After school she went to Moscow, entered the Faculty of Journalism. I already worked at the university by profession, but soon realized that this was not mine. I won a grant to study and work in America, but I was not given a visa. I decided that I would go somewhere anyway. As a result, she moved to China.

First, I arrived in Beijing. At that time, I did not speak Chinese, so my job search was limited to teaching Russian and English. Great and mighty in China was not as popular as English. Already in the first few days, numerous offers were poured in to teach the locals the Shakespearean language. I chose the most interesting option for myself - teaching English to children from three to six years old.

Both in Beijing and later in Shanghai, I rented a room in an apartment. There was a large apartment in Beijing where we lived with two Americans and a Pole. Renting a room in the center of Beijing with a beautiful view costs about three and a half thousand yuan (about 28 thousand rubles). Interestingly, the same room on the outskirts near the metro can cost the same.

In China, real estate prices are constantly rising, Beijing and Shanghai are already included in the list of megacities with the most expensive housing in the world. Anyone, even an unsightly square meter, will definitely be sold. Prices for good apartments start at several million yuan and are increasing every year due to the overcrowding of the country. Most families live together for several generations. The Chinese often litter with money, but if they have a really large amount of money, they will definitely invest in real estate for themselves and their children, born or future.

Become local

Having moved to Shanghai, I realized that throughout the first year of my life in this country I continued to live as a “non-native”: I ate only my usual food, communicated only with foreigners, and spoke English at work. Here, foreigners are divided into two main types. Some can live for years and not learn anything in Chinese, eat pizza with burgers, communicate with Europeans. Others are immersed in local culture. At the beginning of my second year here, I decided that I wanted to stay in this country, at least for the next couple of years, and took up the language. In addition, she went on an interesting experiment - she settled in a Chinese family.

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Transport is a significant item of expenditure. It is very expensive to have a car here. You must pay a tax that is almost equal to the cost of the car itself. But this is not an essential thing, because public transport is very developed in China. For example, in just 25 minutes I can come to another city by high-speed train.

At first, due to climate change and smog, I was often sick and went to the doctor. Each trip to the local clinic without insurance, along with medications, cost me about 200-400 yuan (1, 6-3, 2 thousand rubles). International clinics with English-speaking staff are, of course, much more expensive.

Chinese food is much cheaper than European food, and the portions are huge. But I can't imagine myself eating their food every day. The Chinese eat a lot of things that we don't eat: chicken legs, pork cartilage, duck head soup. Here I tasted donkey meat for the first time. The worst experience is rat meat. It often happens that if it's tasty, then I eat it and don't ask from what, because I'm afraid of the answer. There are more than a billion citizens in China, and everyone needs to be fed, so they eat what we consider inedible.

White face pay

The Chinese cannot contradict their boss, because they know that they will quickly find a replacement. At first I didn't allow myself this either, but now I can calmly refuse something.

Foreigners get more Chinese. You will be paid more for the same knowledge and experience than a local. People here very often pay for your "white face", no matter how awful it sounds. It is very prestigious when Europeans work for the company. Fortunately, in my field, in teaching, we are not competitors with the Chinese: we apply for different vacancies and working conditions.

Most Chinese people hardly travel. Therefore, for them we are like aliens. The Chinese have a type of appearance that they like very much: blonde hair, white skin, blue eyes. I fit this description and constantly catch glances at myself, I am often photographed. Sometimes they ask permission, but more often they don't. There were times when the camera was pointed at my face, now I respond in kind.

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The Chinese are generally very dependent on smartphones. Because of this, accidents and collisions constantly occur. On dates, it's also normal to stay on your phone. Europeans often joke about this.

Marriage as a Lifetime Contract

They have completely different views on marriage, much less often divorces, the opinions of parents and families matter more than in Western countries. Their marriage is like a contract. Lifetime contract for the person to live with you. There are significantly fewer women than men, and this affects their character. Chinese women are capricious and demanding, while men are pliable and led.

When choosing a couple, here they do not so much pay attention to feelings as to their material condition: are you suitable in terms of social status, what kind of job do you have, is there a car. Chinese people can talk about marriage on their first dates. There were cases when they wanted to introduce me to my parents in the first days of communication. It was a shock for me! A foreign wife (or husband) is very prestigious here. For myself, I cannot imagine marriage with a Chinese: you never know whether he is with you because of status or real feelings.

In China, almost everyone has one baby, although the One Family, One Child policy was canceled in 2015. Education and training are very expensive. Here, a lot of money is made on small children: all kindergartens and schools are paid. My English school is considered inexpensive and costs 15 thousand yuan (122 thousand rubles) a year for parents of toddlers.

Industriousness in chinese

From the first days in a new place, I realized how important education is here: it is in this area of life that the Chinese are actively investing their time and money. Here you will not surprise anyone with early developmental schools for toddlers, English courses for babies, circles and sections. Even my youngest students had a day planned out by the clock: an international kindergarten, a language school, a drawing studio, martial arts.

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The Chinese believe that childhood and adolescence are given to a person to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills, and you can travel, make friends and enjoy life later.

I also invest most of my salary in my education: I am constantly improving, taking new courses, growing in my profession, learning Chinese. When I say that teachers in Russia can receive about two thousand yuan (fifteen thousand rubles) a month, my foreign friends are amazed. Nobody believes that someone agrees to work for that kind of money.

Usually in the morning I go to learn Chinese, then to work and then go for a walk with friends to the center. I have a constant feeling that I need more time. I get up with the thought that a lot of interesting things await me. I really like this way of life.

I am a young teacher, but here I am offered such working conditions under which I can afford to travel a lot (I have been in seven countries over the past year and a half), study at an international school, surround myself with active interesting friends from all over the world, constantly practice foreign languages, make plans for the future and constantly evolve.

When in Russia I thought about my future, I had no idea that it would turn out to be like this.

Anything is possible in China

Surprise and shock still haunt me. I went through all the stages of adaptation to life in a new country: from complete delight to deep disappointment. There is a lot that is not written about in the newspapers and is not shown on TV. For example, the Chinese believe in signs. The number “4” sounds like “sy”, but if you pronounce it in a different intonation, it means “death”. Because of this, they try to avoid her in phone numbers or cars. Even my modern home in downtown Beijing did not have 4th, 14th and 24th floors.

The Chinese language is very different. A person from the south of the country often does not understand a northerner. The Peking pronunciation is considered the standard, so we can say that the Chinese speak two languages: Peking and local dialects. It's the same with the kitchen. Each region of China has its own cuisine. For example, in Shanghai it is more sour-sweet, in Sichuan it is more spicy. The Chinese are always surprised when I tell them that in our vast country we all speak the same language, we have a similar cuisine and a common television.

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Separately, it should be said about the level of culture and hygiene. Babies often wear pants with a hole through which they can do their "business" right in the middle of the street. Are the spitting men and women everywhere? Only after living here for a long time, I realized that the reason for many of the internal problems of this country is that the cultural level of the Chinese does not keep up with the economic one. Just 10 years ago, they lived in distant villages and were engaged in agriculture, and now they drive around in expensive cars and spend a lot of money in fashionable restaurants. Perhaps, they realized in time that its citizens should keep up with the development of China, so now various schools and educational centers are opening all over the country.

The starting point

My family was not happy that my choice fell on China. I always tell my parents that everything is fine with me, so that they are already accustomed to this country and my move. Very few friends accepted my idea and supported me completely, some are now jealous, and some who did not communicate with me before, after moving actively write to me with various questions and requests and help. Many people say: “When will you hit it? Come to Russia, we will find you a groom here."

In Russia for a year and a half, I was once. I was under stress. I didn’t leave the house for three days. When I arrived in China, I thought: "How can these people live like this?" And when I returned to Russia, I asked myself the same question. In China, I have never seen a drunk on the street, it is safer here. They really don't smile in Russia. Everything seemed dirty, unkempt, gray. In China, everyone is busy with something, everyone has many interests, here there are areas in which to develop and to whom to grow.

Perhaps this is just my perception of China, but after a year and a half I see both positive and negative in this country. I've learned a lot here. For example, the Chinese should definitely adopt the habit of long-term investments, self-improvement, self-education and perseverance on the way to the goal. Then I clearly realized: if you don't do something, then there will always be someone who will do it, replacing you.

Nevertheless, despite all the good things that are in my life here, I understand that this is only a stage, and far from the final goal. This is a great starting point, but here I will always be a stranger, even if I master the language perfectly and marry a Chinese. There is something in this country that I will never understand.