In 2018 my girlfriend, now wife, decided to quit our non profit careers and move to Shenzhen, China. We new that China would be different, but nothing could prepare us for the cultural differences we found.
WERE WE COMFORTABLE?
At first living in China was very uncomfortable. The language was different and English, the only language I know, wasn't commonly used in the country. Professionally, we had to adjust to 'Chinese Logic' and their management style, which could be frustrating at times. Even the food was drastically different!
The language was the most difficult adjustment, by far. Unlike some other countries in Asia, English isn't spoken by many people, well... outside of Shanghai. Everything is written in Chinese characters. I couldn't even operate the remote on the television or my air conditioner properly because I didn't understand the characters. It took me six months to realize that my AC had a built in heater. Of course I expected all of this before moving, but I didn't know to what extent.
After a few weeks of struggling to navigate our new, Mandarin only, world. We decided to try to learn mandarin. We hired a teacher that taught us a few basics and is still our teacher to this day.
WERE WE WELCOMED?
Although everything in China is done the Chinese way and it is a relatively homogeneous place, I felt welcomed by most people. The people were friendly, helpful, and very curious. I lost count of the number of time that random people asked to take photos with me, mainly because I'm African American and I don't think they had ever seen someone like me before, at least not in person.
Making friends outside of work was difficult because of the language barrier, but if you invested enough time in the language I think making friends would be quite easy.
HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO FIT IN?
Ah... the question that everyone wants to know. How long does it take to get used to living in China. The answer to this question is different for everyone, but for me it took about 9 months. It took this long because I fought, figuratively, when things didn't make since to me or go my way.
HOW WE OVERCAME THE CHALLENGES?
It took me quite some time to realize that, no matter how hard I tried, I was never going to change the way people in China thought or acted. Looking back I can't believe I had the audacity to even try. Who was I to try and change a culture that is thousands of years old to change their way of doing things.
I had to humble myself and learned to accept the things I couldn't change about my new home and focus on the things I could control. I should make a 12 step program for living in China or something.
Overall living in China was a life changing experience and I would definitely go back for the right opportunity.
