Tips for new expats

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A foreigner gives her kids a lift on a special bicycle. Photo: VCG

Moving across the world to a place that is completely foreign in language, customs and day-to-day life is challenging. It takes some people months to a year to get through the initial stages of culture shock and feel settled down. First, you go through the exciting "honeymoon phase" where everything is new, and then to the "distress stage" where you realize you feel alone and confused. Then comes the "reintegration stage," which has you feeling angry about all the differences and missing your life back home. These are the biggest hurdles before finally reaching the final stage of acceptance and feeling at home away from home.

In September a large number of foreigners, including international students come to China. Metropolitan spoke to expats about when they started to feel at home in China, what they did to get there and to share some advice for fellow foreigners settling down in China. The following are some of their tips to help you feel at home in China.

Foreigners learn tai chi in a park in Shanghai. Photo: IC

Start with the little things

Noting that she has been an expat for most of her life, Mia Livingston, an expat and a counselor at the Beijing Mindfulness Center, suggested traveling with a few small creature comforts to help one settle in.

"Download some TV series from home. They'll make your first few weeks feel much more normal and settled. Learn some basic Chinese phrases and get comfortable with Google Translate for the rest," she advised. "[Also,] maximize the luggage you can bring with you. We paid just a bit extra so we could immediately have a few of our usual pictures and decorations around us in our new place [and] use some of the same spices from home when cooking." She explained that these physical details may not seem like a big deal, but they really make a difference in helping one settle down.

Recreating old routines from home, getting to know new people and learning how to say phrases like hello in China can make a difference, one expat says. Photo: VCG

Accept and adopt the local culture

Understanding both Beijing and Chinese culture makes life easier and helps expats feel a greater sense of belonging in their new home. For 27-year-old Vladimir Paunovic, a Serbian musician who has lived in Beijing for two years, the changes have come gradually, but each day he said he feels a little more Chinese. Paunovic said he has found himself spitting on the street and replacing his usual answer of "Mmhm" with the Chinese "Mmm!" "It is weird, but you can't resist it," he said.

Accepting and adopting the local culture helps make assimilation easier for foreigners. Photo: VCG

Learn some Chinese

Shannon Fagan, a 40-year-old American who has lived in Beijing for five years, said the best thing that expats can do to assimilate is learn Chinese.

"It allowed me to realize that I was not being taken advantage of as often as is assumed or rumored in the expat community," he said. "Once I became able to carry on simple conversations in Chinese with locals, it was a transformation of being able to identify more easily with them." He said learning Chinese has allowed him to have a more nuanced understanding of China and enjoy his life more.

Enjoy the food

When 48-year-old American Daniel Maldonado went back to visit his hometown in New York City, what he missed most was the Chinese flavor.

"I missed Chinese food and needed to constantly go to China Town. It is not the same food, but it is the same taste," said Maldonado, who has been a college teacher in China for eight years.

Chinese food may be the first challenge many foreigners have to get accustomed to, but it is probably also the only thing they will miss when they go back home. "Finding a local eatery you love is the best part of your life in China," said Paunovic. For him, it is a Shaxian Xiaochi restaurant (a national chain restaurant originally from Fujian Province) around the corner from his hutong home near Dengshikou Subway Station. "It's the best food I've discovered in Beijing, which gives me a homey feeling," he said.

Chinese food may be challenging for many new arrivals, but they often miss it when they return home. Photo: VCG

Making local friends will go a long way in helping you feel at home, Beijing expats say. Photo: VC

Join the community and make friends

Finding familiar faces and places is a part of creating a more inclusive lifestyle in a foreign country.

"Once you've arrived, start creating routines immediately, and see if you can recreate some of the same routines that you had at home," Livingston said. "Along with the basics, such as getting a phone and bank account, get to know a few people, even if it's just learning the name of the person next door so you can say 'hi' and 'how are you.'"

Daniel Rothwell, 24, who has been living in Beijing for four years, said the people in Beijing played a considerable role in making China his home away from home.

"Beijing is a transient place, and you get used to those that are close to you coming and going pretty quickly. What this means is that you really 'live for the nights you won't remember with the people you'll never forget,'" he said.

Source: Global Times

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1115301.shtml

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