Lovely people make Dongguan more livable 印度“园丁”：在温暖的东莞安家
东莞是一座魅力四射的城市，越来越多的人都选择来这里工作生活。印度教师萨勤已经在东莞生活了8年。那么他选择东莞的理由又是什么？这就一起来看看吧！
Indian teacher Sachin Kumar Tyagi has been in Dongguan for eight years. In his opinion, Dongguan is the best place to live for its climate, strategic location and convenient transportation. Furthermore, the most important attraction for him is the people.
Sense of belonging and achievement got from school
As a computer science teacher in Humen, he spends almost all of his time at school. Even at the weekend, he will prepare his classes for the next week or grade the students work to ensure students are getting the most effective education. However, he is not the only teacher who works so serious and responsible. The same goes for his colleagues. "All the teachers I know here are professional, responsible and kind. When we work, we work as a team. When we rest, we live like a big family." He most appreciates that all teachers, no matter what subject they teach, are willing to cooperate. He explained that in India, the teachers are departmental. They may communicate with the one who teaches the same course and do not get along well with the others. However, it will never happen in Dongguan. All the teachers he met would like to share their experience or creative ideas for the class. If someone has any questions, they are always willing to help.
Sachin and his colleagues.
Besides work, they will play badminton, hang out or cook meals together. A few years ago, his family were invited to visit a friend's hometown during Chinese New Year, where they learned a lot about Chinese traditions, such as the custom, practices, cuisine, greeting. "It was a completely unforgettable experience," he recalled. Because of the lovely colleagues, the Sachin family leads a rich and varied life in Dongguan and gets a sense of belonging.
While facing the students, he is a strict teacher and sincere friend. He was gratified to see more students being highly interested in computer science. Before, there had very few students in his class. "Limited by the English level, they may find it hard for them to understand the computer science. But now, as their English improving, they can easily make out the program and understand the science." The overall quality of many students has been improving. He expressed that many aspects influence this improvement. It is related to students' hard work, school education, the more chances the government provided, and more exchanges and integration with the outside world.
Sachin was in class.
"The government did a lot and did very well." he praised. The city has been launching dozens of favourable policies to attract more expats to live and work here. Even in kindergarten, there are foreign teachers, which is a welcome change for the kids. First, it helps to improve their English at an early age, and second, it can help remove their timidity in talking with foreigners. "Ten years ago when I came to China, the students were in fear of speaking to the foreigners, but now, they would be more likely to come forth and say 'Hello' to them. They are becoming more confident." Students have more chances to go outside and meet people from different cultures, which helps them build a global mindset. He happily shared that many of his students went into the top universities at home and abroad. When they graduate and return, they bring significant skills and expertise back to the city and make the city develop faster and be more attractive. The interactions and amalgamations between Dongguan and the outside world form a virtuous cycle.
Dongguan attaches great importance to the construction and development of the teacher's team.
Touched by strangers and the people
Leave the campus, and he is also touched deeply by the kind Dongguan citizens. "They are all helpful and friendly." In Dongguan, if anyone gets into trouble and asks for help in the street, nearly everyone will smile and be willing to help. Last week, he and his family went out, but the address is confusing. They ask a lady coming out from the supermarket with two bags of vegetables in her hands. "She said 'OK, I can help you.', and then took us to the destination. So sweet the people here are, I feel we, the expats, are always looked after, which I am thankful for."
Dongguan citizens consciously cooperated with epidemic prevention work.
As an Indian, he concerns a lot about the India outbreak. He said his heart broke as India is suffering from the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. "I hope that pandemic can be over soon. People have suffered a lot." He will call his parents, who live in India and stresses the measures that China took every week. "I think it can help to protect them from getting the virus." He also praises the efficiency of government and the cooperation of the people. Since last year, the situation in China has been controlled by the government quickly. "The government is courageous and have foresight. China is the first country to ask people to stay at home, and they were fully cooperative. That's why China also became the first one to recover." China is getting back to normal, and many places were opening. He expresses it owes a great deal to the people here. "The residents tend to listen to the government carefully and followed the rules. I think the people here are wise and great."
A "Dongguan" boy with a foreign face
Sachin appreciates Chinese culture so much that it also influences his children. "I want my children to learn more about Chinese culture, traditions and values as it is one of the oldest cultures in the world. There are many values India and China have in common such as honesty, loyalty, harmony, etc. I relate to them, and I would like to teach the same values in my children." Without his knowledge, his eldest son had a good grip of Chinese, which surprises him. "Chinese is his first language, then the English and Hindi." he shook his head with a smile.
Sachin and his son read a poem recitation in both Chinese and English.
Chinese food is a particular favourite of the boy. During the quarantine, they stayed at home for days. The mother used to make Indian food every day, and one day, the boy said, "Mom, can we have a Chinese meal? I miss my school's canteen." "so I know, he's Chinese." the father smiled.
He said he and his family love the city. It's not just because of the sense of security in the city, but the comfortable surroundings. In the past few years, he has witnessed several high-speed rails, urban rails and metro line were built, making travel more convenient. And there are more shopping malls, foreign restaurants, which significantly improve the life of expats. Otherwise, he loves the climate in Dongguan. "It's warm and humid, which is comfortable." At the same time, he also thumbed up for environmental protection. The air is fresh, and the sky is blue. "My youngest son used to have an allergy, but in Dongguan, it seldom occurs again. The environment here is very nice."
Hung out with family on weekend, enjoying the beautiful environment of Dongguan.
He believes that all of these have benefited from the people here who are hard-working and very efficient. It is the people that make Dongguan develop healthy and rapid. And he will work in an attractive city too.
More photos for his daily life
The teachers work like a team and live like a big family.
Sachin arranged outdoor classes for the students.
Sachin took his students to visit the world-renowned universities in order to broaden their horizons.
Sachin was giving feedback and encouraging students during the English dubbing contest.
The happiest moment for him is to see students get good grades.
He was very proud and happy to see students get good grades.
Group photo with students at the graduation party.
Students returned to school to visit Sachin after graduation.
Met friends in Dongcheng, it is very convenient to travel from Humen to other towns and districts.
Edited & posted by Ashley
Proofread by Stephen
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