The Best Parts About Working in China
Trust me; it isn’t the zero covid policy.
There are a lot of negatives that come along with working in China. The most glaring is the zero covid policy that China has held for the past two years.
I dreamed of working abroad for years while in high school and university. Although China wasn’t my first choice, it came at a time when it seemed the perfect option. I was preparing my paperwork for an entire year in 2019 and landed on January 28th, a week before all of China shut down.
Due to the timing of my arrival, my China experience instantly went on a downward spiral. Luckily enough, this spiral started to pick up. The past two years have had abysmal lows, ‘meh’ middles, and incredible highs. Today, I want to focus on the joys more than anything else.
The Food is Delicious (and cheap!)
I loved Chinese food in America. However, when I landed, there was no orange chicken or Mongolian beef. No, there were a thousand dishes leagues above the American adopter foods.
In the past, I’ve written about my five favorite authentic Chinese foods you cannot eat in the United States, but it needs an update in the coming days.
Not only is the food to die for, but it won’t kill your wallet. A filling meal will cost you anything from $2-$15! Don’t get it twisted; western food is still quite pricey, but why go abroad to eat the same things you do at home?
The Job Market is Great for Expats
As long as you were (or are) able to get into the country, the job market for expats is terrific. There is a huge demand for me as a teacher who tries their best, unlike many others.
Many expats have left China in the past two years, leaving schools lacking teachers. There are way more jobs now than teachers in China, making salaries more competitive with each passing day.
I’m in a place not many non-Chinese can be
While this answer may be a little out of the left field, I feel lucky to be somewhere “special.” When I chat with my friends back home, they still think it’s crazy that I live here.
Now that many people have left the country (for varying reasons), I’m part of an exclusive club. It may be a masochistic kink club due to recent events, but a club nonetheless.
I met the best woman.
If you read my post from two days ago about my expat love story, you’d know I met the love of my life here in China. Granted, this could happen anywhere in the world, but for me, it was here.
Even if I get pissed off at the restrictions of living here, how much I miss home, and how I want to be able to go to the store to buy sour skittles, China will always have a place in my heart for introducing me to this wonderful lady.
China, China, China
China isn’t for everyone. You need a high threshold for bullshit. Sometimes the shit makes it over my walls and gets my shoes dirty, but at least I’ve learned how to wash them.
There is a plethora of things I don’t enjoy about China, but had I not come here, I wouldn’t have experienced so many things that have made me who I am today.
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I’m currently participating in a 30-day writing challenge. To help me through this journey, check out this previous story!
