How to Live in China for a Year

You may be getting up every morning and wishing there was more to life than going to work, returning home, eating dinner and going to bed. Does your life need a little more adventure? Mine did. I decided my goal was to live in China for a year, to experience something totally different. To be immersed in a new culture. To learn a new language. Within the space of a few months, my life went from ordinary to outrageous!

I spent some time doing my research before presenting this idea to my wife. She is more adventurous than I am; I thought she'd have our bags packed the moment the idea came out of my mouth. Due diligence was in order here!

The first aspect to tackle was the money. Could we afford to be away for a whole year? With our house mortgage and other bills, we needed to find some way of making money in China, or at least break even. Through many evenings of internet searches, I hit on it - we could teach English there! Both my wife and I have college degrees, but no other teaching credentials. We found a program through the Colorado China Council (http://www.asiacouncil.org/) that would send us to China, provide a basic Chinese course, give us a teaching practicum, and find us positions at a university there. Though the salaries are low (though high by Chinese standards), we were offered a place to live where rent and utilities were covered. The salary would cover our living expenses while in China, and our bills in the U.S. could be paid out of our savings for the year. In practice this didn't quite work out. Because I have 3 children that need to be fed (Western food only, thank you very much), clothed, and schooled, I had to add another $1,000 per month into our living expenses beyond our university salaries.

Our two boys, entering 5^th and 6^th grades, also needed some schooling options. We found a lovely private grade school that would take them, however it was Chinese only. We were all frightened at how they would do adjusting to the language and culture. Our daughter, a 3 year old, would go into a Chinese preschool. Since she is a Chinese adoptee and so outgoing, we were not worried about how she would adjust.

School has been difficult for our boys. We have them cut back to half-days because a whole day of listening to Chinese was just too much for them. In China, the concept of personal boundaries just isn't recognized. Other students stare at them constantly and want to know what they are eating for lunch, what's in their book bag, etc. We now home school them in mathematics, and they'll advance into the next grade when we return to the U.S. Our daughter has had no problems and is picking up the language quickly.

The other problem we have encountered is the food. About 2 months into our stay, our boys decided they no longer liked Chinese food! Lately we have been cooking more western style foods at home, and eating at western restaurants when possible and this has alleviated some of the pressure in that area. They also miss their friends, and they will be ready to go home. However, they are learning so much about a foreign culture here, they know some basic Chinese, and it's an experience they'll remember their whole lives!

Our experience has been that teaching English also helped us get involved. We have met other wonderful teachers, both expats and Chinese, and of course we have become involved with all of our wonderful students. Our students are so caring, innocent, hard-working and intelligent, it has been a real joy to be around them. At the time of this writing we are between semesters, and we are both looking forward to seeing our students again.

Life is so different here, that even doing mundane tasks is an experience. Going to the post office, buying groceries, riding the train, eating food from street vendors and even getting a haircut are all adventures for a foreigner to China. Keeping an open mind and a friendly attitude has really helped us see the inside of Chinese life. The Chinese in all of these venues are so helpful - they really do what they can to help us feel as comfortable as possible.

One of the wonderful aspects of China is the ability to hire an "ayi" for a very reasonable price. "Ayi" is a rough translation for "Auntie" - someone who cooks, cleans, does the laundry and watches the children. Our ayi comes for 20 - 25 hours per week, for about $150 US per month. We chose one deliberately who doesn't speak much English, so we can practice learning Chinese with her. Our apartments are also quite small. The university gave us a 2 bedroom apartment, and a 1 bedroom apartment next door, due to the size of our family. However, none of the kids likes to be alone so we all crowd into the 2 bedroom most of the time. We went from more than 3000 sq. feet at home to 800 sq. feet here. You'd think this would be a problem, but it has really helped to promote family harmony and closeness. Our boys share the same room (and bed!) and have become best friends against the adversity they have faced here.

Our best preparatory tool before coming to China was doing lots of research. We read several great books that helped us determine what we could expect to find. Here are a few of the titles:

"Letters to Alice" by Alice Renouf (see www.asiacouncil.org)

If you are considering an adventure like this, we recommend you read all of these cover to cover!

If you do decide to live in China for a year, it will be an experience you will never forget. It will open up your mind to a new way of thinking, and it will make you appreciate your new life when you return home!

Check out our blog of our daily lives at http://lewisesinchina.blogspot.com