On Friday I went into work, even though I didn't have to, as I wanted to be kind and help welcome some of the new teachers. Considering I lasted 5 weeks without checking my work emails I was surprised at how easy it was to step back into the building! I remembered what it was like being new and how the first few days were so I wanted to help out however I could. It got me to thinking what I have learnt in the last year and the positives and negatives of the experience and whether or not I have regrets, or if I would make the same descision again.
Since I was 20 I have never been able to settle for long. I miss NZ and the wonderful people who shaped me as a teacher and a person, especially after not being with them for a whole year now, but I left for a reason. My feet were dying to wander once more. Teaching Internationally has given me the chance to travel and legitimately wander every couple of years or so due to the contracts that are offered. This doesn't stop that fear of making the decision to not renew and search for a new position. That is scary!
During the last year my husband and I have been able to travel far more than we did from NZ. Snowboarding in all that powder in Japan was a dream and we can't wait to go again this December. Having backpacked before we are used to getting around unknown places where we speak little of the language, but we haven't spent so long in one. Despite having had every intention to learn Mandarin it hasn't happened, we know a little, but not much and we somehow live here.
We've learnt a lot about Asian cooking and have grown to respect the cultural differences. It is really easy to think that the way you do everything is right, purely because that is how it has always been done where you were raised. Learning to less prejudiced and judgemental is really important. I honestly cannot get over many of the negative comments made about the fact that we live in China from people who have never visited and then are unable to form a justifiable or even semi reasonable argument for their comments. The greater the exposure to other cultures the greater our understanding of human nature if nothing else and I am truly grateful that I have the opportunity to see and learn so much.
Pollution has been something we weren't expecting to deal with quite so much. As we weren't heading to Beijing we thought we would be escaping the majority of the pollution. It wasn't true and it has impacted on our ability to exercise and stay healthy. You hear all about global warming and pollution and you listen and recycle, walk, take public trasnport etc. You don't fully understand or appreciate pollution until you have been in air so thick it is like fog and tastes foul. I have a new found respect for clean air.
There are things about where we live that I really don't like and frustrate me. Some days it is easier to tolerate those frustrations and others it is nearly impossible. Spitting. Toilet habits. Road sense, or more accurately the lack of.
The cost of living hasn't exactly lived up to our expectations and what we were told. It is nigh on impossible to go out for a "cheap" vegetarian meal and western clothing is the same price as in the west. Tailored clothing is cheaper than in many places, but it can still easily cost as much as an item of the rack in a reasonably high end high street store, dependent on fabric, the tailor and how much they like you. We were buying fruit and vegetables from the wet market and our health was suffering so we now pay a lot more than we did to buy vegetables from farms that do not use pesticides and other chemicals to the soil and produce. We've definitely learnt to value our health and consider what we consume much more.
The year has had its ups and downs. There have been many challenges to face and overcome. We may find ourselves back in NZ one day and we would be happy about this. Will we stay in China for a long time? Probably not. Are we glad we moved? I think I am, but you may have to ask my husband another time.
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