To Beijing and Beyond

As we progressed trough the semester, many of us agreed that 4 months in Shanghai just wasn’t going to be enough.  I knew that for sure, so I began relentlessly looking for positions here in China, while at the same time looking for positions back in the States just to make sure I would have an internship for the summer.  Well, I got really lucky and heard back from the Washington, DC and Beijing office of the US-China Business Council.  It has been my dream to work at this company since I first arrived in Washington, DC and started studying Chinese.  So although it was a very difficult decision, I opted to stay in Beijing to continue using the language, learn more about China, and especially learn about another city.  Now how do I find a place to live?  What happens to my Visa?  Phone numbers, metro systems, train tickets, new relationships, the list goes on.  It isn't an easy task if the company isn’t planning your whole life for you.  And news flash, for many Westerners thinking they are going to get flown to China, put up in a place to stay, offered great compensation, just for speaking a few lines of a Chinese, think again, its getting very competitive out here and if you want all that, you’ll have to be indispensable.

So I figured the best mix of experience and cost-effectiveness would be a homestay with a Chinese family.  I mean, I loved living with my Chinese roommate, so I set out to find a family that could put me up for a reasonable price, and maybe I could teach their English as partial payment.  Well, I quickly started realizing, some families were offering free homestays in exchange for English teaching.  So that was that, I sent like 1,000 emails, and finally one family said they were interested in me, but because they have a daughter, they would need a woman to live with them.  Surgery is kind of expensive so what could I do besides tell them I’m a neat, respectful, young man?  So in response, they had a solution to this “problem.”  They had an extra apartment not too far from where I am working this summer and said if I could teacher their daughter English 7 hours a week, the place was mine. Well for an apartment with two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom, I could certainly teach 7 hours a week.  With my other time, I will teach English to make a little extra money.

^New place in Beijing.

So here I am in Beijing, just registered as a resident of the city, and continuing my journey in China.  If you’re also contemplating a spring abroad, try to stay on board through the summer.  4-6 months just isn’t enough to learn about a country.  And don’t always go for the conventional route, there a lot of opportunities out there and a free apartment in exchange for English lessons ain’t so bad.  Drop me a line if you’re ever in Beijing!

^Now a resident in Beijing!