CHINA
Country Overview:
“Love the food, hate the government”
I arrived in China in May 2013 and left August 2020. I taught English for awhile, did my master’s of politics & foreign policy at Tsinghua University, worked for a year at China Today, and then two years at Xinhua News Agency. I spent most of my time in Beijing, but also traveled to Shanghai, Wuhan, Inner Mongolia, Shenzhen, Panjin, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Qingdao, Xi’an, Sanya, Macau, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
First day in China
So it’s 6am and I’m up. My internal clock is still not used to the time difference and I have just managed to steal somebody’s wifi because my hotel has “No no no, no wifi”. 20 minutes after landing I find myself inside of a bank, signing endless amounts of paperwork after which my Chinese companion tells me, “Now, you have bank account”.
After having spent 15 hours on airplanes yesterday, I thought to myself, “What could be worse than that?” THE CHINESE LANGUAGE. I will never again say anything about how tricky Spanish can be. It’s going to be a long year in China, that’s for sure, but I’m quite excited.
Goals for the day:
1. Find a gym
2. Learn to count to 10
Yep, 2 just of them. I’m sure they’ll be challenging enough.
Whatup Widdit..
It’s that time again. I’m off to a foreign country in 2 days and as always, to those who send me their address, I will send you something authentically “MADE IN CHINA”. E-mail me at: Degenh@outlook.com.
It’s going to be a busy year for me whilst in Beijing. Not only will I be teaching English, I’ll also be working on grad school applications along with Muay Thai training, in which I plan to take some fights. So stay posted and let the adventures begin.
Adelante..
Just sent off my Visa paperwork to DC en route to the Chinese Embassy. Leaving May 19th for China if all goes as planned. I’ll miss America as I always seem to do while abroad, but it’ll be a good 6 months before that feeling sets in.