As an expat living overseas, we all too often find ourselves consumed with thinking about the “next place!” Where to when this gig expires? Naturally, it usually comes down to where you can get a decent job; of course you also have to weigh up the costs associated with said job. If you’re upping stumps to move overseas, you usually want it to be a cost effective exercise not to mention career enhancing and an amazing life experience, right? Often the company you work for will cough up for living expenses, but that’s not always the case. So if you’re thinking about where to next or even where to first, RENTCafe came to me with their latest stats on the best rental prices in the world’s so called “Cities of Opportunity!” (I note Xi’an’s not on the list, but just for the record, while it may not be a city of ‘huge’ opportunity, yet, it sure as hell is cheap as chips!) ;-) This table gives you the top 30 Cities of Opportunity (according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.) 1. London, GB 11. Seoul, KR 21. Shanghai, CN 2. Singapore, SG 12. Berlin, DE 22. Moscow, RU 3. Toronto, CA 13. Chicago, US 23. Mexico City, MX 4. Paris, FR 14. Los Angeles, US 24. Johannesburg, ZA 5. Amsterdam, NL 15. Tokyo, JP 25. São Paulo, BR 6. Manhattan (NYC), US 16. Madrid, ES 26. Bogotá, CO 7. Stockholm, SE 17. Dubai, AE 27. Rio de Janeiro, BR 8. San Francisco, US 18. Milan, IT 28. Jakarta, ID 9. Hong Kong, HK 19. Beijing, CN 29. Mumbai, IN 10. Sydney, AU 20. Kuala Lumpur, MY 30. Lagos, NG But of course, as appealing as most of them are, you won't be surprised to learn that opportunity comes at a price! In New York, London, Hong Kong, even Sydney…. buying your own piece of dirt in any one of these glittering global hubs costs an arm and a leg, at the very least! And renting is usually just as hefty on your hip pocket. Traditionally, housing costs that exceed 30% of the household income have been viewed as a red flag! Manhattan in New York comes out as the priciest place to rent on the planet and the second least affordable. Sadly all of you Big Apple dreamers (including myself) may need to rethink a stint in the city of dreams, for now! Manhattanites apparently shell out an astounding 59 % of their income on rent. London, which has been declared the world’s best city to live and work in, is still a tough one with a 40% rent-to-income ratio. No revelations there really. But what is surprising is that Sydney emerges as top choice for renters in search for a more relaxed lifestyle. Not too hard to argue with the harbour city on the relaxed front and heartening to know rent-to-income ration is around 29 % - which is considered acceptable. So all you 'eager expats in the making' or expats who just want to keep on, keeping on, consider coming and joining us Down Under! And the most affordable city for renters amongst the big guns? Roll our the red carpet for ......**Drum Roll** Kuala Lumpur! Here in this exhilarating Malaysian capital, rent only takes 20 % of the median household income, giving the skyscraper city a definite place on your list. Moscow and Johannesburg win the day as the most affordable cities of opportunity...and although Tokyo, Hong Kong and Madrid technically fall into the moderately rent-burdened category, people in these cities still spend less than a third of their income to pay the rent. Renters in Mexico City, Manhattan and Lagos face severe rent burden, meaning the rent takes up more than half of a household’s income each month (60%, 59% and 57% respectively). In other words, in an average family with two earners, one of them works only to pay the rent, and it’s still not enough. Renters in Los Angeles also cash out 47%, almost half of their hard-earned dollars on rent each month—and the situation is not that much better in Paris (46%) or Singapore (44%). For a quick flyby of the most rent-burdened cities of opportunity, check out the video below: Of course it’s not just about affordability when you’re sounding out the next spot on the map to hang your head, it's important that quality of life ranks highly, along with safety and healthcare. (Mind you, sometimes you just can't win 'em all! ) Oh and before you travel the expat path be sure to read the Top 5 Mistakes Expats Make and (most importantly) how to avoid them. Good luck and Go Get 'Em! This is Expat Life. … [Read more...]
From a SkyScraper in Hong Kong to a Hotel in China and a Townhouse in Suburban Sydney: Where’s Home?
For the last seven years, as an expat, our housing situation has been anything but “normal”. For the first four years, we lived on Hong Kong’s sparkling harbour side, high up on the 43rd floor of a sprawling, shiny sky scraper in a tiny shoebox. 43 floors up seems considerably tame when you’re next to the world’s 7th tallest building, pushing 108 floors. An enormous shopping centre lurked a convenient lift ride away, sprawled out underneath our complex, complete with movie theatre, ice skating rink and the subway; next door, a mammoth construction site heaved with whirring jack hammers, day and night. It was all part of a buzzing, oriental whirlpool, we liked to call home. After that we brought it down a notch to live on the second floor of hotel residences in the middle of urban China. Bringing it down a notch only in height. We lived above a Rolls Royce showroom and outside the five star (China-style) bubble, we were flanked by shopping centres every which way, street carts full of unidentifiable foods, a 1300 year old Buddhist Pagoda; it’s tiered, concrete exterior the focal point for tourists from right across China, all year ‘round. Not to mention a bevy of unknown people, hanging out on our balcony at any given time, prone to peeking inside our windows for a sticky beak at those foreigners. Life pretty much hummed along to a backdrop of horns honking day and night and someone could always be heard shouting in mandarin …and let’s not forget the fireworks, erupting day and night! (Is it any wonder I mistook the rumble of the washing machine for fireworks the other day?!) And here we are now… a world away, down under in Sydney, Australia. Moving, was always going to be a shock to the system, as expats who've lived abroad for almost seven years - we knew adjusting would take time…And while there are days I want to crawl back into my box and be transported to my bubble in China and everything familiar, living in a fully developed country has its upsides! Everyone can understand me, for starters. There’s an urban expat myth, that puts seven years abroad as the magic number, after that, apparently, your chances of coming home are limited. Looks like we made it just in time. So far we’ve skipped from a hotel room to a temporary air b ’n’ b in inner city suburbia. After a 50 minute hair-raising car ride to school each morning in heart stopping traffic with a non-English speaking driver — walking the leafy, tree-lined street to school in seven minutes flat is an unfamiliar but pleasant concept. I’ll take the smell of grass clippings and Frangipanis over that incinerator smell of pollution any day. Everyone curiously asks why we chose to live in the particular suburb we’re in (not quite as much as we were asked why on earth we chose to live in the middle of China, I might add). Trying to decide where your future will be from afar is not easy and is a little bit like ‘eeny, meeny, miny, mo!” One friend has researched an entire town on the net, found the perfect street, with the best schools and even stalked out the neighbourhood on Facebook. (Just as long as you can see wine in the background at that neighbourhood shindig, I caution her!) For us, at this stage of the game it’s all about convenience. When one of you is starting a brand new job, and travelling and another is starting a brand new school and you’re trying to set up a new life in what is largely an unknown environment, you want to make it as easy as possible. We made a deliberate choice not to return to where we used to live a decade ago. As much as I loved my old life and the suburb will always have a piece of my heart, it’s hard to go back (oh and did I mention, ridiculously expensive). As well as asking where we're living and why, people want to know if we miss China. There's no easy answer to that but yes..and no will do. The thing we miss most about China and probably expat life (apart from our dear friends) is the adrenalin of being on a permanent adventure. I find myself awkwardly trying to explain how even a simple trip to the supermarket is an experience to be believed. As an expat coming home, that sense of adventure still needs fuelling, so somewhere new and unexplored to set up home, is appealing. Psychologists say, “people who go on multiple assignments tend to develop a global identity. They learn fairly quickly how to adjust in each place. And each new country will offer unique thrills and challenges.” Did I mention the challenges of house hunting in the world’s second most unaffordable city? For the past seven Saturdays, we’ve been up and at ‘em with a list of potential homes to start this new chapter in. Coffee in hand, we've covered every nook and cranny...the sat nav purring relentlessly, “At the roundabout take the second exit….” “Your destination is on the left!” (If you see a car driving erratically, that may be us China-dwellers). Pulling up at the 'house of the moment', we’ve gone from asking ourselves: Is she pretty? Does she have character? Where’s the walk in wardrobe? How big is the garage? to “Forget about the grass, is this small patch of concrete ok? Do we really need parking? Perhaps this bedsit will do!” Never mind about the gazillion planes flying overhead, right? Like they said in the famous movie, Castle, it’s all about “Location, location, location." In a city where the market property is so hot, it will literally melt your pockets, the competition is stiff! Come rain (the absolutely bucketing down kind) hail or shine (42 degrees worth) potential buyers have lined up in their droves, outside every. single. house. we’ve viewed. The ubiquitous real estate agent stands at the gate, her smile unwavering as everybody’s name and number is recorded as though it’s some sort of lucky draw. But we all know, it’s more like Russian Roulette. Once inside said house, the air is palpable. There’s barely a smile cracked among scrutinising viewers. Instead, there are sly, sideways glances, each potential buyer covertly checking out the competition, ears pricked…necks craning, trying to garner any tidbit of information on the seriousness of their competitors’ intentions. With your game face firmly on, no one makes eye contact, as you squeeze quietly past one another…in and out of bathrooms and down skinny hallways. Couples retreat to all corners of the property talking in hushed tones. No one dares give away their game plan. And lurking behind to butter up the agent is always a sneaky tactic. Others tap urgently on the walls, as if they’re hoping to find a magic doorway that leads to hidden treasure. Some even turn the lights off in an attempt to make the house look as dingy as possible….. oh wait that was us! Or when you set your heart on a house….stern looks are given, “Excuse me that’s my carpet your standing on with your muddy shoes!” And if you like a house, I mean really like it, you need to have your sh-t together, because if you can’t go for it there and then — you’re totally out of the game. During our military style house hunt, we sneak into an auction to see how it works, because, of course we’re newbies to this whole world. Small person grabs my skirt, hiding behind it. “What are we doing in this lounge with all these people mum? And why is he shouting??” Good question my love, there's a lot to shout about. We find the house for us in the nick of time. Time being of the essence, we see it twice for all of five minutes, before we’re pressed to make the decision of a lifetime. It’s quite fair to say, we spent more time looking at the car we just bought! Once our offer is made, we’re launched into the equivalent of the TV programme, The Amazing Race, in a bid to win the game, hotfooting it all over town to meet demands and deadlines. Then we wait. Finally we get the call, it’s ours - complete with cat flap and stairs - ultimate priorities for the Small Person. We’ve crossed the finish line by the skin of our teeth. Current challenge over. Finding our pocket amongst the madness, has meant compromises. Yet here we are about to move into a townhouse a few kilometres from the city, opposite a hairdressers (yes, ironic) and around the corner from school, a pub and a myriad of cafes. From a strapping skyscraper in Hong Kong to a 5-star hotel in China ....and now a townhouse in suburban Sydney. For now, it's our home. This is Australia. … [Read more...]
Aliens Down Under? Three Weeks In…..This is Australia
What is it about Australians and muesli bars? You might remember at the writers conference I went to in Guangzhou, a lovely Tassie lady saved my bacon, digging into her rations to supply my rumbling stomach with a muesli bar? Well, it happened again the other day, here in Sydney. This time at the city dry cleaners. Picking up my clothes, she disappeared out the back, unexpectedly returning with a big smile and a muesli bar in each hand for Small Person and I! Maybe I just look hungry! But I highly doubt that… I think it’s just the friendly, giving nature of the good ole' Aussie… (and perhaps their love of the humble muesli bar)! ;) My American friend made me giggle when I sent her a pic of Small Person in her new school uniform. She joked, "It's so bloody jolly" and that pretty much sums up the whole country! She’s right… being back here after 6.5 years away, Australians are a pretty chirpy bunch (especially when Chinese aren’t known for cracking a smile at the best of times). To be honest though, as much as part of me is revelling in all the little chats with random strangers on every corner, the constant torrent of the English language everywhere you turn, for me, is almost an assault on the senses. For the best part of seven years, I've been able to ignore most signs, television, radio and for that matter, people! So much white noise! 8-O Sometimes I feel like I may need to crawl into a box to escape the overwhelming flow of information. The prawns, the barbies, the Aussie soaps and reality TV shows, the shark sightings, the heat waves….the mozzies, the bushfires, the politics…. all that “Aussie-ness!” sure takes a bit of getting used to again. There’s no denying, those first few days we were a little shell-shocked, which from experience, I'm pretty sure will only intensify as the novelty of starting a new life again, becomes reality. At the moment we’re still riding in the whirlpool that is leaving China and abruptly landing Down Under; Everything feels so familiar but at the same time, completely foreign! That feeling, when you open the daily newspaper and nothing really looks familiar. I remember it distinctly in both Hong Kong and China, and in the latter, never thought I’d be interested in reading their paper. Two years in, it was my daily staple. But starting again is also amusing and a little bit of fun. (Perhaps it's that expat addiction of doing something out of your comfort zone?) Small Person is settling in remarkably well despite bouts of apprehension and nerves. Her first words off the plane…. “I can breathe again.” And then later… “Mum we don’t have to worry about cars on the footpath here do we!” Then, "Why, oh why do we have to wait so long at the crossing?" At the school gate we are definitely the new kids on the block. It's a bit scary, it's isolating but we are used to this. I keep chanting the mantra, "We've got this!" Of course, the fact that at school drop off, everyone looks like mum, is highly amusing to Small Person! I’m not sure if this is a good thing or slightly frightening…. and the fact that everyone around her can speak English is bound to be a bonus and let’s not forget the constant chatter of kids TV on tap (we’ll just overlook the small fact that she couldn’t work out how to use the TV remote)! And then...there's the beach, after school. Enough said. I like to tease her when we get in the car and say "Where's your mask!!" For a split second her eyes widen. Then she laughs, most likely with relief. She still prefers rice over pizza for dinner though and I can't see that changing anytime soon for my self described 'Honky girl!' And China, it seems, is never far from us......Down Under, there's no escaping Xi'an! For me, so far, apart from the obvious (hello family - a hop, skip and jump away ....and of course, an abundance of muesli bars) driving has got to be one of the highlights! I feel like a kid who just got her license! The independence, the freedom….the music… and those blue skies! This school run couldn't be more different. (Although I did find myself listening to Chinese radio.) To be honest, driving is one of the things I was most nervous about. Driving my girl to school that first morning in my “No Birds” hire car, from the bustling city to an unknown suburb, anxiety levels were surely peaking…but 'hello Google Maps' and 'hello, yes it really is like riding a bike'. *Note to expats coming home, you really don’t forget how to drive! (I must say, I’m speaking for myself here….the hotelier may have a different experience…don’t forget the hand break darling! ;) ...Oh and don’t forget to pay for the petrol!) :mrgreen: Must admit the temptation to drive through the lights that take so damn long to change is strong. There’s alot to be said for the beast that is China’s constant force of moving traffic. What you do forget is HOW much there is to organise to set up a new life! Don’t worry, I’ve got a post coming with the 'to do' list soon. Let’s just say, logistically, going overseas as an expat is a hell of a lot easier than repatriating. (Friends, if you’ve been calling, I’ll be up for air soon!!!) And if you’ve tried to call me - sorry I forgot you can actually have voice mail here! And what do you mean Bank Lady, "What colour bank card do I want?" There's a choice? And Pay Pass? What’s that! Opal ticket? Never heard of it. Do I need an E-Tag? Oh and a new medicare card! Is this small number actually my phone number? And never mind that the hotelier actually thought the buzzer we were given at a pub restaurant was to pay your credit card. :roll: Looking at social media is almost tiring because it is just SO instant. No VPN required and tedious spinning just to open Facebook! Going to the shops, bank, hairdresser, doctors, even buying a car....is ridiculously easy when you don’t have to keep opening your translation app to search for the right word. Yep, folks, this is repatriation. It’s a little like putting on an old, comfy pair of pants but they don’t quite fit. I guess it’s because ultimately it’s not a case of slotting back into your old life (and pants) because mostly you don’t really want to (Ok, I really would like to slot back into my old pants). It’s not because you hated your old life (quite the opposite in fact) but because things change. Things move on, obviously. And you change. You’ve seen, done and experienced things you never imagined you’d do. You’ve met people from every part of the planet… you’ve struggled and you’ve thrived. Your coping mechanisms have been stretched as far as the elastic will go. We left Sydney in 2010 as relative newlyweds, DINKS if you like. Double Income, No kids. Life was pretty sweet. Now we’re coming up to eight years of marriage and one kid in the bag who’s never known Australia as home. Sydney looks a lot different to us all. (And, yes, a lot more expensive!) Feeling very much like expats in a new city, we’ll continue exploring our old stomping ground with a renewed enthusiasm, fresh eyes and fresh air. There will no doubt be hiccups along the way, but as long as there are strangers offering museli bars, we’ll be right, mate. This is Australia. … [Read more...]
Dear China, Thanks for the Memories!
Dear China, I feel like a bit of a traitor just taking off and leaving you like that but rest assured, while I've reached out to greener (fresher) pastures, you will not be forgotten. I want to thank you for taking me into your arms two and a half years ago when I was wide eyed and let’s face it, more than a little petrified as I stood in the rain, peering up at your famous 1300 year old Pagoda, opposite our new home (the hotel), trying to understand its significance. Your world looked anything but familiar to me, and that was (surprisingly) despite having lived in the oriental harbour city of Hong Kong for four years. I smiled through clenched teeth and fought back tears as I tried to stay calm for my excited but nervous three and a half year old, who was yet to comprehend why her old world had been replaced by this new, raw version of the Orient. Back then it felt like English was rarely spoken, even in the confines of the hotel, a conversation was, at best, challenging. I remember finding that one single foreigner working there and clinging to his words like bees to honey. Outside of the hotel bubble, those early months felt like I was treading water, desperately trying to stay afloat. Routine was everything, yet we had none. A trip to two “international” schools set up for those few expats in town and wealthy Chinese had me anxious when I learned five full days in class was the norm for my Small Person, one of the few Westerners on the block. A trip to my local hairdresser for an attempt at colouring my blonde hair had me in tears. Not because I’m vain (ok, maybe a little) but because it was then I realised I was completely alone and had no clue how to communicate my thoughts to a group of people looking at me like I really was an alien. Our first visa run had me in shock as we were shoved this way and that, poked and prodded in full view of a very inquisitive audience. A bizarre visit to the local doctor who asked me for advice on which drugs I needed and then wanted a photo together! It was all indicative of everything we attempted to do in a bid to set up a life in China, in those early days. Back then, I didn’t realise that while you boast the world’s second biggest economy and churn out much of the world’s goods not to mention the world’s most travellers ….. essentially much of you is still developing, still learning and still adapting to life in the 21st Century. I soon found out that you are a nation full of contradictions. Xi’an may have been your capital for 13 dynasties, but her lack of exposure to the modern world meant for the most part, you were still learning much of what the Western world had already conquered. I learned that despite how far you’ve come, authoritarian rule is still your preferred mode of governing. Censorship is par for the course. A quick Google soon confirmed that, as did watching my television go to black regularly, simply because it was something your government wanted to shield us from. Controls over things that involve people’s safety and livelihoods though seem minimal. Smoking is still in force like it’s the 1970’s… when it comes to the roads, rules are few and far between and riding motorbikes without a helmet, with phone and at least three or four passengers (including children) is completely normal. Pollution during those winter months is literally off the radar, at least north of the Yangtze River. When you walk outside and it smells and tastes like an incinerator and pollution levels are '20 times' the healthy limit, you have no choice but to shrug, put your mask on and get on with it -- as much as your head tells you, it’s a ludicrous way to live (and some locals will tell you to "go for a run, it'll strengthen your lungs")! I’ve learned to strategically avoid those small wet patches of spit that litter the ground; and not to bat an eyelid when I see small (and big people) relieving themselves, mid squat in the middle of a busy footpath. Fast forward almost three years and like a toddler emerging into childhood, I can appreciate you’re changing and developing at a rapid pace, perhaps unparalleled in world history. English doesn’t seem as hard to come by, both spoken and written… but perhaps that’s just because I’ve added a little bit of my own Chinese into the mix to help with our communication. Those things that seemed incredibly hard are still incredibly hard, but perhaps our indifference or constant exposure to it, has made it all the more bearable. They are now just "China moments." A city of nine million that had very few restaurants and bars outside those local watering holes overflowing with spicy noodles and bbq skewers now has an abundance of new hotspots of every flavour on every corner. There is an element of the West weaving its way into society, rightly or wrongly and the nouveau riche are dividing classes like never before. Despite the hairdresser telling me I’ve got "farmers hands" one day and am a little “alien” like the next, as he rifles through my shopping bags to see "what she buys", we have become firm friends. That day I cried, clearly still etched firmly in his mind he tells me, as he bids Small Person and I farewell with bear hugs and promises to visit Australia. Those hairy car rides to school no longer have me in a state of shock…. Frank (the driver) and I have settled into a comfortable daily routine. Every morning, come rain, hail, shine (or snow) he waits downstairs, standing at the car door, ready to greet us with a smiley “Zao Shang Hao” (Good Morning), helps to buckle Small Person in as she squirms and fidgets, and off we roar into the morning chaos... Despite never having spoken a word of English bar “Ok” - he quite possibly knows more about us and vice versa than either party would care to. We know he likes to put on the morning talkback shows in Chinese while he fiddles with his beads all the way to school, weaving in and out of tuk tuks, two wheelers, and overcrowded busses, beeping the horn with gusto. We know that after dropping us off, he’ll usually sneak in a cigarette at the bus stop until he sees me coming back and then does a six point turn in the middle of a crowded school street - traffic banks up, while I wait awkwardly at the side of the road, pretending it’s all completely normal. And it is. We have reached an 'unspoken understanding' and perhaps an appreciation of each other. That's evident when my girl draws him a goodbye picture and we give him some new beads. Then there’s the security guards at the school gate that greet me with a big hello and goodbye every day, proudly in their few English words… and once in an unexpected downpour, run out to the car with me holding an umbrella over my head…yet still won't let me inside the school gates unless my I.D is hanging around my neck. My last week in China was no different to the entire two and a half years… unpredictable and challenging! If nothing else China, you are consistent in that nothing is ever straightforward! A book interview with an American-English teacher in the north of the city; a lunch with school mums from China, America and Brazil at a kitsch Chinese restaurant, overflowing with statues, local red wine, a warm drink made from dates, Peking Duck and spicy noodles. All followed by a twenty minute wait in zero temperatures (outside the school gate) and then a regular school pick up that unexpectedly becomes the end of the school term, closing abruptly due to extreme pollution levels! This also unexpectedly makes it my Small Person’s last day, ever, so I'm forever grateful her teacher has the foresight to run out at the eleventh hour and get her a goodbye cake! Then a farewell night out that ended at a “Gentleman’s Club” which isn’t as risqué as you might think! Curious to see what it was all about…we enter the shiny, new establishment (one of many that has sprung up in our local neighbourhood) all in the name of checking out the "competition!" Chandeliers, leather sofas and karaoke (China’s other love). In the spirit of a 'proper' Chinese night out, we find ourselves agreeing to hit up the microphone with a few tunes. A dozen beers are delivered and then... as an added bonus, we're treated to a line up of suitable men of all 'shapes and sizes' to choose from (including the token 'foreigner' who hails from Kazakstan)!! All for ‘company’ we're told…or as we soon find out in between giggles, a university student to sit amongst our group, make strained conversation, drink our beer, smoke cigarettes and sing the odd Chinese pop song! China, you will forever have me bamboozled by your extremes - from the overwhelming poverty that envelopes you, to the ever-increasing number of Rolls Royces cruising the streets; to the intense effort given to academic education yet lack of life guidance; to the seemingly selfish public acts yet incredible acts of kindness, to the strict censorship but overly flexible road rules; the human trafficking and domestic violence but feeling of peace and safety on the streets, to the emphasis on Guanxi (networking) and family but the inability to lose face…and those layers upon layers of ‘bureaucracy!’ China, both your complex and simple personality traits have made it possible for me to love you, yet loathe you - all in the same breath. But just as you’re changing, I hope that I am too. Still fresh out of your grip, it’s too soon to tell how you've changed me. Only time will tell. One thing’s for sure, you’ve taught me to be more open and tolerant and definitely not to sweat the small stuff. I’ve learned that trying to understand cultural differences, nuances and a country’s history is not always easy but it is the key to understanding a nation and every thread that intertwines to makes up the fabric of your society is to be appreciated. Your spirit and strength in overcoming a recent history of oppression and poverty is admirable. As different as China can at times seem from the world in which we know, and as much as that old mantra, ‘survival of the fittest’ still rings true for many of you….there is no mistaking, you have a nation of people only too willing to show an outsider kindness. And that for me, has counted for a lot. (If only someone had told us what's in the tap water sooner!) ;) It's not goodbye, it's see you later! This is China …. and you’ve stolen a little piece of my heart. … [Read more...]
The ‘Little Things’ I Took for Granted Before Living in China…
You know you’ve landed ‘down under’ when the waitress at the local pub tells you, the chef forgot one of your meals because he had an...um.. “brain fart!” My eyebrows arched in amusement, I gigged…but it was oddly comforting. I was home. Then, later, she seemed to have no trouble keeping an eye on our table should we need anything else, like say, another drink! Yes please! I didn’t have to frantically wave my arm off and shout at the top of my lungs “Fu wu yuan!” (Try saying that in a hurry!) She even offered to clear away the empty plates before the table resembled a 15-plate pile up! It’s the little things. Like the ‘small talk’ for instance….yes, it can be slightly annoying sometimes when you just want to do your thing and the retail assistant is asking you how your day’s been and you want to tell her it’s been crappy but remain polite…and then it gets even more intense when she won’t stop… and practically asks what colour undies you’ve got on! FYI, in China, when they can't speak English they just follow me around very very closely, almost nipping at my heels, eagle eyeing everything I glance at. Sometimes, I'm not sure which is worse. But what about when you really do want to engage in small talk, just a little “how’s your week been?” In a country that speaks a totally different language to you, where ‘hello,’ ‘see you this afternoon,’ ‘thank you,’ and ‘see you tomorrow’ is the limit in small talk, it’s enough to have you crying into your Chinese book. Watching television is also one of those little things I used to take for granted. You don’t really ever stop to think about how it might be if they weren’t speaking English. It’s a guessing game at best. There might be fifty-plus channels on China television but none are in English (apart from BBC and CNN, of which I am extremely grateful to have access to, living in the hotel). You can appreciate my recent obsession with Netflix….and absolute devastation that it’s soon to be banned to all those using a VPN. Let it not go unsaid though, I do try to watch local TV. I’ve found myself on more than one occasion watching a Chinese soapie, in silence. This one’s set in the military (actually most of them are) and I think I’ve even worked out the plot. Enough said! You can imagine how mesmerised we are in Australia by the little things like, those pesky, annoying adverts! And don’t get me started on those new shows like “Married at First Sight!” One treasure-laden episode of trashy TV and I was utterly hooked! And of course, there’s morning television, which, as intended, makes it feel like I’m hanging out with my mates (English alone is enough in common, for a lasting friendship, surely?) Then there’s driving. When you drive everyday, well.. I can hear you thinking it’s kind of a burden isn’t it?! You jump in the car, throw your bag in (forget the keys), start it up, sigh…petrol’s low…go through five hundred toll gates, in bumper to bumper traffic. It’s all a bit tiring. (And let’s not forget the expense of owning said car…let alone the cost of petrol. (It’s been so long since I’ve fuelled up, I’ll admit, I’m a little nervous at the pump. Last time I put petrol in, I was a bit flustered, walked off and left my phone on the car roof!) You probably think having a Mercedes waiting at your beck and call is “like totally awesome!” Sounds all a bit celebrity-like doesn’t it. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not one to shy away from a bit of Hollywood action, but in Xi’an having a driver is a necessity not a luxury. Driving here would be sure to send you into cardiac arrest. And while it’s easy stepping into the back of a waiting car jolted off, horn’s screeching whisked away to your destination without much thinking (apart from the brain strain of trying to use your mandarin to communicate where you’d like to go to the non-English speaking driver), it also means a distinct lack of freedom. With a detailed itinerary of your week required well in advance, spontaneity is right out the window. Want to head to that cafe on Friday, you need to let them know on Monday! Change of heart on the way home…errr it’s not in the itinerary love, forget it! The car is booked for another event. (Except of course, he wouldn’t be saying that and I would need to make a few phone calls to someone who speaks English first to find that out.) And just quietly, in celebrity land, I’m sure the driver is not slumped over the wheel, asleep when you come to get in the car. So these days, jumping in the car and cruising up the road, music humming, is one of those little things that gives me a tingly feeling of immense joy and freedom! You can picture the scene! Yes, I can go anywhere I like without being held hostage by my itinerary and my language! Road trip, anyone?!! I would like to point out though, having become a little bit used to China’s slightly ‘laissez faire’ attitude on the roads (i.e. seatbelt optional, helmet not required, eating/talking on phone ok, five people on a bike perfectly acceptable -- (side saddle if necessary), sitting in the tray on the back of a small three wheeler ok, road rules optional, every man for himself...) it’s fair to say, I did find Australia a little… rigid. ;) I mean, drivers actually waited at pedestrian crossings for people to cross the road, they managed; for the most part, to stick to their own lanes and drive at a similar speed, let alone abided by rules of wearing a seatbelt, a helmet, not using phones and parking in a manner you might regard as courteous (aka between the lines). There is also that feeling in Australia that somebody’s watching over your shoulder. Oh wait! They actually are (and that’s not just the hundreds of street cameras, waiting to catch you out for any minor mishap). Indulge me for a minute while I relay this little tale. It’s the Easter weekend holiday - we’re cruising down the highway (the police presence is in overdrive, as you’d expect), I am NOT driving. I am in the back seat, seatbelt on! But…one of my bad habits is putting it under my shoulder. (I know!!) I mean really, they should be lucky I’m wearing one, I am after all Chinese now. Anyway as I was saying, I had an eery feeling someone was watching over my shoulder, glanced out the window….and… a few expletives under my breath…there’s a police officer on a big, bad motor bike right beside me, peering in my window, madly gesturing at me…in the middle of the highway!! Did I mention we are not stationary! I looked up in a panicked state, I couldn’t for the life of me think what I had done, except perhaps I wasn’t even allowed to be on my mobile phone in this country anymore, in the back seat?! Was it a new rule, I’d missed? Then it dawned on me, my seatbelt!! I quickly shifted it over my shoulder and he gave me the big thumbs up and roared off! I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but in all honesty, I was pretty impressed. Now that’s looking after your people isn’t it? FYI, the road toll over Easter was zero. Did I mention I’m on the market for a scooter in Xi’an? If you can’t beat ‘em, join 'em, I say! (May start with push bike first!) So, while I found myself giddy with excitement over the driving, I also found myself in a frenzy over the food! It seems cafes and restaurants have taken things to a whole new level. Just between you and me, I am ‘advised’ to eat gluten free food, but living here in Xi’an, it’s nigh on impossible, unless I live on one type of bland, boring piece of bread for the duration of my time here. My excitement at gluten free wraps and well, pretty much GF everything was palpable, let alone the ordinary staples…one trip to the supermarket and I’m in paradise (and I don’t even cook!). Of course, I don’t mind Chinese food (in fact I had it for dinner last night) and I’m especially partial to a good plate of Dim Sum, but in Xi’an, spicy may be everything, but variety is not the spice of life. Still on eating, kind of…one thing I’ve come to take for granted living in China, is that, just about every cafe has a power point at the table to charge up your phone….here I was in ‘Straya’ - staking out cafes looking for a plug! Never mind about the food they were selling! I’ve said it before, and you’ll no doubt agree, everything is made in China, right? But, to most people’s surprise, it’s not sold in China! This means I am faced with the awful task of living and breathing the shops for much of my days, for the entire holiday. Such a chore isn’t it?! ;) The mere fact that I no longer seem to know how to use the card machines has not stopped me in my tracks. I keep apologising and find myself embarking on a big explanation of how I don’t live here, only to be looked at like I am indeed an alien. “Just put your bloody pin number in, love!” (But I don’t have one…..) Now, many of you who’ve lived in China, will say 'bollocks', you can get everything you need here….and while that may be true….partially…..if you can in fact get it, usually it’s just one single brand and usually there is no English on the packet/box/tube, so how do you even begin to know what it is? I am learning Chinese characters but with 50,000 of the buggers, at this point, I’m unlikely to decipher much more than 'made in China'. (Like the time I bought face wipes that were actually wipes for um, ladies’ parts.) Of course, there is as always an upside to this shopping frenzy I must embark on …..for the rest of my time in Xi’an I don’t ever have to go to the shops out of necessity. Nor do I have to have any appointments because I’ve just spent my entire holiday stocking up, replenishing, rebooting, reinventing, reinvigorating!! That includes ’maintenance’ …as a woman over, um 29…I need stuff! Waxing doesn’t take place in Xi’an, period. Facials are not really the order of the day, and well don’t get me started on hair! I will say though being able to get a decent blow dry for under $20 in my Xi'an ‘hood is not to be sneezed at!! (Yes that's US$20 ladies.) Then there’s medical! I used to take the fact that I could go to a doctor, whenever I need to, for granted. Who doesn’t? Now any trip out of China will have me booking into a doctor, usually begging for an arm’s length list of drugs. Of course before I lived in China, a sunny, blue day, was just that, a sunny blue day. Nothing more, nothing less. Today as I look out of my window at the hazy, brownish sky, I’m trying hard to remember the high definition, oh so blue, sharp, clear skies that had me staring up into the cloudless wild blue yonder more times than is probably deemed 'normal'. And, don’t mind my husband, who’s launched himself onto that brilliantly green grass alongside the footpath to take a feel! “Is it fake”, he says? “No honey…this is just normal grass.” And I guess that's just one reason stepping outside your comfort zone is totally worth it. To make you appreciate the little things. … [Read more...]
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