This post originally appeared on itisreal.net and is reposted with permission by the author. The life of an expat is often viewed as glamorous, stress-free and full of tasty, exotic cuisine. It’s true, living abroad often does include these elements of fine living. However, my experience as an expat is a great deal more complex that the above description. There are many positive aspects to my life in Beijing. First, the cost of living is significantly cheaper than in London and so living and working in Beijing is a great way to save money. Second, during the 6+ years that my husband and I have lived in China, we have met many incredible people that hail from all over the world. Third, we have found a great community. I spoke about this in a previous blog post but it’s worth repeating. Many of the expats I know live thousands of miles away…
Most parents, whether they live in China or not, know the frustrations of having to deal with strangers wanting to touch their newborn. Living in China means facing these experiences, on a far greater scale, and in ways that will surely blow your mind. We have had complete strangers pick up our child, and walk away! Many lean in close to look at our son, and then touch his face. To be honest, this infuriated me in the beginning. Trusting that a complete stranger has clean hands, in any country, is a risky game. As your child gets older and their immune system has strengthened a little, these intrusive touches may begin to bother you less, but still many parents are highly aggravated by these actions. By the time that your little one can walk, they will be bombarded by one group after the next, all wanting a photo with this sweet foreign face. Here…
As a couple who have become parents in an exclusively foreign environment, this has been a wonderful chance for us to introduce our child to racial and cultural diversity. We are blessed to be able to raise our son abroad, but since we are from different countries, no matter where we live, at least one of us will always be a foreigner. In our community, and while out and about traveling the world, we come across so many ethnicities. This gives our son plenty of wonderful opportunities to learn and appreciate how different cultures live. Understanding that people are not all the same will enable your children to embrace and value the things that make each person or group of people different. Children really do notice differences, so take the time to teach what is important to each culture and help strengthen acceptance and understanding. Even though we are currently…
Expatriates from Western nations who arrive in China for the first time to work and raise a family may feel overwhelmed by the differences in lifestyle and language. But the easy availability of international schools which use English as a medium of instruction removes all worry about education. The cultural barrier is the most difficult to surmount for adults as children are able to adjust much more easily as they come in closer contact with local culture among school friends. Discipline and Respect As an expatriate you know that Chinese culture is very different from yours and may worry that children will feel alienated when they go back home, but the rich cultural heritage of China can teach them valuable lessons in discipline that they will not learn elsewhere. As a parent you can help your children learn the positives of both cultures so they grow up to be more…
