My wife, Xiaodong, (Susan) has asked me to tell the story of how we came to live in Beijing for a very happy six years. As you will soon see my story is a little different.
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I met and married Susan after her emigration to Canada and we lived in Toronto prior to my retirement from my position as a Canadian Government official. We were very happy together and Susan adapted well to her new life in Canada.
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During my working career I had the opportunity to travel often and had been to many different countries. This included several visits to China starting in the 1990's when I began to develop my fascination with Chinese culture. My early visits to Beijing were similar to that of most tourists as I stayed in hotels, did my sightseeing and returned home after a few weeks. It was like putting your finger into a bathtub to see how hot the water was before immersing yourself totally.
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As my retirement approached, Susan and I talked about what we were going to do after I left work. We both agreed that we should take advantage of the time before we got too old to travel and enjoy life. One of the possibilities was an extended stay in China to give her the chance to see her family and me to experience a different way of living.
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In preparation for a move and as a test to see how I would cope with daily life in Beijing as a resident and not as a tourist, we took a longer trip to Beijing and stayed in her sister's apartment in a residential neighborhood. This test went well and I began to see the attractions of living in Beijing, so we decided to go. We arrived in early 2007and agreed to stay till at least after the Olympics. We did not realize then that we would stay much longer and still maintain strong connections with Beijing and China.
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I sometimes do things differently and this decision is a good example. In most situations where a western man marries a Chinese woman, he takes his new bride to his homeland. Instead, my Chinese wife took her Canadian husband to live in her home city of Beijing. I was so happy that she did.
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After a few months of adapting to the differences, mainly lots of people and different food, I began to fit into Beijing more and more. Susan's family and friends were very welcoming and I was able to make many new friends.
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We lived in a Chinese style apartment located in a Hutong (Waijiaobu Jie) that was a few minutes' walk from Wanfujing and Tiananmen Square, so could not have been more central or convenient. I loved exploring the various streets venturing further away from home the more confident I became. It felt that our neighbors adopted me as their "Laowai" and were very friendly (and curious) in helping me fit in
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My main problems in Beijing came from the fact that I cannot read or write Chinese and can speak only a few phrases and those badly pronounced. I tried but was unsuccessful in my efforts to learn Chinese. However, as you know, many people speak English in Beijing and many took the opportunity to speak English with me. This often worked to my advantage, as shop assistants, waiters, etc. would come running over to help me, so they could practice some English. My attempts to try Chinese were always greatly appreciated and people never laughed at my attempts. So in many ways, it was great ice breaker. Not speaking Chinese also made me more interested in finding all that I could about sites and events in Beijing, so that, by itself, it became a major daily activity.
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I also had the opportunity to travel widely in China and was able to go to many places. At last count, I was up to over 20 of China's 33 Administrative areas. I hope to return to visit the areas I have missed.
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After a few years I felt that I really knew Beijing and while no "Lao Beijinger" I was certainly more than a tourist. Beijing is now home. The welcome given to me by family, friends and the average Beijingers made it feel that I belonged. When I have an opportunity to return Beijing, I have the feeling that I am not going away but coming home.
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发表于 2015-2-19 15:10:24
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发表于 2015-2-20 09:57:42