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expat friends
Dec. 13th, 2019 10:17 amToday, my work bestie brought in my Christmas gift -- a pillow with a chibi cartoon Shen Wei's face. I blushed so hard when I saw it that I think I burst all the blood vessels in my face. The point of this, besides to tell everyone how extremely lucky I am to have friends who know me and support my fangirling unconditionally (GIRL! Do you know how much googling I had to do to find this??? she said), but also, damn, it makes me sad!
When I was hired to teach in China, we had an introductory course to expat living. It was brief, meant to just give us a small idea of what we newbies were getting ourselves into. Of course, you can't really be prepared -- it's too big, too new, too different, and you just have to live it. But people who had experienced expat life before shared tips and articles with us, so we weren't just completely clueless coming in.
One of the articles dealt with how to handle transitions and personal relationships. The very nature of expat life, especially as a teacher, is one of impermanence. People often choose this life because it gives them the opportunity to live in a bunch of different places -- I know that's why I chose it. Teaching contracts are generally two-year commitments, but people leave every year. Last year, only a couple of people from my cohort left, and they weren't my friends. This year, however, is the first year that our cohort is eligible for transfers within the company, so it's the time when people really decide if they're staying or going. I put in for a transfer with option to stay in Shenzhen one more year. My work bestie put in to transfer or leave the school. She hasn't been offered a transfer option yet, but she isn't coming back to Shenzhen. We have another six months of work to go, and we're traveling together over Spring Break, but I'm already starting to grieve the loss of her presence.
I'm very grateful that we live in the age of social media, so we won't lose contact. But this year, her classroom is just across the hall from mine, and she pops in all the time. Yesterday, she came in and we had an impromptu singalong/dance party to "Bohemian Rhapsody," and it. was. AWESOME! And then she brings me this goofy pillow, and I'm really going to miss her.
When I was hired to teach in China, we had an introductory course to expat living. It was brief, meant to just give us a small idea of what we newbies were getting ourselves into. Of course, you can't really be prepared -- it's too big, too new, too different, and you just have to live it. But people who had experienced expat life before shared tips and articles with us, so we weren't just completely clueless coming in.
One of the articles dealt with how to handle transitions and personal relationships. The very nature of expat life, especially as a teacher, is one of impermanence. People often choose this life because it gives them the opportunity to live in a bunch of different places -- I know that's why I chose it. Teaching contracts are generally two-year commitments, but people leave every year. Last year, only a couple of people from my cohort left, and they weren't my friends. This year, however, is the first year that our cohort is eligible for transfers within the company, so it's the time when people really decide if they're staying or going. I put in for a transfer with option to stay in Shenzhen one more year. My work bestie put in to transfer or leave the school. She hasn't been offered a transfer option yet, but she isn't coming back to Shenzhen. We have another six months of work to go, and we're traveling together over Spring Break, but I'm already starting to grieve the loss of her presence.
I'm very grateful that we live in the age of social media, so we won't lose contact. But this year, her classroom is just across the hall from mine, and she pops in all the time. Yesterday, she came in and we had an impromptu singalong/dance party to "Bohemian Rhapsody," and it. was. AWESOME! And then she brings me this goofy pillow, and I'm really going to miss her.
