Why I left China

I wasn't ready to write on this topic until today, when I'm so pissed off that I can't help myself. You would ask: “What happened? Didn't you like China? Wasn't your dream to eat rice every day and improve your Chinese level?” Wanna find out the truth? Continue reading....

So what made me finally leave China? Super fast development of the country, a satisfying job, life in one of the best cities in China, a chance to go to Hongkong at least once a month-sounds perfect. Right? ;) China is a land of opportunities. Wanna sell fake Abibas, or Samsong :D here's a place to be. Teaching English with no degree? All you need is your pretty (=white!) face and a few youtube songs for kids. Passionate about traveling? There's everything here: places to hike, beaches, ethnic villages, luxury resorts. What do you think pushed me to say "I can't stay here any more. I need a change"?....

Nope, I wasn't homesick. Come on, I even bought some beetroots and started cooking borsch! Can you imagine that? :DD The next level was supposed to be varenyky? lol They say: "No reason to stay is a good reason to go". It resonated with me so much. I was stuck. "What will happen if I spend another 1.2...years here?" NOTHING. China became my comfort zone. (Sounds weird, I know). I didn't plan to build a career in China, start a business or get married with a son of Jackie Chan :D Unlike my friends, who run their business, have time for self-development, traveling and personal life.

I met foreigners, who left China after 1-3 months saying "It's not for me! This country is too crazy!" I also know those, who happily got married with Chinese :) For people, who decide to move to China it's definitely a challenge: you have to get used to loud Chinese people (you may need earphones) and their behaviour, crowds, dirty streets, smelly food, every time you say a word in Chinese they say: "Wooow! Your Chinese is so good! How many years have you been learning it?" and many other (often annoying) things.

Being a part of Chinese society (a sensitive subject) requires lots of patience and energy. Very often there is no logical explanation to why they behave like that ("This is China!"). It's pointless to argue. E.g: when you sign a work contract, there will be some hidden "but", or "if" (nobody will tell you about), so in the end you may have troubles. Imagine you even have to remind them about your payment! Communicating with a landlord is also a headache. At work they change the system, the rules...all the time. And you know, it's frustrating.

I learned to expect everything! (When I received a schedule with my classes, I never checked it, 'cause later it was changed a few times). I couldn't rely on anything. And you know all these, let's call them, cultural differences, I even don't want to talk about (too many!), made me a psycho–I stopped trusting people, I never believed in what they said, I was always ready to "something's gonna happen, 'cause it's China", when talking to someone I had to confirm the information a couple of times. (And yes, I got a new habit to take screenshots of chats and use as a proof later).

An advice: if you're going to China, remember to bring somebody who'll say: "calm down, baby, they're just idiots" (that's what I wanted to hear), otherwise you'll need anti-depressants or alcohol to survive in such a different environment. 

If you don't see any purpose in what you're doing, maybe it's time to take a different road? (It's easy to say, hard to do, right?). If you aren't happy in your relationships, maybe you should... break up? (stoooop! I'm kidding, don't do that!). If you wake up asking yourself "my God, what am I doing here?" congrats! Now (not from Monday) make a small step to WHERE YOU WANT to be!