Immigration sketches
Last week Amy Welborn related some scenes from Ft. Wayne with respect to the immigrant communities there. It got me thinking about my initial fascination in the Hong Kong China visa office more than two years ago. I was amazed at the variety of people that were applying for visas. Expecting to see more people like us, I encountered instead an introduction to the life I would really see here--one that would defy expectations and everything I had ever read or seen on TV about China.
I still am amazed what paths have brought immigrants to China, and how they choose to live here. Much of my blogging on the subject, I admit, has been my own belly-aching about some aspects of the expat life that I have difficulty dealing with. However, I do still experience wonder at the types of people attracted to living here long-term. At one time I asked Randy how a Lebanese guy from Australia can come to China and open a pizzeria? His answer was the highly romantic statement, "Because this is China, and anything is possible." So anyway, here are some sketches of immigrants-to-China I've met that have unusual stories.
Last week I ran into a French woman I know, a tall, blonde, cheery woman. I hadn't seen her for more than two months, since before she had left for an almost-month-long holiday to her husband's home country of Rwanda. They met years ago, both as Chinese-language students at a Beijing University. At home they speak to one another in French, of course. I couldn't get over at the time how excited she was to take the long vacation in Rwanda. Her husband either works for the Rwandan government or a Chamber of Commerce-type organization.
A Belgian family that I absolutely adored recently left for their father's new assignment in Milan. While all three of their young children were born in Atlanta, they have spent most of their lives living in Asia, first in Singapore and then in Shenzhen. The kids were nervous about moving to Italy, odd to me, because I would have thought that Italy being that much closer to Belgium would have been a touch more familiar to them. However, the kids basically only remember living in Asia. After being convinced that Italy would be a great move, with Formula 1 racing, and pasta, and olives, and cheese, were they convinced that there is life outside of Asia. Funny, too, that despite the fact that they speak Dutch in their home, the parents are planning to enroll then in the American-run International school in Milan, despite the fact that there are Dutch-language options. All of their lives these kids have only been to English-language schools, and their parents didn't want to add to their adjustment back to European life having to switch school languages.
At the going away party for that Belgian family, I sat next to a Japanese woman. Married to a man from the Netherlands, she effortlessly switched between Dutch, Japanese, and English. A happy accident brought her family living next door to our Belgian friends. Their eldest daughter did not speak a word of English, but was in the same class as the Belgian family's daughter. She was more than happy to translate all day long for her new friend. Talking to the mother, she asked where precisely I was from in the U.S. I told her Pittsburgh, and she was excited. She had spent three years living in Pittsburgh when she was in graduate school. I quickly suspected that perhaps she had gone to CMU or Pitt, maybe for business, because those programs are both well-known internationally. It turned out she was a music student at Duquesne. She plays the euphonium.
One American man we've met has an obvious Texas accent, despite the fact that in his almost sixty years he has only lived in the U.S. for 14 years. His father was in oil, so he spent much of his life growing up in Africa, Middle East, and Asia. As a young adult, he spent time working as, of all things, a homicide cop in New Orleans, before the he himself went into the oil industry. He again lives all over the world, most recently before China, in Nigeria for four years. Randy and I were amazed to hear that he had lived there that long; a friend of ours was moved there for just a few months and he told his employer he would rather quit and go back to Scotland than go back to Nigeria. This American loved living in Africa, but acknowledged that Nigeria was dangerous. In China the oil industry employees have maids and drivers. In Nigeria, even the wives also have their own body guards for when they leave the house. I can't imagine myself living like that for four years. However, this Texan admits that he would love to move back to Africa as it was always his favorite place to live both as a child and as an adult. His wife, however can't be as convinced to go back.
I've mentioned before the "famous" Spanish family that lives in our garden. Every member of their family is fluent in Mandarin. All four of their children even attend regular Chinese-language schools. Sometimes we run into the two sisters at the pool or in the garden and I try to speak to them in Spanish. They ask me to switch back to Chinese; it is easier for them. I’ve heard them speak Spanish with their parents, but among each other, even when they aren’t even playing with Chinese kids, they usually only speak Chinese. In some ways, it is obvious that they are European. I mean, not only that they are not ethnic Chinese, but in the manner that they dress. For instance, sometimes we meet up with them at the swimming pool. Most Chinese schoolgirls in our part of China wear modest and even skirted swimming suits. These girls look like they came straight from Ibiza. But other than manner of dress, they are a lot more like the other Chinese kids in our garden. They practice their English on us, which isn’t much beyond, “Hi, how are you?” One of the sisters even acts towards Myles as other Chinese girls her age (about 7 or 8). She can’t keep her hands off his light brown hair and his white doll-baby cheeks. They even tell me my Chinese is surprisingly good (which it still isn't), much in the encouraging manner of other Chinese schoolchildren. If we were in America, and saw Chinese immigrant children behaving more American, it wouldn’t necessarily come as a complete surprise to us. However, when the process is reversed, when we see white foreigners instead becoming more Asian, for instance, it can be jarring. But then again, it really isn’t that much different, is it? It shouldn’t be a surprise, should it?
One thing that surprised me in the Hong Kong visa office more than two years ago were the African immigrants trying to get their documentation in order to enter China. I was completely unaware of the level of mutual business interest many African countries have with China. Via Danwei, I was able to read this recent article about the African immigrant community in Guangzhou, a two-hour drive north of here. There are more than 100,000 Africans living in Guangzhou alone. In the article it mentions the blue jeans industry. Blue jeans export to Africa is a huge business, perhaps not oil-sized, but large enough that it gets a lot of attention. Randy's last assistant was pressured by her family to quit her job here in Shenzhen and relocate with some of them up to Guangzhou. They wanted a piece of the growing business of blue jeans exporting to Africa. They, like so many other Chinese people, hope to get rich.
Of all the immigrants that surprise me coming to China are those of Chinese-origin themselves. There are reasons their families left China. One woman was kicked out of China for Christian activities. She now lives comfortably with her three children in a very upscale neighborhood. Another man we know is a naturalized American citizen. His parents left China as soon as they could, having watched members of their family starve to death during the Great Leap Forward. Today this guy has bought a lot of real estate here in China, one being an apartment his parents will move into after they retire and leave the US. And the Taiwanese. If I had never come to China I would have never believed the number of Taiwanese that live on the mainland. If I based my beliefs just on what I read in the newspapers and op-ed's, I would believe that there was absolutely no contact between Mainland China and Taiwan. However, there are so many companies that are Taiwanese-owned here. Of course, this wouldn't be a surprise to anyone that lives in Shanghai. Taiwanese are one of the biggest immigrant populations there.
I have learned that I cannot detect an Israeli accent. Every time I meet one of the Israeli immigrants here, I find myself unable to place their accent. One family we've met through Myles' modeling jobs is particularly interesting. The wife is Israeli-Filipino, and the family has spent time living in the Philippines, with the youngest having been born there. I asked then if the kids spoke any Tagalog, and they couldn't. They could, however, speak and read both Chinese and English because they attend a bilingual school in Shenzhen, far from the Shekou area where many other Israeli families live. They don't even live in Shekou where many of the other Israeli families do. The father insisted that they still thought of themselves as Israeli, despite the fact that some of their kids had never lived there, and hoped they would move back in a few years. He knew this would be a challenge for the kids, because they still do not speak Hebrew very well, let alone read it. In Israel they would most likely attend a Hebrew-language school.
Most of the people I've described here are families, mostly because in our station of life that is who we mostly meet. Many of the single people who move here probably have even crazier or more interesting stories about how they ended up here. But these sketches hopefully give you a taste of the variety of waiguoren that are living in China.
I still am amazed what paths have brought immigrants to China, and how they choose to live here. Much of my blogging on the subject, I admit, has been my own belly-aching about some aspects of the expat life that I have difficulty dealing with. However, I do still experience wonder at the types of people attracted to living here long-term. At one time I asked Randy how a Lebanese guy from Australia can come to China and open a pizzeria? His answer was the highly romantic statement, "Because this is China, and anything is possible." So anyway, here are some sketches of immigrants-to-China I've met that have unusual stories.
Last week I ran into a French woman I know, a tall, blonde, cheery woman. I hadn't seen her for more than two months, since before she had left for an almost-month-long holiday to her husband's home country of Rwanda. They met years ago, both as Chinese-language students at a Beijing University. At home they speak to one another in French, of course. I couldn't get over at the time how excited she was to take the long vacation in Rwanda. Her husband either works for the Rwandan government or a Chamber of Commerce-type organization.
A Belgian family that I absolutely adored recently left for their father's new assignment in Milan. While all three of their young children were born in Atlanta, they have spent most of their lives living in Asia, first in Singapore and then in Shenzhen. The kids were nervous about moving to Italy, odd to me, because I would have thought that Italy being that much closer to Belgium would have been a touch more familiar to them. However, the kids basically only remember living in Asia. After being convinced that Italy would be a great move, with Formula 1 racing, and pasta, and olives, and cheese, were they convinced that there is life outside of Asia. Funny, too, that despite the fact that they speak Dutch in their home, the parents are planning to enroll then in the American-run International school in Milan, despite the fact that there are Dutch-language options. All of their lives these kids have only been to English-language schools, and their parents didn't want to add to their adjustment back to European life having to switch school languages.
At the going away party for that Belgian family, I sat next to a Japanese woman. Married to a man from the Netherlands, she effortlessly switched between Dutch, Japanese, and English. A happy accident brought her family living next door to our Belgian friends. Their eldest daughter did not speak a word of English, but was in the same class as the Belgian family's daughter. She was more than happy to translate all day long for her new friend. Talking to the mother, she asked where precisely I was from in the U.S. I told her Pittsburgh, and she was excited. She had spent three years living in Pittsburgh when she was in graduate school. I quickly suspected that perhaps she had gone to CMU or Pitt, maybe for business, because those programs are both well-known internationally. It turned out she was a music student at Duquesne. She plays the euphonium.
One American man we've met has an obvious Texas accent, despite the fact that in his almost sixty years he has only lived in the U.S. for 14 years. His father was in oil, so he spent much of his life growing up in Africa, Middle East, and Asia. As a young adult, he spent time working as, of all things, a homicide cop in New Orleans, before the he himself went into the oil industry. He again lives all over the world, most recently before China, in Nigeria for four years. Randy and I were amazed to hear that he had lived there that long; a friend of ours was moved there for just a few months and he told his employer he would rather quit and go back to Scotland than go back to Nigeria. This American loved living in Africa, but acknowledged that Nigeria was dangerous. In China the oil industry employees have maids and drivers. In Nigeria, even the wives also have their own body guards for when they leave the house. I can't imagine myself living like that for four years. However, this Texan admits that he would love to move back to Africa as it was always his favorite place to live both as a child and as an adult. His wife, however can't be as convinced to go back.
I've mentioned before the "famous" Spanish family that lives in our garden. Every member of their family is fluent in Mandarin. All four of their children even attend regular Chinese-language schools. Sometimes we run into the two sisters at the pool or in the garden and I try to speak to them in Spanish. They ask me to switch back to Chinese; it is easier for them. I’ve heard them speak Spanish with their parents, but among each other, even when they aren’t even playing with Chinese kids, they usually only speak Chinese. In some ways, it is obvious that they are European. I mean, not only that they are not ethnic Chinese, but in the manner that they dress. For instance, sometimes we meet up with them at the swimming pool. Most Chinese schoolgirls in our part of China wear modest and even skirted swimming suits. These girls look like they came straight from Ibiza. But other than manner of dress, they are a lot more like the other Chinese kids in our garden. They practice their English on us, which isn’t much beyond, “Hi, how are you?” One of the sisters even acts towards Myles as other Chinese girls her age (about 7 or 8). She can’t keep her hands off his light brown hair and his white doll-baby cheeks. They even tell me my Chinese is surprisingly good (which it still isn't), much in the encouraging manner of other Chinese schoolchildren. If we were in America, and saw Chinese immigrant children behaving more American, it wouldn’t necessarily come as a complete surprise to us. However, when the process is reversed, when we see white foreigners instead becoming more Asian, for instance, it can be jarring. But then again, it really isn’t that much different, is it? It shouldn’t be a surprise, should it?
One thing that surprised me in the Hong Kong visa office more than two years ago were the African immigrants trying to get their documentation in order to enter China. I was completely unaware of the level of mutual business interest many African countries have with China. Via Danwei, I was able to read this recent article about the African immigrant community in Guangzhou, a two-hour drive north of here. There are more than 100,000 Africans living in Guangzhou alone. In the article it mentions the blue jeans industry. Blue jeans export to Africa is a huge business, perhaps not oil-sized, but large enough that it gets a lot of attention. Randy's last assistant was pressured by her family to quit her job here in Shenzhen and relocate with some of them up to Guangzhou. They wanted a piece of the growing business of blue jeans exporting to Africa. They, like so many other Chinese people, hope to get rich.
Of all the immigrants that surprise me coming to China are those of Chinese-origin themselves. There are reasons their families left China. One woman was kicked out of China for Christian activities. She now lives comfortably with her three children in a very upscale neighborhood. Another man we know is a naturalized American citizen. His parents left China as soon as they could, having watched members of their family starve to death during the Great Leap Forward. Today this guy has bought a lot of real estate here in China, one being an apartment his parents will move into after they retire and leave the US. And the Taiwanese. If I had never come to China I would have never believed the number of Taiwanese that live on the mainland. If I based my beliefs just on what I read in the newspapers and op-ed's, I would believe that there was absolutely no contact between Mainland China and Taiwan. However, there are so many companies that are Taiwanese-owned here. Of course, this wouldn't be a surprise to anyone that lives in Shanghai. Taiwanese are one of the biggest immigrant populations there.
I have learned that I cannot detect an Israeli accent. Every time I meet one of the Israeli immigrants here, I find myself unable to place their accent. One family we've met through Myles' modeling jobs is particularly interesting. The wife is Israeli-Filipino, and the family has spent time living in the Philippines, with the youngest having been born there. I asked then if the kids spoke any Tagalog, and they couldn't. They could, however, speak and read both Chinese and English because they attend a bilingual school in Shenzhen, far from the Shekou area where many other Israeli families live. They don't even live in Shekou where many of the other Israeli families do. The father insisted that they still thought of themselves as Israeli, despite the fact that some of their kids had never lived there, and hoped they would move back in a few years. He knew this would be a challenge for the kids, because they still do not speak Hebrew very well, let alone read it. In Israel they would most likely attend a Hebrew-language school.
Most of the people I've described here are families, mostly because in our station of life that is who we mostly meet. Many of the single people who move here probably have even crazier or more interesting stories about how they ended up here. But these sketches hopefully give you a taste of the variety of waiguoren that are living in China.
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