Guest Blog: What It's Like To.....Live in China

While I'm on vacation in Costa Rica, some of my friends have volunteered to step in with guest blogs on the theme "What It's Like to...." Hope you enjoy! Buenos dias! :)

Since I'll got back from Costa Rica yesterday evening, today will be the last day of this series!  I'm super excited about this blog by College Roomie.  As a total fan of international travel, I am so jealous of her experience living in abroad for a year.  Although I hated China for taking my best friend away from me for a year, I'm so glad she went because her experiences totally made her life better!  So...here ya have her...College Roomie!

Ni hao, Tiffany’s followers!  While she is off zip-lining, beach lounging, or otherwise having a blast in Costa Rica, I’m delighted to be here with you today on the blog, telling you all about “What it’s like to…live in China.” 

I graduated college in December of 2006, and a few months prior to that I was in a panic about finding a job.  One of the professors in my college (Hotel and Restaurant Management) spoke of an alum who was currently in Shenzhen, China, serving as the General Manager of a brand-spankin’-new InterContinental Hotel that hiring a few management trainees.  Why not, I thought?  I sent in the application, was hired, accepted the offer, and started planning to move to China, all in the matter of about two weeks. 

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are precisely fifteen thousand words that tell about my year in China far better than I could describe.

This picture says, “Four Americans in the Hong Kong Airport after a 15 (or was it 18?) hour flight – jet lagged, overwhelmed by the Cantonese and/or Mandarin characters on all the signage, and with absolutely no idea what’s in store for them.”

Here are a few pictures from the ol' workplace:

The pool area...gorgeous, eh?

The Club Floor.

 As a front office management trainee, I spent a good quarter of my time at the hotel working on the club floor. Here are some of the lovely ladies I worked with there:

But enough about work.  Here are some out-and-about in Shenzhen pictures:

One of my greatest regrets is failing to travel around China more than I did.  I filled up my passport with trips to Hong Kong and Macau, which are very accessible to Shenzhen by train (HK) and ferry (Macau).  I also made it to Beijing and Shanghai.  But there is so much more to see around China and it was an epic fail to not prioritize that during my time there. 

Hong Kong

Macau - The Vegas of Asia

The Great Wall (Ba Da Ling outside Beijing).

Living in China was such an amazing experience.  The friendships that will last forever...the food that I learned to love – uh, most of it at least…and the country, culture, and people that I learned to appreciate.  It would be easy for me to go on and on and on about what I learned and I could give a play-by-play for every picture and memory I have.  But you don’t have all day. 

I’m an American – the land of the free and the home of the brave, where we pride ourselves on our independence.  And there is no place like home.  But I gained my own personal sense of independence when I was living in Shenzhen and my time there will always be a tremendous blessing and a treasured experience. 

Xie xie - zai jian.