Where are you from and in why did you decide to leave your country for China?
I’m from Quito, Ecuador. I was looking for a change so I decided to leave, it happened that China was the right option at the moment; I mean what better change than going to the other side of the world, right?
I was dealing with annoying parents, annoying boyfriend, annoying lifestyle, annoying studies, existential crisis. By that time I was studying Chinese language besides my major, so I knew at some point I would want to go to China and do something there. I remember I just went out of a very bad exam, feeling all blue and “ah f*** this crap”, driving home the radio commercial asked me “you want a change?””wanna learn about a new culture, study a new language, and have time and money at the same time?”, after almost yelling “yessss!” to the radio, I did what I had to do and by the next week I was signing a contract to come and live in China for a year. Pretty random, huh?
Is it your first time that you live outside your hometown?
Yes, I never had the chance before to travel that much, even worse to live abroad, so this is my very first time.
How did you prepare for your move to China?
The same way you do when you’re going travelling : got some gifts for the family, few clothes, food, some books, said bye to everyone and then I was on my way here.
How long have you been here and what keeps you here?
May 17 was my 3rd anniversary. I lived in Beijing for a year and a half, and then I move to Harbin for my studies. I’ll stay here for another 2 years, when I’ll finally graduate.
What are you doing now and how has your life been changing here?
Right now I’m studying Chemical Engineering. My life in China changed sooooooooo much, that’s why I decided to stay after my Au Pair program. I discovered myself and realized what I wanted to do with my life, I think everyone living abroad for the first time experiences the same. So because of it I’ve became more confident, happier, and a better person in general.
Have you always been doing what you are doing now?
Going out often and drinking like a villager for free while hanging out with people from all over the world? Nope, this is a first. Seriously, I was looking for a change and China gave me exactly what I wanted and needed.
What was the most difficult obstacle for you at the beginning and how did you adapt?
Well, as an Au Pair, it was kinda hard to adapt to someone else’s demands, the rules, the schedules… is different from when you live at home, you gotta realize you’re here doing a job, not to chill, so you gotta behave in such way. They say communication is the best way to deal with stuff, but that comes after you complained for hours to your friend about how things are not going the way you expect, and finally when your mind is clear, you can communicate. But in general for me adapting to China was not a problem, I got here because I wanted, because I knew it was better for me, so that encouraged me to keep things the best way possible. China is not for everyone though, so if you’re a complainer, don’t think about coming here.
Do you feel at home here now and what helps you feel this way?
Beijing is my home. Just recently I started to feel more comfortable about living in Harbin, but honestly sometimes I miss Beijing more than Ecuador. Beijing means freedom and independence to me, Beijing is my polluted paradise.
Is there anything China does better than your country?
Haha! Well, in terms of what? China does better than many countries, that’s why is the number one economy in the world. But I think in a more specific thing, China does better at safety than Ecuador and other Latin American countries in general. I remember when I came here holding my purse, not using my phone in public, being aware about everything around me… and then I got in the subway and everyone’s sleeping or playing with their iPhones and iPods. You can’t do that in my country, that’s asking to be robbed in a bad way. I love China for this, it took away one of my fears, some people take safety for granted, for us is something we would love to have.
Is there any food typical for Ecuador and can you find it here? If so, then what is it and where do you find it?
That’s the thing I miss the most about Ecuador - food. The only times I have typical food here is when my awesome Embassy has an event. Ingredients from Ecuador are impossible to find in China, not even on Taobao, and that place has everything. You can find bananas though, we have the best ones in the world, so smile and buy a bunch every time you see “Product from Ecuador”.
Did you have any favorite cosmetic back in Ecuador and can you find it here? If not, how do you replace it?
Not really, I don’t use that much make up so I never had a “favorite” cosmetic. Although the few simple things I use I got from Hong Kong, Ecuador or the U.S. China is more expensive and things can be fake, so better not risk it with something that can damage your skin.
When I came to China, I noticed that my hair and nails started growing faster. How about you? Did you experience any physical changes after coming here?
I got fatter, the worst physical change a woman can experience. Unlike Allison Gold, I don’t love Chinese food.
What was the craziest /weirdest thing that happened to you here?
The craziest story in China…. after 3 years, I think these two are the most memorable!
1) The first one – I just came to China. My first weekend, and it happened to be the last weekend of a girl I kept in touch with during the time I was waiting to come to China. After some shopping and meeting a friend of hers, we decided to go out and party. Her friend kindly offered to host us in her apartment that was very close to Sanlitun (when you’re an Au Pair, usually your family will be living super far from downtown, a cab would cost a lot and you don’t wanna show up at 3am smelling like booze either, so it’s always better to spend the night somewhere else), so we went to her place to leave our stuff and get ready for a night out. Personally, I don’t like carrying bags or stuff when I go out, so I only took a 100 RMB, put it in my pocket, and that was all the money I had on me! We went to this bar, where my friend’s friend met other friends…typical night. Back then, I didn’t use to drink alcohol, but my friend was a bit drunk already, and decided that we both would spend our nights separately, and we could meet the next day in the morning in the same place. With no phone, no place to go, no idea of my host family’s address , with only 100 RMB in my pocket and the disappearance of the girl that was supposed to put us up, I had no other choice than accept to be hosted by the guy I spent the night talking and dancing with. Of course I was freaking out for obvious reasons, and going home with random dude I just met wasn’t something that I had done before. We arrived at his place, super far, and then I crashed on his couch where I couldn’t sleep at all. The next morning he accompanied me to the subway, and explained to me how to go back to the place we were last night. The problem was… that I forgot the name of the station I was supposed to get off at, so I’m standing on the platform, wondering which one of the trains I should take, and I got in the first that arrived. I took a seat, and at the same time this Chinese dude sat next to me, so I just poked his arm and asked “ni hui shuo yingyu ma?” (can you speak English?). I told him I needed to go to Sanlitun and I had no idea how to get there, he didn’t know either so he offered to help me, but he said he needed to say bye to a friend first. So I came with him to the airport express station, where his friend is, with his family, and other friends were, and this guy is telling the story of how I got lost, and everyone is laughing and saying I’m crazy and brave. At the end, my brain snapped and I remembered that the Ecuadorian embassy was in Sanlitun, so they helped me to find the address. The nicest thing was that all of them were going to the airport to say bye to that guy who was moving to the U.S., but the guy who was with me just said bye at the station so he could help me. Awesome guy, at the end all was good, met my friend who was worried since I was late, but I had a quite funny experience getting lost and meeting random and nice people.
2) And here comes the second story. I was spending Chinese new year with my host family in this place I named Hell Town, a horrible city in northeast China where even God forgot its existence. Typical, small Chinese developing city, with ugly infrastructure, and the only “fun” thing to do was going to the mall to get pearl tea. I hated that place. Anyways, the Chinese New Year ’s Eve, the family did this huge dinner, with a lot of beer and baijiu (Chinese alcohol). The uncles of the kid I was taking care of, asked if I drank alcohol, I said a little bit, so after giving me a beer, they handed me this Baijiu. I took a shot…. Then another one… and I ended up drinking with 4 men, like 3 bottles of this baijiu myself and a lot of beers, gambeing, because once you started, Chinese people won’t leave you alone and basically force you to drink if they see you can handle it. The last thing I remember from that night was saying to the kid “ok! Now let’s go play!” , then blackout, and when I sobered up I found myself sitting in the living room next to grandma, watching TV. Apparently, during my blackout we danced, I called the guy I liked to say things I don’t even wanna remember, and set some fireworks. Gotta love drinking with Chinese people! Even though I have no memory of this night, I have a lot of pics of my moment of shame. And whatever thing I said on the phone, turned out good because he became my boyfriend when I came back in Beijing. Ha! Crazy night drinking like a villager with a Chinese family!
How would you describe your life in China in 1 sentence?
Fucking random and awesome!
Would you rather stay here or would you like to come back to your country?
Going back to Ecuador? Just to get more food in my luggage and bring it back to China!
Has China changed you in any way?
In many ways… physically, emotionally, personally. This place is the shit!
Can you speak Chinese and if yes – do you have any advice for those who would like to learn?
My Chinese is conversational only, I’m studying my major in English, so I focus more on my engineering related stuff than the language itself, I keep learning it though, we get Chinese language as a subject at the university, but at slower pace. If you are interested in really learning the language: 1) avoid big cities such as Shanghai, Guangzhou or Beijing, too many foreigners and too many distractions; 2) come to the north, the more south you go, the weirder Chinese gets. Proper Putonghua is spoken in the north (specially Harbin), you can ask any Chinese, standard mandarin is spoken in this part of the country.
How is dating in China for you?
The best! You meet all these people from everywhere in the world, and you get special attention since you come from this far, is not the same saying as“I’m from Ecuador” in France and say it in China. In my case, I’m the only Ecuadorian living in the PROVINCE, which makes me feel pretty cool. You get to improve your language; in my case I improved my spoken English a lot by dating native speakers. The only thing that sucks is when you have to say goodbye, just like you, many people is just passing by figuring out stuff, so be all molo molo (go with the flow), and don’t get too attached.
Do you have any advice for other Ecuadorian girls coming here, or generally to girls from any country?
Girls from Ecuador, the moment you pack, get:
-Clothes for 2 days, you can get aaaaanything in China, and even clothes can be incredibly cheap, even brand named clothes are cheaper than in Ecuador, so no need to fill your luggage with that. But bring a t-shirt from the soccer team, even if you’re not into “fútbol”, just shup and buy it, you’ll see later.
- Gifts from Ecuador (bracelets that says Ecuador, little handcrafts, etc), you’ll meet a lot of people when you come, will make a lot of friends, and you will want to give little presents for them to remember you. I didn’t do this the first time and regret it a lot.
-Food, the rest of your luggage must be filled with food. Bring chocolate, coffee, many many many bags of chifles (banana chips), tuna cans (we have the best tuna), tostado, chulpi, and anything you might like. As I said, it will be impossible to find these things here in China, so better be prepared.
I think this also applies to girls from different countries.
What will be your next destination and do you think your Chinese experience will help you when you move to another country?
Europe to continue with my education. I really want to move to Krakow, when I went there, that place gave me almost the same feeling Beijing gave me the first time, I see myself living there, but let’s see how things go. For sure it will help me; I got the experience of living abroad and dealing with a different culture. And it’ll be awesome to party with Polish people!