| Help for a new comer | |
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| Feb 12, 2008 08:20 |   |
 | Hello, I am an American who is about to travel to China for the first time. I will spend one year teaching in Shenzhen. I know absolutely no Chinese and have never been out of the US for more then two weeks straight. I have a lot of questions about the culture, finding a Christian church, cost of living, and race relations. If anyone could help me with these concerns or just give me general tips for the transition it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. |
| Feb 12, 2008 12:28 | #1 |
| Travel in China when you have finished teaching in Shenzhen. Then you may speak a bit of Chinese. But you are an American . . . |
| Feb 24, 2008 01:23 | #2 |
| There're books published about living and working in China. Check out the library or bookstore. |
| Feb 24, 2008 19:07 | #3 |
| Hello, I can recommend a book called "Culture Shock! A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette: China". It is printed by Marshall Cavendish in the US. It is intended for people who are moving to China and explains various aspects of the culture as well as providing practical information about how to set up your home. Also, in preparation for my upcoming trip I have been using the Pimsleur language program. It is an all-audio program that will help you develop the language skills to take care of everyday business. If you have some time before you leave, you can probably borrow it from your local library. Good luck! Jen |
| Feb 24, 2008 21:00 | #4 |
| Lonely Planet produce a Mandarin phrase book that I'd say is absolutely invaluable to anyone coming to live in China for a year. It'll be your constant companion for the first few months at least. Besides that, all the reading and advanced preparation in the world won't be as much use to you as just being open-minded and adventurous. Try not to come with too many pre-conceptions about what to expect. You can find churches and useful information about the areas of Shenzhen in guide books or on the internet, but it can all seem a little over-whelming and you can suffer from information over-load if you try to learn everything. Shenzhen is a very new city and is made up of Chinese from all over China. For this reason the people there mostly speak Mandarin, as this is the common dialect in China. Further along the train tracks in Guangzhou, everyone speaks Cantonese. And just across the border in Hong Kong, well, it's Cantonese again. But in Shenzhen you'll do better with a Mandarin phrase book. Hong Kong is a very western, modern, fashionable city and you'll have no problems there communicating in English. Shenzhen is also quite modern and English is reasonably wide-spread. A few basic survival phrases in Chinese would be useful before you start out, however there are foreigners who have lived there quite happily for years without learning a word of Chinese. Street signs are all in Chinese and English, or Chinese and Pinyin. Same with subway maps. Announcements on the subway are in Chinese and English. McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut and Starbucks are the 4 most popular western dining brands in China, and all the staff there speak English. China uses 220 volt AC power, which is different from the power used in the US, so if you're going to bring a computer or ipod then make sure you invest in a power converter. The power outlets are also different here, from those in the US. You can buy adapters in the US, but they are also readily available and relatively inexpensive here in China. You don't need to bring too many things with you, as you can buy just about anything you're used to back home, right here. You may find it difficult to buy certain foods, though. If Shenzhen hasn't got what you're looking for, then try finding it in Hong Kong. Down town Hong Kong is so close to Shenzhen, that it's easy to go there on shopping sprees (just as long as you've got enough pages left in your passport!). American culture is big in China. Not everything to do with America is popular here, but Chinese people tend to be very fond of American music, reality TV shows, fast food, Disney and basketball. One final piece of advice - bring photos of home or some other special thing from where you live. If you're going to be teaching kids, then they will be fascinated by all of that stuff. Plus, of course, it's nice to have something familiar around you. |
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