I never really expected to go and live in China, and then it happened. I was given an opportunity to work there, and I took it despite being warned about it by people who don’t know shit about China but only from what they see on the news about it. Even some told me that it would be dangerous for me to live and work over there, but actually before I lived over there, I’ve never felt safer anywhere else until I got there other than maybe South Korea. Over there, I would walk around 3 AM in the morning with no people around and yet did not feel threatened, and I did for countless nights either with someone or just by myself. Actually before I worked over there, I never thought that a foreigner like me could work over there. I thought a foreigner was not allowed to work over there unless they work for foreign company which is based over there. I guess we all have this preconceived notion about some country, which is most of the time created by what the media feeds us and people who also have this preconception. On the other hand, it wasn’t like I didn’t know anything about China before I went there. I had a lot of knowledge about China from Chinese movies. No, not just the Hong Kong movies, which are quite different from Mainland Chinese movies. Before coming to China, I was already fascinated by its culture from watching all these Chinese movies and already knew some knowledge about its culture, but of course, not as much as until I got to live there. So when the chance came for me to live and work there, it was almost a dream come true. And I was not disappointed at all. It was the best experience of my life, which I will never forget. At first, I thought that living in France was a great experience, but compared to China, there’s a wide gap between the two. Of course, France was a pretty good experience too. Thanks to my ex-wife who was French. But she was not the typical French just because she was born and raised in Milan, Italy, so she was a lot warmer than the typical French. Nevertheless, I still do love the French culture too, but even though, I made some French friends, for the most part, most French are not that friendly and warm. But then again, this assumption is based on my experience, so I could be wrong. Sorry to digress, but maybe later on, I will write about my experience in France. But for now, time to go back to China. Now why do I love China? The country itself is quite beautiful, so that’s one of the reasons. But one thing that really made me fall in love with China is its people. Before I came to China, some people told me that the Chinese are these and that, but it was completely different. The Chinese people were so welcoming and helpful. While over there, I made so many close friends, and I consider my friends for life. When I need something, more than one Chinese friend is willing to help. I felt like I belong to a community, and having left China two years ago, I am really missing that camaraderie. And I still keep in touch with most of my friends in China, and it is so sweet to get a message from them that I am always welcome to go back to China. I feel quite stable in China, but since I am a foreigner who has to renew his visa every year, it can be quite daunting. I wish I could become a permanent resident, but that is not possible. So in a way, I am torn between staying for good in China and should I consider other countries where I could settle in for good. I definitely want to have a business somewhere in order to keep me grounded in one place, and China would be good, but based on what I heard, as a foreigner, it can be unstable. Probably it would be more stable if I marry a Chinese woman, but when you marry a Chinese, the only visa you get is the right for you to visit her. But of course, the foreigners who married a Chinese woman always find a way to stay and work. I don’t know how, but maybe there is some kind of loophole that they have to go through, which I never really had the chance to find out. Anyway to a lot of people outside of China, they see China in a different way, but life in China is as normal as anywhere else. I do hear some horror stories, but as long as you stay clean and follow the rules just like in any country, anyone definitely can adapt. The way I see it, there is no perfect country, and every country has its positive sides and negative sides. Just look at the US right now. Everyone thinks it is an almost perfect country, but with the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, it exposes its dark side some more and its underlying problems such racism, corruption, lack of unity, terrible healthcare system, etc. Before everybody thinks that its government is the most ideal system in the world but not really. It also has problems. Anyway going back to China, I feel like over there, there is a sense of community and social harmony. And that is something I really love. Of course, just like any other countries, it is also not perfect. It also has some problems, but it is not the way the Western media portrays it to be. Well, hopefully I am able to go back there. I am now working on my paperwork to get my working and resident visa. Once that is completed, hopefully it will open its borders so I could enter. For three years that I was over there, I never really did any blog or vlog about China, but this time, I would do it just to show the world that China is not as bad as what the Western media portrays it to be. But anyway for now, I will be in Hong Kong, which is also part of China but as a Special Autonomous Region.
