Officially Employed & Almost Settled In

Three days ago, I started my first full-time job. I cannot believe I signed a yearlong contract and will receive my first paycheck of more than around 200 USD as if I had my old part-time jobs. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not doing this for the money in any means, but the realization of being on my own is definitely sitting in. The morning of the contract signing I had a cup of coffee. Not the best idea because shortly after I couldn’t tell if I was shaking from the caffeine or the excitement of beginning this new chapter.

Taking this leap of faith was something I was confident with. I can easily get by with my Chinese here in China even though it is nowhere near close to being fluent (and I don’t have a Beijing accent - future blog posts will tell great stories about this). Some people don’t have ANY Chinese language background at all, but they still make it! Just because the language is so foreign does not mean that it is impossible to even vacation here. Every metro sign has the written out pronunciation of the stop, most menus have pictures, some young people speak English, and on top of that, there is always gesturing! That’s the most fun one because sometimes you just look like a fool, and they don't even understand what you are saying. It's all a part of the experience in my opinion.

Now this part of the post is a little more personal, but I wanted to share with the world honestly about my experience. I’ve decided to reflect upon this experience before I got lost in the repetition of everyday life. With that being said, these are some thing I am looking forward to:

• Being a minority – In the U.S.A., being white and having white privilege is something people definitely overlook every day. Living here in China puts it into a different perspective when you get called 老外 (laowai) which means foreigner over and over again. It also challenges me more to prove to people that I can speak the language and that I can survive in a country that is so foreign to people. Most importantly, I want to become accustomed to this unique culture that I will call home for the next year.
• Being an expat – Working abroad has always been my dream, and now it’s finally happening! I want to take advantage of meeting more people in the same boat as me and networking with as many people as possible. You never know where one connection will take you.
• Having a full-time job - I love working and probably will end up being a work-a-holic, but I am looking forward to that this first year. I want to get my schedule down to a routine while at the same time challenging myself to become the best teacher that I can possibly be.
• Exploring a new, incredibly large city – Beijing has an endless amount of activities to do, places to see, and food to eat. I want to explore as much as possible and see what all it has to offer. This may involve meeting people to play ultimate Frisbee with or even finding a new delicious restaurant! I am willing to do whatever is necessary to fuel my adventurous spirit.
• Having an apartment – After a long, stressful weekend of apartment searching, we have found a place. A nice 3 bedroom with 2 bathroom apartment with a park in the apartment complex and many restaurants (international and Chinese) right outside the main gate. I cannot wait to sign the contract and move in. This will be my first time having my own place besides living in a dorm, and I look forward to making it our new home.

And these are some things that I expect of myself (AKA realistic goals):

• Meeting people from all over the world – Once a month, I want to think about the friends I have made and make sure that I am still reaching out to new people, as well as maintaining the old friendships that I have made.
• Learning how to teach – Thankfully, my company has many resources to further our education in teaching, and I want to be proactive in learning something new about it every single week to better myself.
• Teaching the children – The reason I am teaching is for these children, and I want to make sure that they are making improvements. I will evaluate and adjust my teaching style to make sure that they are learning as much as possible.
• Managing money well – Being the first time receiving a salary in this amount, I want to make sure to save a good chunk of it and start being a responsible adult when it comes to money. This means following a budget as closely as possible while still being able to enjoy life.

I will leave you with a picture of the subway map just giving you an idea of how big this city of 25 million people really is.