Chocking China

“Which do you like a chicken toes or roasted caterpillars?” asked the local teacher when we had our first welcoming dinner. “Or do you prefer some duck blood for appetizer,” she continued, “very delicious!”. What a hell? It can’t be anything than a bad dream! But that was the reality. I can tell you now that I have been eating all of them, but on a very first week I just rejected. I had just plain rice. 

Here in the middle of China are very few foreigners, so my appearance is really a chock for many. And it was a big chock for me, in terms of the culture, food and living in general (no showers, no toilets as we know this etc). 

Countryside in China is very different from the big cities in the East. Here you can see and hear how they are killing pigs for making a dinner or meet people on a rice fields, meet oxen on a streets or say hello to a goose family living just across from your door way. 

But most importantly the people here are extremely kind. They are treating you as you would be a king (queen), they will take you every now and then to some new and cool places where you would never ever come by yourself. And here in Sichuan, here are a lot places to visit, we just don’t know it. Here starts the Himalaya.

I’m here to teach English for students in rural school in a village called Songhua. That’s a big challenge – both the students and teachers have never been outside of their home province, so I’m kind of ambassador or a window to the world. My goal is truly not to teach them English but to show that there are different kinds of people in the world; you just need to work hard and be interested in about places, cultures far away. 

For many – there will be no chance at all to leave their hometowns or if then to some bigger cities next to their homes. But that’s about it. It’s very sad to say but I might be for some the very first and very last foreigner he or she can ever talk or meet. Hopefully most of them can see the world in a broader way as their parents or teachers. 

When I’ll leave the land of rice after several months, I’ll take with me a bunch of memories, lots of good emotions, new friends and a life time experience (like eating a duck blood).

Greetings from China,

Martin

http://keskriigis.blogspot.com/

My African adventure

Spending some time abroad is never the same; everyone’s experience is different and very personal. The way and outcome depend on the place and people around You, but mostly it depends on You. Everyone who decides to live and work abroad for some time, should be ready to abandon the old ways of looking and seeing things for some time. To get the maximum out of the experience, it’s no good to only go and show the Estonian way of living, it’s useful for everybody to also try to understand the way and reasons behind the behavior of others.

My last living abroad experience was a 7-months AIESEC internship in the capital city of Nigeria – in Abuja. I was doing my marketing internship in an IT company and in the end was basically responsible for everything that happened to our brand new product. I believe that I could never have found that kind of opportunity in Estonia. I had just graduated from university and didn’t have too big of working experience, but the next thing I was helping to manage the sales and marketing department in a totally unknown environment. I could test my academic knowledge and challenge myself daily. Suddenly living and working in a culture so different from mine, I constantly had to challenge my ability to adapt, understand and accept. It was making me see new sides of myself, my home country and the whole world around me.

First month I felt dependant of my bosses and AIESEC members, because I didn’t know too many people and I couldn’t find my way around. But after some time I had created a network of new friends, I knew exactly where to go out partying, where to do my groceries, how to decline every day marriage proposals, how to find a taxi and how to bargain over the price. Being the only Estonian I just had to be open minded, eager to learn and ready to adapt. My roommate was from Colombia, so luckily I was not alone really. It was cool to not only learn about Nigerian culture, but also about Colombian. We were helping each other to get used to the totally new situation and in a way we started a whole new life together. We were both keeping in touch with our friends and relatives from back home, but the way we were living our new lives was a lot different from the ones we both had had before.

I believe I am still the same person who I was, I have the same values and many dreams and I still love humor, but I also know that now I have in many ways more experience. Some of my dreams have come true and some of them have grown bigger. I don’t only understand what I have read about the world, but also what I have seen in the world. I have many new friends, many great memories and lots of cool stories to tell. In a way the world has become smaller and I can see more connections between people and things. I have tested myself and my limits. I have become to appreciate and accept myself and others more than I did before.

Many things that irritated me about Nigerian culture in the beginning are now the things that I like the most. The first couple of months I was often upset when people were late or seemed to be too slow. Now I like the way how some people can just take things easy, not always stressing around and nervously striving for more and bigger. I like how Nigerian people appreciate their family and are not too individualistic. The food, customs, clothes, weather.. There are many things that took some time to get used to. The pepprish food made me cry for many months, but now I enjoy spicy dishes a lot. I never fully got used to the hot weather, but I do enjoy the sun and at the same time I like the snow more than I did before. I never became as religious as people around me, but I am more spiritual than I used to be. I guess I can’t even see and evaluate all the changes or influences just yet, but I do see more opportunities in the world already now.

I warmly recommend this kind of experience to everybody who is ambitious, adventurous and willing to challenge oneself and discover the world. No matter how much working experience You have, how many self development seminars You have attended or how much You have read about different countries, living and working in a totally different environment makes You discover and use even more new abilities in Yourself; it makes You understand and develop even bigger picture; it makes You appreciate what You already have and accept some more things just the way they are. 

Sincerely yours,

Birgot