Hello Steem Blockchain!

Living in China will teach you a lot. Here I am, a teacher in China, but every wise teacher must realize that they need to learn just as much as their students do. There is so much to experience and all the things that you used to take for granted (like communicating effortlessly with others) will become a laborious task when you start living in a foreign country as exotic as China.

That's why it is super important to be flexible and adapt to changing environments. Who can you rely on when you live in a small city in China? Nobody except yourself!

You can't expect things to be laid out for you in a way that is easy and convenient. The first few months adjusting can be difficult if you can barely speak the language and that is why it is crucial to develop your ability to become independent.
become civilized.jpg

A message from the government to urge its citizens to become "civilized"

Independence

That is why living in China has been the experience of a lifetime. When I live here alone, my intelligence is put to the test. I have had to go through so many experiences and get by on my own without the aid of others. I know some foreigners are a little spoiled. They may have a Chinese wife or friend that accompanies them 24/7 but I didn't want that. I needed to learn the language and culture for myself so that I could survive on my own. One of my values is to be self-sufficient. I don't mind relying on others from time to time, but I like to think to myself, "if they weren't here, would I be able to manage?"

If the answer is "no" then that's a sign that I need to spend more time on my own and develop a skill I'm lacking in.

Reading Chinese

Take this TV for example:
TV chinese.jpg
As you can see, it is all in Chinese. When I bought this TV, it was brand new from the Xiaomi store. You would think that there would be an English menu but nope. Unless you hack into the system and download some language pack (which I didn't feel like doing), you are stuck with Chinese. So how will I be able to select the movie I want to watch? Improve my reading skills!

This is one opportunity I used to improve my reading skills. I already knew Chinese at the time, but it is opportunities like this that encourage me to keep learning. I had to learn vocabulary related to TV and movies. The Western movies themselves are in English but the menu I need to navigate through to select them is all in Chinese. By learning how to navigate this menu, I became more independent and self-sufficient in handling the language barrier here. Some people might have given up or returned the TV back to the store, but now it is quite easy for me to use this TV.

What about ordering food?

As you can see from the picture above, this menu includes a picture of the dishes. This is what many foreigners rely on! They pray to God that whatever restaurant they go to, they can see a picture of the dish and just choose based on that because they can't read any Chinese. But that also limits your choices because many restaurants don't include a picture of all the dishes so you don't know what you're missing out on!
street food menu.jpg
Check this guy for instance. He works at a street food stall making BBQ. How will you know what he is selling if you don't know how to read Chinese? The menu in the back shows it all but there are no pictures. If you can't see what he has, you'll miss out on some tasty BBQ!

Final Thoughts

The moral of this story is to show to you how independent China has made me. I tapped into parts of my intelligence I never knew I had. It has allowed me to feel confident in a new country because I trust that I can survive on my own instead of relying on others to hold my hand everywhere I go. I can open up a bank account, get a gym membership, order food, take public transport, etc. all on my own and that allows a great deal of freedom!