“Guangzhou – my home in South East China” by Holly Ann

 

Hello! My name is Holly Ann, I am from England in the United Kingdom (UK). Today, I am going to talk to you about my home away from home in Zengcheng, Guangzhou. In 2015, I met a guy in Manchester, who was moving to China four weeks later. I was fascinated by this. I had travelled to Hong Kong before, but I had never been to mainland China. Fast forward a few years and we have both been living here together in Guangzhou for four years, this is our fifth year in China.

A beautiful, peaceful lake in Zengcheng district.

What I love about my home in China is the kindness of the people. As a foreigner with limited Chinese, people are patient with me and make efforts to understand me. I have made so many good friends during my time living here who are keen to show me around and have adventures. My local friend even said I can use her family name, which is ‘张’, so my Chinese name is 张荷莉 (荷莉 sounds like my English name ‘Holly’). We call each other 姐姐 (big sister) and 妹妹 (little sister). That is another thing I love about China, how friends become family.

Burning the lucky money at spring festival. 

I have also been lucky enough to spend Chinese New Year with a local family here in Guangzhou and to learn about their local traditions. We made dumplings, folded and burned the lucky money, and played with fireworks and firecrackers. We also celebrated by cooking and eating together, I have learned that food is a very important part of the culture here. I love that fruit is given and gratefully received as a gift here. I also enjoy trying different local foods. One of my friends in Guangzhou has been giving me a food tour of the traditional places which has been a real treat. Her father is a chef, so they know some of the best restaurants in the city. Since living here I have also learned about some traditional crafts and arts in Guangzhou, including calligraphy, olive stone carving and ink painting. Though a local community group called Global Friendship, I have been able to make connections with local people and foreigners and participate in cultural activities. They believe in community and helping others and through them I have been able to join in with local charity work, specifically with children living in the mountains in Qingyuan.

My friend’s Cantonese wedding. 

I was also a bridesmaid or ‘sister’ for a work friend who got married last year. This was an amazing experience as I was able to learn about a traditional, Cantonese wedding. I felt very privileged to see two families coming together and witness the love between them. I enjoyed watching the tea ceremony and felt very emotional when the bride was given away by her family. There were some parallels with western weddings, but also some very different traditions. It was fantastic to see the beautiful clothes and jewelry, they were also an important part of the day. As bridesmaids, we had two dress changes and the bride had at least three.

Exploring nature in Zengcheng district. 

I have also explored our local area and experienced beautiful scenery on an unimaginable scale. I love walking and hiking and feel lucky to have so many beauty spots on our doorstep. In one of the attached photographs, I am at a waterfall in Zengcheng. The power of the water was phenomenal and we felt close to nature as we were surrounded by trees and flowers. One of the best things about living near Zengcheng is that it is famous for lychees. At this time of year, they are growing everywhere and they smell and taste so delicious.

My favourite place to eat  鸡蛋拉肠 in Haizhu

I work as an EAL (English as an additional language) teacher and this has been a valuable experience for me. I feel that through my job and chatting to my students, I get a deeper insight into daily life, culture and traditions. I enjoy eating in the school canteen with them and learning more about their opinions on food. They often berate me for not eating meat, but they approve of me eating tofu as it is healthy. Even though they are quite young (in grade 1), they have very strong ideas about how to stay healthy and believe in looking after their bodies and exercising regularly. I think that this is something which should be mirrored in the UK as there are concerns over health and childhood obesity.

A wonderful garden in Foshan with hundreds of fish.

I am from the midlands in the UK, but I lived in Manchester for 12 years before I travelled to China. Manchester is an amazing, global city and it prepared me well for living and working abroad. Being away from home is difficult and I miss my family and friends, but I am well supported here and the experiences I have had have shaped me as a person. The more I travel and the more people I meet, I have learned to celebrate the similarities and the differences. I notice that in the media there are lots of negative news reports about China. I think that this is worrying as it creates stereotypes and prejudice. I would urge people to be open-minded and if you have an opportunity to speak to and learn from people from a different culture, grab it with both hands as it will be an enriching experience which will broaden your mind and help you to think more globally.

 

 

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