Essay Series
Stories from our community
Home Away From Home is an essay contest for foreign friends who currently live in China. It is a series of unique stories written by expats to show what life in China is like for them. If you would like to participate and submit your unique story, please see the guidelines here.
Welcome to the 2nd edition of our contest. To read all the stories from the previous edition, click here. Follow Master Translations on Facebook and Instagram.
23. Dating with China. By Viktoria Radnaeva
23. Dating with China. By Viktoria Radnaeva My name is Viktoria and I was born in Siberia, Russia. I am an artist, writer and journalist. I have lived in Wuhan for the past 1.5 years and am currently finishing a master’s course in art and design at Wuhan. I have spent in China 11 […]
22. Can I be like you in three months? By Moxi
22. Can I be like you in three months? By Moxi Hi! My name is Mbuga Moses, although in China everyone calls me Moxi 莫西. I come from Kampala, Uganda, and when I was a teenager in high school, I had a P.E. teacher who was fond of bodybuilding and training. One day, I […]
21. My love story with China. By Ana Lafuente
My love story with China. By Ana Lafuente This story was originally written in Spanish. Choose “Spanish” on the drop-down menu to access it. I am Ana Lafuente, and although my roots are in Bilbao, I was born in Madrid and I feel Madrilenian from the bottom of my heart. I studied translation and specialized […]
20. What does the other side of the world look like? By Daniel Esteban
What does the other side of the world look like? By Daniel Esteban This story was originally written in Spanish. Choose “Spanish” on the drop-down menu to access it. My name is Daniel Esteban Perdomo Rincón and I was born in Bogotá, Colombia 27 years ago. I am currently an English teacher in a high […]
19. A pastry chef in China by Pol Anter
19. A pastry chef in China by Pol Anter My name is Pol Anter Campdepadrós and I am a pastry chef in China. I was born in the beautiful town of Terrassa, Spain, 32 years ago, and I’ve been a pastry chef for the past 11 years. I started at a restaurant, and from there […]
18. Do You Believe In Second Chances? Julian Quander
Do You Believe In Second Chances? By Julian Quander Do you believe in second chances? Well, I do. My name is Julian Quander and in 2010, I was blessed with an opportunity of a lifetime that would change my life forever. Well, for starters, I’m from the United States of America, and I was born […]
16. The contours of chance. By Violeta Nadurille.
The contours of chance (My story of 缘分 with China) By Violeta Nadurille Violeta wrote this story also in Spanish. Choose “Spanish” on the scroll-down menu above. There is, in Chinese, a concept called yuánfèn (缘分). It refers to the belief that there are facts that come together for something to happen, a kind of […]
15. Neighborly. By Paige Kuhn
Neighborly. By Paige Kuhn It was a hot, summer day in 2015, and I’d hardly been in China for more than a couple of months. I was walking up to my apartment building during a break between classes when a woman shouted at me from the stairway of my six-floor walkup. “美女!!!” She waved at […]
14. My Time in China: Redefining Home by Mea Andrews
My Time in China: Redefining Home by Mea Andrews Hello everyone, I’m Mea Andrews and I’m an American living and working in Beijing. I just moved here from Chongqing, and I had been living there since 2017. I came to China for the same reasons I think most of expatriates can relate to; I wanted […]
13. “F**k, I’m American.” By Joanne Ko
“F**k, I’m American” by Joanne Ko Sure, culture shock happens on both sides of a shore. “Never go to China! You have no idea how dangerous China is. Promise me you will not go!” Having grown up Chinese in America, I attracted a lot of speculation about what China and Chinese people are […]
12. The ‘link’ between Xiamen and Medieval Europe! By Daniel Mayers
“The ‘link’ between Xiamen and Medieval Europe!” By Daniel Mayers Hello everybody! I’m Daniel from London, UK. I’m a Chinese language undergrad student at Xiamen university, and I’ve been here for three years. I want to share a story about my unique hobby and how I managed to set it up in China! I […]
11. Xiamen fever. Maria Malakhova
“Xiamen fever” by Maria Malakhova My name is Maria Malakhova, I am from Siberia, Russia. I have been in Xiamen for almost 8 years. On the way home for a break, I stopped in Beijing for a day to visit the Great Wall, so I didn’t have to answer questions like “How come you haven’t […]
That’s all for the 2nd Edition of Home Away From Home by Master Translations.
