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.
10. Guangzhou – my home in South East China. Holly Ann
“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 […]
9. At Home in the Classroom. Sam Keir
At Home in the Classroom by Sam Keir Getting to Xiamen I am a bit of a self-confessed teaching geek. Both my parents, a sister, uncle and in-laws work in various education roles in the UK. My teenage-self swore I would never be a teacher because of this! By accident or design, I find […]
8. My unique person. Casey Ellzey
My unique person by Casey Ellzey Hello, I am Casey Ellzey. I’m an American teacher, and I specialize in Asian history and early childhood education. I have been in China nearly three years now. My story isn’t an unlikely one, but it is one I never thought I would find myself in. My goal […]
7. Peacefulness is home to me. Ali Adat
Peacefulness is Home to Me. By Ali Adat My name is Ali. I was born in 1993 and was raised in Yemen in a small city called Aden. I am fluent in 5 languages, namely Arabic, English, Chinese, Swahili and Hindi-Urdu. Since the war started in my country I could not stay because it […]
6. Faith in Xiamen. Faith Bautista
“Faith in Xiamen” by Faith Bautista By FAITH BAUTISTA, Filipino, Attaché of the Philippine Consulate General in Xiamen since July 2019. Faith and Philippine Consul General in Xiamen at Jichuan Gate I am a diplomat. And with postings in Vienna, Brussels and Berlin, I considered myself “Eurocentric”. Coming to Xiamen was a difficult choice. […]
5. Choosing China. Gerhard Uys (Ace)
Written by Gerhard Uys (Ace) from South Africa Back in 2017, whenever I heard the word ‘China’ I associated it with an enormous country with countless people and buildings and polluted air everywhere. I wanted to explore this enormous country, but I was also afraid of the unknown. Then my brave cousin took a leap […]
4. Life’s a Beach. Anvita Ramakrishna
“Life’s A Beach: My Journey from One Coastal City to Another” by Anvita Ramakrishna Coming to China was such an incredible happenstance. I used to learn Chinese as a hobby back in my hometown and now I’ve been living in Xiamen for almost 3 years! I still remember my first day here so vividly. I […]
3. My Blessed Guangzhou Life. Namrata Motiani
“My Blessed Guangzhou Life” by Namrata Motiani Namaste, everyone. I am Namrata and I am truly blessed, grateful, thankful and feel very fortunate with my life. 16 years ago, life brought me here with my small family – my husband and two lovely daughters. Before coming to Guangzhou, we were in Jakarta, Indonesia where we […]
2. The fabulous “sweet” destiny of Melody. Melody Pace
This article is originally written in French, choose French on the drop-down menu above to see the original. I have always been fascinated by China, the country of the panda, since I was a little girl! A fascinating and intriguing country at the same time. Flashback to when I was getting ready to join […]
1. Voyage au centre de moi-même. Alain Thirion
We are honored to launch the Second Edition of Home Away from Home with Monsieur Alain Thirion’s story. Mr. Thirion from Belgium has lived in China for 30 years and is now retired in Xiamen. This article is originally written in French, choose French on the drop-down menu above to see the original. Journey […]
That’s all for the 2nd Edition of Home Away From Home by Master Translations.
