Home Away From Home

Name: Tav Country of origin: South Africa Years in China: 2 Occupation: Former business analyst, current educator To me, China was always this place on my had-to-see list. Since I was little boy, I was fascinated and intrigued by this magical place with its rich culture and many different dishes that I only saw on

Name: Bode Occupation: Creative in the sports industry Years in China: 11 Years Originally from: The United Kingdom Introduction My Name is Bode, I’m an artist, a creative in the sports industry and a former UK National Champion in track & field. Over the past 22 years I have been fortunate to have a career

Name: Joyce BeelenCountry: BelgiumYears in China: 4Occupation: emerging fashion designer Hello! My name is Joyce and I come from Belgium. I’ve been living in China now for about 4 years. In the beginning, I got a job as an English teacher and at the moment I am trying to start my own business in fashion and writing a book in my spare time.

Name: Homero Augusto Fierro Ruvalcaba Country of Origin: México Occupation: Masters student at Xiamen University Years in China: 2 How did your journey in China begin? Like many people, I came here to study the language. However, whenever people ask me why I started studying Chinese, I suddenly find myself unable to simply explain it.

Name: Kristina Fedoskina Country of Origin: Russia Occupation: Master’s student Years in China: 5 years How did your journey in China begin? I never thought I would go to China, let alone live here for so long. In 2016, I was invited by Xi’an Jiao Tong University to study Chinese for a month in the

Name: Bernard Blum Country of origin: Israel Occupation: Teacher / Professor at Xiamen University School of Management Years in China: 7 How did your journey in China begin? I planned most of my life, however China was never on my radar. Living and working in China was totally unplanned but incredibly fascinating and worthwhile in

Name: Jaap Grolleman Country of Origin: Netherlands Time Spent in China: 3+ years Occupation: Marketing Director I’m writing this article while I have just started reading Peter Hessler’s Oracle Bones.  Hessler writes about the students of his English class in Sichuan, a trader who he meets in Beijing, and other Chinese people in the early

Name: Bill Aitchison Country of origin: United Kingdom Occupation: Director/Actor/Teacher in Theatre Years in China: 7 Years How did your journey in China begin? It all started when I was a student doing my masters in London. By accident, I got a part time job in the School of the Oriental and African studies so

Name: Juan Miguel Ortega Quesada Country: Costa Rica Occupation: PhD Candidate, East China Normal University, Shanghai Time Spent in China: Six years in China 2014-2018, 2019-2021 One would suppose that journeys have a beginning, a definite point of no return from which life inflects and your soles step into unknown paths bestowed with new adventures.

Name: Dr. Nic Tam Years in China: Almost 3 years Occupation: Sports Science Researcher Hometown: Johannesburg/Cape Town, South Africa How did your journey in China begin? I always had a curiosity about living in China since my family is originally from The Guangdong Province, although it was not a priority of mine. My family left