I think being around people is going to be the biggest culture shock for me lol. Crazy to imagine being able to move around and do things normally because they actually handled their outbreak well.
But you're right. I can use duolingo or something to build familiarity before going, but I'm worried it'll be isolating not knowing the language well. I'd be working in an environment where English would be ubiquitous, but it's still limiting as far as social life and travel go.
In the cities there's enough English around to get by, but even knowing the barest basic Mandarin will improve your experience. It'll be hard not to pick some of it up naturally tbh, but just find a fluent speaker who you can chat with over a beer or whatever for a couple hours a week and you'll get there.
One of my favorite things was leaving the city and being utter dependant on my own Mandarin. Chinese are cool and it's nice to force yourself to speak the language.
Imo, middle class locals (from anywhere) that speak really good English and have a western mindset are basically white people. And gringos will spend their entire time with that crowd and never even try to get the county 🙄
That's reaffirming to hear. Thanks for your feedback. What about air quality? I guess it depends on which city/part of China you're in to some degree, but I'm used to very clear skies and being close enough to outdoor recreation areas that I can take advantage of that too.
I think being around people is going to be the biggest culture shock for me lol. Crazy to imagine being able to move around and do things normally because they actually handled their outbreak well.
But you're right. I can use duolingo or something to build familiarity before going, but I'm worried it'll be isolating not knowing the language well. I'd be working in an environment where English would be ubiquitous, but it's still limiting as far as social life and travel go.
In the cities there's enough English around to get by, but even knowing the barest basic Mandarin will improve your experience. It'll be hard not to pick some of it up naturally tbh, but just find a fluent speaker who you can chat with over a beer or whatever for a couple hours a week and you'll get there.
One of my favorite things was leaving the city and being utter dependant on my own Mandarin. Chinese are cool and it's nice to force yourself to speak the language.
Imo, middle class locals (from anywhere) that speak really good English and have a western mindset are basically white people. And gringos will spend their entire time with that crowd and never even try to get the county 🙄
That's reaffirming to hear. Thanks for your feedback. What about air quality? I guess it depends on which city/part of China you're in to some degree, but I'm used to very clear skies and being close enough to outdoor recreation areas that I can take advantage of that too.