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China receives a growing number of qualified young foreigners, eager for adventure and job opportunities that the Asian superpower is, today, capable of providing.
Alberto and Rocío, two Spanish university professors who came to the country totally on the adventure six years ago, launched the book "China with no strokes: six years in the Asian giant" to help us understand this culture and adapt to it satisfactorily.
More and more young foreigners are marching to China to carve a future: professors, scholars, entrepreneurs, quality technicians or designers, among others.
There are already around 600,000 resident expats.
The Asian giant is developing at a dizzying speed and job opportunities for foreigners increase in countless labor sectors.
Now, it is not easy to adapt to a culture so different and complex away from Western standards.
This is the reason why a large percentage of them decide to return home earlier than expected.
The language, the food, the customs, the schedules, the manners or a controversial government, are some of the difficulties that appear after the arrival in Mandarin land.
To achieve full adaptation, a large dose of patience is necessary along with a desire for exploration and search for new stimuli that not everyone feels.
Without these two ingredients, the challenge seems very complicated.
Back in April 2012, Alberto, a native of Jerez de la Frontera, and Rocío, a jiennense from Murcia, decided to set sail for this immense country, one of the most different and exciting for them.
There was a total and absolute regression to childhood.
Their faces conveyed their own enthusiasm at an early age and the difficulties that awaited them barely took center stage in their minds.
Illusive ignorant with an unusual happiness, were preparing to take an important step that surely would not leave them indifferent.
"When motivation is high, courage is not necessary," that is his motto.
Without knowing a single word in Mandarin except for the "no hao" manido, without work and without acquaintances who were waiting for them upon arrival, they landed at the Canton International Airport ready to adapt to one of the most different cultures with one of the governments most controversial in the world.
They have just released their first book "China without a blame: six years in the Asian giant", available on Amazon.
According to them, “This book is not a travel guide at all, but rather a long journey of adaptation to a different and sometimes hostile scenario, which has satisfied our anxieties of curiosity and concerns, as well as allowed us to give you a Fresh portrait of Chinese society. â€
There is also room for funny anecdotes that have helped them draw conclusions, tear down numerous stereotypes and confirm many others.
They touch on issues such as censorship, machismo, creativity, practicality, business, leisure, Eastern philosophy, Asian innocence, emotional repression, social and family pressure, social classes, national scandals or conflicts between minorities.
All this based on real personal experiences, in multiple interviews with protagonists of the complex Chinese reality and in a long research process, always trying to make a comparison with the western society from which they come.
The situations they have faced are analyzed from a psychological perspective, not complying with the mere description in cultural or social terms, but also deepening in the individual minds of the citizens who speak.
"To deepen a culture there is no other than to enter the psyche of the individuals that compose it" they tell us.
For anyone who is willing to visit or reside in this nation, fond of Asian culture or interested in learning about the process of adapting to a complex and different society, this book will be very useful.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Alberto Belmonte Balao.
Psychologist and professor at Hainan University in China.
Restless traveler fond of visiting remote places away from the tourist circuit, a lover of nature and committed to the faithful reality of our peoples.
He has made numerous trips through South America, Africa, Europe and Asia.
Rocío Laorden Ruiz.
Professor at Hainan University in China.
Expert in sustainable tourism, fond of anthropology and intrepid traveler.
Collaborator in various international NGOs.
In each of his trips he looks for the possibility of joining bridges between cultures.
Source: Agencias
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