Re qing

An Adventure

My China adventure started in 2007. I wanted to take an exciting holiday. Having always been interested in China, its people and culture, of course it was a natural choice. It was also different enough from my home country of Canada to present quite an adventure. While I did have an exciting and interesting trip, and saw hundreds of incredible sights on my meandering trip from Beijing southward, I was surprised about how little of an "adventure" it was. The country was well-developed, orderly, and civilized. I was very pleased to learn this, and intrigued to return.

After returning to Canada, I couldn't stop thinking about China. Watching the 2008 Beijing Olympics on TV sparked my interest even further. I resolved that I would return to China, and this time, for a longer period of time. I left my job as a clerk and went to teachers' college. I got my diploma, and immediately started looking for jobs in China.

Here, my path differed a little from a lot of other foreigners. I wasn't interested in the glistening towers and foreign amenities that would await me in one of China's tier-one cities. I wanted something a bit smaller, a bit slower, where I could immerse myself in the local culture. I knew that if I chose Beijing or Shanghai, I'd have a wonderful time in a great city. But I also knew I'd fall into the trap of just doing the "expat thing". I didn't want that.

Re Qing

I arrived in Jilin City by sleeper train from Beijing early on a brisk September morning in 2009, with a plan to stay and teach for a year. I hate to admit it now, but I was unimpressed with what I saw from my train window. Northeast China is (unsurprisingly) a lot different than other regions, but I didn't really know everything about how it would be different. It looked… plain.

Many places in China have an immediate and obvious charm. Beijing with its history and importance, Shanghai with its gleaming skyscrapers and vibrant modernity. Guilin has its natural beauty, and Hong Kong is like nowhere else on earth. Jilin is a city that reveals its charms more slowly, but the breadth and depth of these charms is moving once you've experienced them.

As soon as I was out and about in the city, I began to realize how warm and helpful the people of what would become my second hometown really were. Though I didn't, at the time, speak more than a few words of Chinese, and the good people of Jilin didn't have the English skills of the tourist-driven cities further south, communication was never a problem. Everyone had an honest and heartfelt desire to help me at every turn as much as they could. I had been in the country for just a few days now, and it already felt like home. Everyone treated me as if I was home.

Of course, immersion in a language gets you speaking it quickly, even without formal study. And I needed to speak Chinese for my daily needs. But, in addition to learning how to order in a restaurant and take a taxi, I learned other words, too, in my first year. And the one that sticks with me is 热情. There is no better way to describe the people of Northeast China than 热情. If you put it into a Chinese-English dictionary, the definition you come up with is "warmth". But there's more to 热情 than that. There is no English word to describe it properly. It's a way of life, a way of being that reaches deep into the heart of every Northeast Chinese person.

A New Life

A year turned to two, then three. Though I had come with no intention of settling here, I met someone, got married, and started a family. I've watched Jilin, and China, grow up around me with astonishing speed. I went from being an outsider who couldn't speak the language, to someone raising a family in this wonderful country. Jilin went from being a place to stay a year, to my adopted home, to, now, my real home.

It has to be said that my decision to stay here was reinforced dramatically with the arrival of COVID-19. Its shocking arrival caused heartache for many, especially in the great city of Wuhan. But no other country in the world has managed the crisis as well as China has. China took the correct steps necessary to ensure the health and safety of everyone here, and for that I am eternally grateful. The country really has the best interests of its residents at heart. I am so thankful that I was in China throughout this period.

I look forward to the coming years, and I look forward to continuing to contribute to the strong and prosperous future of this great country, through educating its bright and hopeful young people. China has made me who I am today, and, I like to think, has made me a bit more 热情.

Noel came to Jilin City in 2009 to teach English. Two schools, a marriage, and a daughter later, he's still here in his new home town.

The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of China Daily and China Daily website.