Working and living experience in China

[Michelle]

I am hoping to go to China (either Shanghai, Hangzhoa or Xieman) to teach later in the year with the support of a very reputable British organisation, with my family (husband and our two young children) but my husband being British is still a little worried about going.

He has worked all his life so this will mean he will not be working and being with the kids all day (that is if they are not attending nursery) which he doesn't mind. However he seem to think life over there will be worst off for the family and rather just have the year off staying at home!!! I just think it will be a enriching experience, an opportunity to learn Mandarin and a nice way to spend a year abroad.

Can anyone give some advice on life over there and your experiences? Maybe I can get him to read them to put him more at ease.

Thanks

[Lugubert]

I'm reminded of a family I know. The wife worked with a foreign aid organization, and was transferred to a SE Asian country. Her husband stayed at home there all the time, and did an admirable job out of caring for their two (adopted) daughters (but there were of course servants aplenty, so he probably didn't have to use his quite advanced cooking skills). His main occupation besides that seems to have been playing golf. I didn't understand that he ever tried to find a useful occupation; they lived comfortably enough on her earnings, as the pay scale was Swedish and the expenditures Asian. I strongly suspect that his passivity contributed to their divorce a few years after their having returned to Sweden.

I'm not sure that any of this will apply to your case, but sincerely hope that you find a solution that will fit the needs and expectations of you-all.

[HashiriKata]

If it's just for one year, I don't anticipate anything remotely like the Swedish couple Lugubert mentioned, but just hope that you will be able to find the best way to maximize the benefit of the year in China. Does your husband like reading? You can stimulate his imagination of life in China by buying him some casual novels relating to life in modern China? He may then want to see the real thing and experience the real thing for himself.

[Celso Pin]

so... we have here a saying (more or less) : "a mind without any occupation is the devils workshop"...

[Michelle]

He's been looking forward to time off work and spend it with the children,doing things that he enjoys so he is very much sure he wants to be off work. He is finally coming around to the idea now which is good.