Ups and downs

I’m finding that my experience living in China is much more up and down than my experience living in France. Sure, there were some very frustrating parts to living in France (Ryan’s carte de sejour debacle, the FAC teachers, etc), but I never wanted to just give up and go home. The rewarding parts were always so much greater. It was easy to take pleasure in little things in France like a hot croissant in the morning or waking up to sunshine streaming through the windows. In China, I’m finding that my highs are smaller and short-lived. And there have been several points where I’ve felt I wanted to go back to the States.

To be totally honest, until Ryan finds a job, it’s up in the air. I mean, the visa regulations are such that expats usually need to go home to apply for a work visa and then return to China. Only if there’s some serious guangxi (networking relationships that are mutually beneficial – they mean everything in China), can Ryan stay in the country and apply for his Z visa. And even still, it’s not a definite. Otherwise his tourist visa will run out in 60 days and he will be forced to leave the country. If this happens, I can’t imagine myself staying no matter how much I like my job. I don’t want to be without Ryan, especially in China. It’s just more important for me to be with him.

My job is getting better. It’s been a very steep learning curve with the Salesforce system and I’m still learning as I go. I’ve only gotten a few leads to the interview stage. Mostly I’ve been calling people around the world (Japan, South Africa, Canada, the US) and leaving messages. I have my first official interview with a candidate tomorrow morning. I’ve asked my immediate boss to sit in on it with me and give me feedback afterwards. I’m a bit nervous, but as my colleagues have been telling me: the candidate should always be more nervous than the interviewer.

And I think I’ve finally figured out a routine. I leave for the office around 7 am to avoid the elevated road traffic. Andy, Nancy’s driver, picks me up and I get to work about 7:20 (this is lightning speed compared to the hour it would take in traffic). I answer emails and make calls to the US during the morning hours when there’s no one around. It’s so nice to be in the office at this time. Then Ryan meets me for lunch around noon and we head just next door to the gigantic Raffles mall food court. After lunch I answer more emails and search for leads. I can call the UK candidates starting at 4 and then it’s time to leave at 4:30. Andy picks me up and I snooze on the way home. When I get home I’m usually exhausted, but I try to get up enough energy to go to the gym and eat dinner. And sadly, I’m asleep by 10. When I have to wake up at 5:45, I just have to sleep.

So, that’s my life right now. I’m so excited for the weekend when I get to spend the entire day with Ryan. I feel like I barely see him. Welcome to the workforce, right?