Global village

The 10 expat commandments

Seasoned expat Heather Domnick has identified a few ways to beat the stress of relocation and a new life overseas. Domnick advices on expatexchange.com that troubled expats can take action to make their new lives better. Based on her report, Global Village has listed the top 10 ways to improve expat life in China.

1. Don't sweat the small stuff. How important is it really?

2. Own where you are. Think of yourself as a local.

3. Join an organization. Connect with like-minded people.

5. Be an initiator. Invite a friend to come along to see a museum.

6. Be social, even if you're not.

7. Exercise. You'll feel great.

8. Seek out Old China hands and ask: "What worked best for you?"

9. Avoid negative people. Two negatives don't make for positive.

10. Get to know the locals. Why not learn Chinese?

Language samurais

Language experts say Chinese is one of the world's hardest languages to learn next to Arabic and Japanese. So what is it like for Japanese to learn Chinese?

Japanese students at the respected Taipei Language Institute in Beijing race ahead much faster than Western students. The main reason, according to the teachers, is the similarity of Japanese characters.

Many of these students work for big Japanese companies and commit to three months of intensive training. They have six one-hour classes a day over three months, plus hire tutors after school. The Japanese students learn more than 1,500 words, understand Chinese grammar and more than 1,000 characters. It takes most Western students more than six months to achieve this result.

Mom's the word

A new culture, a new life, new friends and new schools for the kids - being an expat mom in China can be overwhelming.

In Shanghai, expat mothers have started meeting to share their experiences and build a network of support for each other.

ShanghaiExpatMoms.com was created in a bid to connect mothers so they can share useful information and their thoughts with like-minded people.

AND ANOTHER THING

Although our feature story focuses on two eager Chinese language students banning themselves from speaking English, it seems the English language has a mind of its own and is making major inroads to China. A dozen abbreviations including GDP, NBA, IT, MP3, QQ, DVD and CEO are among the 5,000 most-frequently used words in the Chinese-language media last year, according to a report on the 2006 Language Situation in China. However one of the most popular picks was "@", the symbol used for e-mail addresses.

The report said some parents are so keen on English letters that a couple tried to name their baby "@", claiming the character used in e-mail addresses reflects their love for the child. While the "@" is obviously familiar to Chinese e-mail users, they often use the English word "at" to pronounce it - which with a drawn out "T" sounds something like ai ta, or "love him", to putonghua speakers.

(China Daily 08/31/2007 page17)