Great expat-ations

Name: Diba Kader

Age: 46

Nationality: Bangladesh

Time in China: Twenty-one years

Why choose China?

My husband's job brought us here. However, we fell in love with Beijing and decided to make it our home.

Doing What?

I started working as an early childhood teacher in my second month of arrival in Beijing and have ever since been teaching in international schools.

Language?

I speak Bengali, English, Chinese and Hindi. My spoken Mandarin is near native, but I can't read or write the language. This is because I've never studied it or taken lessons - just picked up by listening.

Relationship?

I've been married to Mamnoon for 20 years. He is a great father, singer, cricketer and also an amazing cook. He provides the inspiration and support behind a lot of my achievements. He'll be surprised to read this as we have a playful relationship and I don't usually make such serious comments about it.

Food?

Beijing is one of the most happening food capitals - the variety is mind-boggling. Sichuan and Xinjiang are some of my favorite cuisines. We recently discovered Haidilao, a Sichuan hotpot restaurant in Xidan - their 50 plus sauces/sprinkles come with English names and a 3 yuan unlimited lemonade! The presence of pork/lard in restaurant menus, particularly in buffet lunches and dinners, sometimes restricts our meat options, but there is also the unbeatable selection of Chinese vegetable dishes to choose from.

Money?

I think China is one of the best places in the world for expats to have a quality lifestyle without spending huge amounts of money. While the costs of basic essentials like housing, children's education, medical facilities etc are growing, the luxuries of life are quite affordable here. Besides, money was not the major reason for us to choose Beijing as our home.

Future?

Where we are in future will probably be tied to our two children's higher education. We'd like to be close to where they live/study - but we'd like our son to finish his high school in an international school here.

(China Daily 08/03/2009 page10)