Two worlds

The last week was full of contradictions and thus kind of exemplifies the point of life at which I am currently. I spent the weekdays in Shanghai, visiting production facilities and glitzy offices of mostly German companies, where I had the chance to learn about their activities in the Chinese market, the development of local industries and their view on the future of China. And most importantly I could get to know some people and “find inspiration” for the internship that I’m going to do from July until December this year. It was a great trip and our organizer from DAAD did an amazing job selecting companies and scheduling the visits and activities. At the same time, I was a bit overwhelmed by the business-mindedness of the Shanghai I saw. The people we met ranged from ambitious to ultra-ambitious and every second alumni of our program seems to carry the job description business consultant. Shanghai as a city is the perfect backdrop to this, with its endless malls, skyscrapers, megaprojects and lush lifestyle. Out of all mainland Chinese cities, this is the most cosmopolitan it gets. Not speaking Mandarin is no problem, as even waiters in restaurants are often fluent in English. If it wasn’t for the Chinese characters everywhere, central Shanghai might as well be New York or Sydney. The city is bustling, full of young people who want to make it to the top. There are lots and lots of foreigners, over half of the German business activity in China takes place in and around Shanghai (in comparison: Beijing has about 18%). It’s very easy to imagine working here, with all the amenities and the lifestyle one is used to from home so one can focus on doing business. But exactly that feeling of everybody working hard and meticulously planning their next steps on the career ladder irritates me. I like to have a balance in my life and cities that allow for this balance to exist. I have friends that are business consultants as well as friends that are in the 12^th semester of their bachelor and I’m always trying to find a middle ground between these extremes. I think living in Shanghai for years would almost certainly draw me towards the former group, since that’s what everybody is doing there.

The classic Shanghai skyline, now with LEDs everywhere in a
competition for the most memorable building

A normal Shanghai highway intersection

Another thing I noted was that pretty much every foreigner we were talking with was kind of ambivalent about being an expat in China. Everybody appreciates how exciting it is to work in an environment where things happen fast, the economy grows high speed and people are more optimistic and motivated. At the same time nearly everyone acknowledged that China is not and will never be a home, it’s a place where you’re going because of your professional ambitions. The Chinese government wants it to be that way, foreigners are allowed because they add value to the economy, but if they lose that ability, they’ll have to leave (I’ve heard of exceptions for mixed couples, but those visas seem to be extremely difficult to get and require endless documentation). There’s no path to Chinese citizenship for foreigners (not that many would want it anyways, but the sheer fact says a lot about the attitude of a country I think) and even the greencard (also extremely difficult to get) expires after 10 years. And of course, all these regulations and laws are only worth so much, they could change overnight or just being bent or broken with no chance of objecting to that in court. So while you usually feel welcome on a personal level, knowing that you’re always considered a temporary guest worker and possible threat by the government is not really conducive to creating a comfortable atmosphere. Some of the people I met will have a really tough time going back to Germany after decades spent abroad, possibly with kids that know the country only from visiting their grandparents once a year.

Bottom line, the dilemma every expat in China is facing is the one between curiosity/ambition (triple your salary and get to a senior position in 10 years) and the desire to have a stable life and safe future for themselves and their families. Right now I can’t imagine that one day I’ll be willing to make this trade off. Hold me accountable a year from now.

Professional af

On Friday, right after our last appointment at a headhunting agency (confirming my bias about what headhunters are doing), I took a flight to Taipei and arrived at my friends Pavel’s place around midnight. From the time I saw the lights of the island (Taiwan’s westcoast is basically one huge city as population density is thrice that of Germany) I got excited like a kid on Christmas Eve. My semester in Taiwan was among the best times in my life, I made a ton of long-lasting friendships with locals as well as Berliners that were on exchange with me. And even though Taipei is not a very beautiful place and lacking the shiny vibe of a city like Shanghai, the moment I arrived here I felt happy. The city is full of people, small shops, backyards, parks and lanes, nothing like the huge malls and office blocks of Shanghai or Beijing. Thanks to the tropical climate, everything is green and for the first time in months I’m not scared my skin cracks open when I’m bending my back. And then there are the people. The first time I walked into a supermarket to buy a beer, the cashier lady gave me a compliment and huge smile for my Chinese, had a small chat and welcomed me to Taiwan. Conversations like this one just don’t happen in China, period (they wouldn’t happen in Germany either). I think it’s fair to say that Taiwanese are the friendliest people in the world and I urge everybody reading this to go and verify that themselves.

Night market, a favorite evening pastime in Taiwan

Typical small lane in central Taipei with the 101 in the background

The change in lifestyle was fairly intense, from networking in the German business community to partying with a bunch of exchange students, artists and good-for-nothings. The big difference I observed is that the foreigners living here long-term are not doing it for their careers (it’s really the wrong place for that purpose), but because they love Taiwan. It’s a place where you can enjoy yourself and have a comfortable life with comparatively little money. It also has a considerable crowd of weird and artsy hedonists that are barely existing in China. Their lifestyle is a bit too much for me, but I like them as a symbol for a society that allows individuals to express themselves freely. I guess in the long run I could get bored here and the life of an exchange-student is probably not sustainable, but for the moment I just love to see that Taiwan is still the small paradise that I’ve had in mind. We’ll see what the future brings, I’m confident I’ll be able to continue to find a middle ground between business consulting in Shanghai and sitting on a bench in front of a club in Taipei at 5am.