A Beijinger from Austria
Editor’s note: This year marks the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up, and huge changes have been made in Beijing, capital of China, over the past 40 years. We have invited 40 foreign experts to participate in a series of interviews named “New Era, New Insight” jointly hosted by GMW.cn(The official website of Guangming Daily) and the Information Office of Beijing Municipality and share their “Beijing Stories”.
I first came to Beijing in 2002
I couldn’t speak any Chinese when I first came to Beijing
I couldn't even say “thank you” in Chinese
I spent my first year in Beijing studying
Then I worked in Beijing for a while. 开了LTL mandarin school, After that we started the LTL mandarin school, and began to teach others Chinese.
In fact, before I came to China, I didn't know anything about the country.
And after I had come here, I realized
I never thought some people could be so different
In Europe, we prefer to put things straight.
But in China, if you talk directly to people about something
Chinese may feel a little bit rude
It’s a difficult part for me
Or, we all like to bask in the sun. We like to get tanned
We think it’s beautiful
Chinese people especially like white skin
It makes me feel weird
I lived in Beijing when I first came to China
Maybe the character of northerners suits me better
I prefer the atmosphere in Beijing
Beijingers are enthusiastic
And hospitable
And they take care of you
Yes, they take care of foreigners
But, when you talk to Beijingers, there are some things you need to know
You have to think about everybody's self-esteem
You need to show due respect for their feelings. You need to be polite
You can’t make them feel embarrassed
Then Beijingers are actually similar to Austrians, they like to drink beer, eat lamb kebabs and chat
Very similar.
Honestly, it’s about the same here and in Austria
We do, too
We also like to eat some meat, drink some beer and chat after work,it’s relaxing
With friends
Actually it’s very much the same
As for me,the best part of Beijing is Beijingers
It’s a buddy feeling
Makes me feel at home
I really like Beijing
Beijing is more international than before
But my favorite thing about Beijing is that it is working hard to protects Chinese culture
So in Beijing you can feel, you are in China
What I do now is a bit like helping myself of 20 years ago
It’s really an interesting thing
And it is satisfying to me. I like doing it
[ Editor: WPY ]
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