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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”.

A Beijinger from Austria

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 ]