Introduction to "Life in China - Stories, Experiences and struggles told by Aupairs" – An Article Series by Anon Ming

This serial article had been a personal joke for a long time. When I returned from my travels to China, in 2018, I told my friends and family how funny it would be to write down all the stories and people I had met. The experience of living in China for almost a year. Share what I personally had been confronted with and how it shaped my opinion about a country so controversially represented in the worldwide media. Especially, strongly was this idea renewed after having studied Sinology for a long time and being faced with much prejudice in research and from other people, who liked to question my morals because of direction of study.

And one October day, almost 4 years after my gap year, I just sat my ass down and did it. Didn’t overthink it anymore. Because the year had already been strange and somehow, I stopped caring what people would say and would think about the foreigner telling the world about her life, share what her diary had accumulated over those 11 months abroad. The new, old, differences and beautiful moments.

Like, so many authors have done before. 

Maybe this will help me also relive the time I spent in China, because if I had the chance and could travel back in time and ignore all the possibilities of the past, then I would go back to those moments. I would want to see myself again in that million people city, travel through those other countries and be faced with all the struggles of an Aupair in China.

I am not sure what the purpose of these articles would be.

Perhaps teaching other younger people to think carefully about their gap year destination. Or helping some others to get out of their shell, try out something unusual and stop listening to the voices telling them that they are insane or weird. Because if you haven’t tried something weird in your life, where do all the stories in those books come from? For another reader it could be a little look into another person’s life, how they have witnessed a country from another perspective. For this purpose other Aupairs from across the world, who have staid in China will be sharing their own stories over the course of this series.

So, be open minded when you read these pages. Put yourself in the boots of an 18-year-old. Try to imagine the world in her eyes, what she still had not seen and what new things she was about to learn. All written down, many years later, through the words of a 23 year old.

And allow other voices from different countries and ages be the narrator of their past lives in other families, cities and culture talk for the first time through a publication and recall their time in China. The good and bad times.

This is an eye opener. And maybe also can give someone a slight chuckle.

Because I am not a serious person and the experiences I had on the other side of the world were definitely not average. As was no one's.

Lean back, grab a cup of tea and forget all your prejudice against Aupair and don’t make a country all about its politics.

 

Disclaimer:

All the names of friends, strangers and characters in the stories have been altered or changed completely. Only the countries of origin will stay the same.

Every interviewed and mentioned Aupair has given their consent for appearing in this format with altered or redacted names.

 

Anon Ming

Zuletzt bearbeite von:: Joost Brokke
Letzte Änderung: 19.12.2022
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