To be honest, I never wanted to be associated with China from the time my dad lost his life savings in a failed business venture in his hometown of Hainan Island (Hainan is in China). My impression of Chinese citizens had not been good, thanks mainly to his business failure, mainstream media and subsequent experiences with women from mainland China (both personal and witnessed through friends).
China has developed and evolved rapidly since my dad lost his business, but I always thought that despite its progress, I could live a life where I did not have to interact with mainland Chinese. It seems ironic that I became the only eligible employee in my company to take the post of finance and administration manager for China operations. And so I moved to Shenzhen, and with a positive mindset, made the best of my time there.
I would not have imagined that my first girlfriend in 7 years would be from China (well, technically Macau, a Special Economic Zone of China) - Calvin Harris's "We Found Love" keeps ringing in the back of my mind (hence the title of this post).
Having been posted from New Zealand to Shenzhen, I was still trying my luck with mobile dating apps scanning the region for new friends. I found greater success compared against my previous country of residence, and became acquainted with ladies from Hong Kong, Macau and surprisingly, China (one of the apps requires logging onto Facebook, which is banned in China).
Some went smooth, some went terribly, but eventually I met someone whom I felt totally at ease with; who could tolerate my pickiness over food and sleep habits; and enjoyed our time whether we were hiking up a mountain, stitching a leather bag or doing nothing.
Candy has been the sweetness in my life since moving to China, and I hope this continues for a long, long time to come.
China has developed and evolved rapidly since my dad lost his business, but I always thought that despite its progress, I could live a life where I did not have to interact with mainland Chinese. It seems ironic that I became the only eligible employee in my company to take the post of finance and administration manager for China operations. And so I moved to Shenzhen, and with a positive mindset, made the best of my time there.
I would not have imagined that my first girlfriend in 7 years would be from China (well, technically Macau, a Special Economic Zone of China) - Calvin Harris's "We Found Love" keeps ringing in the back of my mind (hence the title of this post).
Having been posted from New Zealand to Shenzhen, I was still trying my luck with mobile dating apps scanning the region for new friends. I found greater success compared against my previous country of residence, and became acquainted with ladies from Hong Kong, Macau and surprisingly, China (one of the apps requires logging onto Facebook, which is banned in China).
Some went smooth, some went terribly, but eventually I met someone whom I felt totally at ease with; who could tolerate my pickiness over food and sleep habits; and enjoyed our time whether we were hiking up a mountain, stitching a leather bag or doing nothing.
Candy has been the sweetness in my life since moving to China, and I hope this continues for a long, long time to come.
