My name is Almira, I am 19 and I am a third year student of BLCU (economic direction). This is my third year in China , and here are some of my thoughts about China , Chinese people and my staying here.

As we all know China is a very big developing country, I would even say it is the most developing countries for today. But as everywhere else there are few problems, especially for those who are new here. Lets start with the first few months spent here. Culture shock that would indeed become the best name for that time. The thing about China is that it is very different from the rest of the world, and there is a great possibility to see things that can bring up different emotions, can excite you can make you sad or angry, and so on. A lot of things, like exchanging money, paying bills, registering, are much more difficult to be done here then everywhere else. There are certain procedures that u have to go through that are not always very necessary. But at the same time you will have experiences that you wont get anywhere else in the world, very exciting and very surprising.

　　Chinese people are very different from other people on the way of thinking and way of life. Of course the fact that it only became an open country quite recently is one of the reasons, but also the long history, big population and so on, those things they all become the reasons. Being a foreigner in China is not really hard, if not count the fact that you will get a lot of attention, sometimes maybe too much (which is really good for finding a job, but we'll talk about this later), but generally Chinese people are quite friendly and welcoming with foreigners, which of course still doesn't mean there aren't any exceptions.

　　What about studying Chinese language, it's quite tough in the beginning, but wait until you are able to understand your first sentence, or even answer few questions, that is one great feeling, and it is then when this language starts to finally open up for you, and once you got the basics its pretty easy and exciting. Besides with all the growing interest to China it's becoming more necessary nowadays really to know it.

　　Going back to the topic of jobs, from my own experience can say that finding a part time job isn't really a problem here, and with good knowledge of English and preferably "western" face, the payment isn't going to disappoint you. The new growing generation in China nowadays (or better will be saying their parents) has a great interest in learning English. And being a teacher is not really the only option. Often I hear my foreign friends talking about their experiences in China and every time I hear people saying that it is absolutely impossible in their countries for them to have jobs they can have here. Dont believe it? Well, where else in the world can you be a model, and actor, an anchor, a host? And that's not the end of the list, the opportunities are unbelievable.

　　Another great thing about living here is that everything is very cheap, therefore you can buy things you couldn't buy before without having to think about it, you can do stuff you haven't done before without being worried that it will kill you budget. Of course on the other hand you shouldn't expect a first class service, which I think is one of the main problems here nowadays.

　　Well, those were some thoughts about life in china. If for any reason you still haven't visited this country, I think that should be the first thing on the "to do" list, because it will give you a lot of unforgettable memories, a lot of emotions and feelings, and regret wont be one of them.