Moving to China with small kids

We moved to China about 9 months ago. Frankly speaking, the initial months were crazy! Everything had to be done at the same time: cooking, cleaning, taking care of kids, exploring opportunities around, setting up housing. And it seems that only now we are starting to feel more or less comfortable here!
The main problem is language. Local People don’t speak English! They would be very happy to see your foreign face and say “Hello” but then they continue speak in Chinese, even if you say that you don’t understand them! At first it’s funny, but gradually it gets annoying. The truth is, you need to find ways to communicate. So what would be helpful:

Use your smartphone apps:
Here are some apps you definitely must have:
Baidu translator – It can translate speaking, scan characters, and you can even learn with it. Needs internet connection.
Waygo – This app lets you translate Chinese menu by hovering your phone over text.
Taobao – For online shopping
Alipay – For online payment.
WeChat – It is a free messaging & calling app that allows to send text, pictures, voice recordings and even money!

Make pictures of everything! )
You can show images of meals in restaurants to order. We did like this: We tried different food items and took pictures of what we liked to order next time.
This method can also be use for taxi services. Show them the image of the place you want to go and they lead the way.

Find a language teacher.
Chinese is not that difficult to speak, after a few months of learning pinyin you would be able to make a simple dialogues with local people, buy some things and say which way to go to taxi drivers.

Shopping!
There are a lot of shopping malls here with a variety of western brands. There you can buy some clothes and shoes. Other stuff it’s easier to buy on-line on Taobao. But you would definitely need a help of local person to pass registration. The site is in Chinese. You will also need to go to the bank to open a debit card for on-line payment and to create alipay account.
After making a few purchases with a help of your Chinese friend you will understand how to use it even in different language. The problem may appear when express courier call’s you for delivery!!! So learn the spoken language!)

Socializing.
When my eldest daughter started school, life became more interesting. We made new friends! The school has a community of parents that help newcomers settle in a new place, share useful information, spend leisure time together. We also have a group in WeChat for communication and anyone can ask any question and to ask for help. It is very convenient! So we found a farm milk, meat and bakery. With lots of help of friends from this group we know about the shops, services and events in the city!
We founded a group for moms with kids who are too young to go to kindergarten, for get togethers!
So if you are looking for an international community, choose an International school for your kids to attend! Even if you have a young baby you will find other mums with babies! And it would be very good for everybody!

Housekeeper
They call these ladies “ ayi”. If you have small kids it’s a good idea to delegate some cleaning work to somebody else.

Moving to another country most definitely is out of the comfort zone. And it is very important to remind yourself that:

– difficulties are inevitable, it is normal
– you may not feel positive always, more often than not, you have to make an effort to be positive and enjoy the change.
– It is better to slow down the pace of life. At a slower speed it is easier to fit into a steep turn of life.

So let’s be open to the new and do not not lower our hands, because with these hands we build our future and the future of our children!