Happy New Year!

Expats get together to celebrate New Year in China

Aquestion expats living in China are frequently asked during the yearend holidays is “How are you going to spend the New Year?” When I first heard this question in China in 2016, it served as an uncomfortable reminder that I was alone in a foreign place.

It was my first time in China and I had been in Beijing for four months. I was almost at the halfway point of a 10-month international master’s program at the Communication University of China. Hearing this question was like a confirmation that I would spend the festive season in China. I felt uneasy, unsettled at being in such a distant land so far away from my home in South Sudan.

By this stage I had somewhat acclimatized to the newness of living in Beijing. I was acquainted with my 16 student colleagues coming from nations across the continent of Africa and the Institute of Communication Studies department faculty. Moreover, I had already acquired a Chinese name that made it easier to connect with the locals. Yet this was unchartered territory for me. I was away from family, from friends, from traditions and customs that I am used to. So how could I spend my New Year Day in China? This was an issue that I was not facing alone at the time.

According to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in 2016, there were over 440,000 internationals studying in China. This meant that China is the third most popular study destination for international students worldwide. In 2015, China also became the second most popular study destination for African students with almost 50,000 in the country, a number that is always on the rise.

Although more and more Chinese people are indulging in activities related to international holidays like Christmas, they have holidays revolving around their traditional calendar rather than our Gregorian calendar. The New Year we celebrate is known as Yuandan in Chinese, but it does not hold as much significance as the Chinese New Year, usually in late January or early February. In China, the New Year we celebrate on January 1 is often treated as a day to relax or a day to shop; others may even book a day’s leave for short travel. In 2017, Forbes said Asia could potentially outspend the West when it came to west-based holidays. I, however, didn’t intend to shop and staying home would leave me homesick.

In South Sudan, New Year is a time to spend singing, dancing, beating drums, wearing new clothes to signify the New Year’s arrival, eating and playing games with friends and family. That’s what I sought in Beijing, so I attended a number of events to gain inspiration during the month of December. One notable event was an end-of-year bonanza with a group of Ghanaians that had organized a special for Africans and other internationals in Beijing. The event featured dancing, African food and music, a crowd of around 300 people, and an eclectic blend of Chinese and foreigners. At this event, I saw that those living abroad didn’t have to stay homesick if they were proactive in seeking a community that would celebrate with them. I realized that even in Beijing, you could have a splendid celebration when you feel at ease with your surroundings. So I explored and made some inquiries. After asking the Chinese Embassy in Juba, South Sudan, and the South Sudanese Embassy in China, I found out that there was a large body of international students in China in 2016, of which at least 81 were from South Sudan, and half of whom were in Beijing.

I connected with them and discovered a new group of colleagues and friends from home. I spent my New Year with this group of people and other foreign friends I had made in my first four months in Beijing. In the end we had a simple celebration; we opted to have a feast at a buffet in Wudaokou in northwest Beijing. We spoke, laughed, ate and expressed joy and optimism for the coming year. As we toasted shouting, “Happy New Year!” at the arrival of 2017, I thought to myself, “Finally, this feels like home.”

At the end of it, I learned a valuable lesson: Home is wherever you make it. In China I found a home away from home.

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* The writer is a South Sudanese writer based in Beijing