Warm to all things Shanghai but its winter
Nearly 180,000 expats are now living in Shanghai, making it the Chinese mainland’s No. 1 city for expats. Many of them regard Shanghai their second hometown, and they too have made great contributions to the city’s development.
How is it like living here? What do they think of their second hometown? What are their future plans? In this series, expats share their stories and experiences. To read more stories, wisit www.shine.cn/Expats-of-Shanghai/. I studied Chinese, so I thought ‘why not try to find something long term?’
I got a job at the Shanghai Centre running a summer camp for the kids who were living here. I did that for a couple of months.
The lady who was in charge of marketing at that time was also on the board of a company called “Active Kidz Shanghai.” They do sports activities for the expat children in Shanghai. On the last day I was interviewed for a position with “Active Kidz.” Then on Monday, I got a call saying I got the job. I did that for about six years.
After that I got a call from Mr Kan, the current GM of Shanghai Centre, who remembered me from my previous job in the complex. He was looking for somebody to head the marketing department. I was thrilled to get back to my “roots” and ten years later, I’m still here. manager during an entire show. I got to see people going on and off the stage. I got to help change some stage pieces. For me, as a musical fan, that’s like a dream come true. You never get to experience something like this on your own. A: I used to do a lot of paragliding.
The basics you can probably learn in three or four weekends, but then it’s all about practice. You have to learn how to go over hills, feel the wind and how to stay up longer. So I did that for a while, and then of course the kids came, and my wife was like, “you’re not going to be spending every Saturday and Sunday doing that now!”
So now, I try to be a good dad and spend pretty much all my spare time with them, going to activities, going to gymnastics, going to the ballet classes, going to birthday parties, picking them up from sleepovers.
On the other hand, if I have a chance to do something for myself, I’m also the chair of VLIS, an organization for Flemish people in Shanghai. So we organize activities for them as well and do things together. When I really have some “me” time, I train for adventure race like the Spartan Races. satisfied with living in Shanghai.
Belgium is wonderful, if you want to retire and if you want to be in a quiet environment. Then there’s also good health care and child benefits.
Shanghai is great: moving, changing and full of energy. For me, I don’t see any shortages, but if they could fix the overall car-traffic, it would be better. I know it’s a big city, so you can’t fix things 100 percent. It’s gotten a lot better though, the rules have got stricter, so people are following the rules better. A: Having kids is something very, very special, for sure. You can’t really understand what it is to have a child until you have one. Everything you do after that, it is not about you anymore. It’s all about them, because you have to make sure they have what they need and they come first, most of the time. A: Make an effort to study Mandarin as soon as you can. At the very least, learn the basics so you can communicate with the people around you. This saves you a lot of frustration and you get to enjoy everything so much more. Chinese people, especially the elderly really appreciate it if you speak their language.
Aside from that, enjoy Shanghai! It’s a fabulous city, with great people, an amazing vibe and plenty of opportunities. If you ask me, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world.