For the last week, I had been contemplating on this job. It was frustrating to be honest. Declining meant no job, no life; no future (as if, unless I died) and I had not dated for like at least four years. Accepting meant a total life makeover. Why was I being a drama queen? Hello, my life was on the line here. Sigh. Anyways, my mother kind of persuaded me to come home. But my father wisely suggested “What do you had to lose if you took the job. Learn new culture, new language which is your strongest point. Live adventurously.”

That got me thinking about my reason of coming to Japan in the first place. I sought different cultures besides the permanent gloomy weather in UK. A change of weather would be delightful and seeing the sun would brighten up anyone’s day. Like my dad said live adventurously. YOLO.

Of course, Beijing was a totally different city compared to Tokyo. But the booming of economy in China and the world focus on its preserved beauty was astounding. I could also learn of my long gone heritage from my mother’s side. Ever since my late maternal grandmother’s passed away, I barely remembered the old bedtime stories of her grandmother that came from China.

Although most of my mother’s relative resided in Thailand, our ancestors were from Mainland China and Vietnam. My grandmother held Thailand citizenship years after the assimilation of the Chinese migrant into Thailand. I guessed, being bilingual since I was small had its benefits. But learning Mandarin was another story. Even local Chinese people could get confused with the language. There were too many dialects. It was not like I could watch anime, read manga or sing along to songs like I did with Japanese. Besides, watching Dragon Ball and reading it would cause addiction to the language. Truthfully, it kind of scared me to learn Mandarin.

Another factor that made me hesitate on moving to Beijing was the absence of Lily. Lily would go back to Cambridge to further her studies. She took a Master degree in English Studies for Modern and Contemporary Literature. Sounds complicated and heavy already. Although staying in Japan would also mean without Lily, but I was still familiar with the place. Should I roll a dice? Heck, accepting the job was already a huge gamble. With much care and deep thought, I took the job apprehensively. Hello, Beijing. Until we meet again, Tokyo.

It took another month to get my visa entry and work permit to settle. Thank goodness the company took care of it instead of me applying it for myself. Bureaucracy handling was not my strong point. My resignation letter to the broadcasting company was welcomed with a suppressed grin by my superior. It ticked me off a bit to be underappreciated like I had not been slaving off my arse for this company. I may love the culture of Japan but the working time clock seemed broken here. Well, in all fairness, it taught me to be punctual, hardworking, cleanliness, follow the rules and overtime was a necessity. With head held high, I conditioned myself; there was nothing I could not do. Whatever Beijing might throw at me, I could conquer it all.

Well, that was what I thought. I spoke way too soon. It was as if life wanted to throw me a curveball just to see whether I could adapt in this complex environment. Upon entry, the immigration asked me to step aside as my visa entry and work permit seemed has a slight discrepancy. It turned out the company registered the headquarters’ in Japan as an employer. Fortunately, I brought my employment letter stating the branch office in Beijing. I also had to call the branch human resources to validate my employment. After being interrogated by the immigration, getting to the branch office was another matter. The taxi driver did not know how to speak in English. Even on the first day was already giving me a big headache. I decided to cool myself off with an iced tea (in autumn) before taking any taxis.

I hauled my bag into a taxi, after being helped by the kind information service lady to write the address in Mandarin, and directly went to the office. Although I was not required to report duty on the first arrival, I guessed getting familiar with the surrounding in the office would be beneficial. I was then led to be briefing of my job description, responsibilities held in the office and acquainted to my immediate superior if any problem arises. While being introduced by the head of creative section to the others copywriters, one particular art designer took my interest. While most staff wore casual clothes that screamed comfortable enough to even sleep in them, the art designer wore an eccentric legging pair of jeans with a printed UK flag and a turtleneck knitted sweater that seemed too big for her. Plus her hair was dyed blue. My workplace was liberal enough in terms of expressing one’s artsy creative element. It sure was a good sign.

I was given a cubicle as a workstation next to the art designer that I later learned as Li Qiaohui. After getting acquainted with some my colleagues, I headed home to unpack my suitcase. The rest of my belonging would only come in a week time. I decided to walk around the neighbourhood to see any good eating place. I chanced upon a grocery store and walked in to get my necessities. On the other side of the building, a tuition center was swarmed with middle and high school students. I looked upon the banner of the tuition center that stated an intake for adult in learning Mandarin. I hurried past all students and asked the administrative personnel whether the class for adult was still available. To my luck, another person just called to cancel his participation in the class and I was registered immediately. I paid using my credit card and I walked away after getting the class schedule to find food as my stomach has growled since earlier.  

Two weeks working in Beijing, I found myself barely adapting to the hectic lifestyle of advertising. Accommodation was another problem that I encountered while working here. Although the apartment was provided by the company, it turned out it was only for six months as it was the company’s property. It was often used as temporary accommodation for new workers or visiting personnel from headquarters. Why didn’t I read the contract thoroughly? Maybe being desperate for jobs hindered my brain to work properly.

Worked long hours and went to the night class really took a toll on me, physically and emotionally. No wonder the guy dropped out of that Mandarin class. I was just glad my brain wasn’t fried from all these taxing activities. In just under a month, I felt overwhelmed with all the responsibilities to improve myself and keep up with the trends in advertising. But I felt elated as my advantage in multiple languages could be used as an advantage in terms of researching the probable advert in the media either printed, internet or televised. Being a copywriter, I had to keep the originality of each tagline or catchphrase as to avoid plagiarized works.

At the office, I was closed to Qiaohui, as she like being called Hui. Her name really stood out to me as she clarified it meant, skillful and