Things I wish I knew before moving to China

That Timehop app is both one of the best apps I've downloaded, as well as one I've regretted having from time to time. I'm a bit of a nostalgic person. I like looking back and being reminded of things that have happened years ago, even if they are really cringeworthy. In recent days, I've been reminded that this time last year, I was frantically preparing to move to China for the year. In all honesty, I know it's about to kick in an awful bout of China blues again, especially as there are people I've met in the last year about to head back to the Middle Kingdom for another year of fun.

Anyway, I thought it might be helpful and useful for anyone just about to fly out to China to read about some things I wish I knew prior to going. By no means an extensive list, but here are some things that stuck out to me.

1. The smog can get bloody awful.

It was pretty naive of me but I genuinely didn't think about smog or haze or even remotely factor it into my expectations before moving to China. When I first arrived in Beijing for teacher training, I was graced with hot weather and beautiful Beijing blue skies. I was later whisked away into the Beijing mountains and didn't really experience much by way of smog. My first few weeks in China also coincided with the upcoming 70th Anniversary of Victory Day Celebrations and to ensure the skies were clear for the parades, factory work was cut down and cars limited on the roads so as to control smoggy emissions. In the beginning of the year when my students asked me what I thought of the haze, I had to admit I hadn't really come across it much. It was only later as the winter months swung round it got goddamn awful and Beijing announced a red alert - which meant that it was REAL bad.

The genuine split between fresh air and smog as seen from a flight back into Tianjin

At it's worst, visibility was so affected, you couldn't really see even 100 metres in front of yourself, breathing felt like someone was sitting on your chest, you could taste something metallic in the air whenever you inhaled and the smell of smog lingered in my hair. I do count myself lucky that I didn't ever really get sick from it but there were definitely points when I would feel physically drained and tired more quickly as an after effect of the bad smog. I know I shouldn't have been as nonchalant as I was about the hazy weather but one thing I immediately appreciated upon landing back in the UK was the improvement in air quality. Breathe in deeply, appreciate fresh air whilst you can because the smog can get pretty bloody awful in China.

2. There's an invasion of personal space, and then there's a Chinese 'queue'.

I don't really mind a bit of pushing and shoving. I know how to protect my own space when the situation calls for it (I'm looking at you gig crowds. We've all paid to see this band live and this aint some bump and grind teenage club night, so back the hell up!) but you don't really know what an invasion of personal space is until you hop in a Chinese 'queue'. I say queue but what I really mean is an chaotically organised crowd of people who don't have a concept of what an actual line looks like.

Its funny because on more than one occasion, normally in a 'queue' for train tickets, I'd get quite well acquainted (and not voluntarily) with the men or families who stood behind me who seemed convinced that the line would never move forward if we weren't physically touching in some way. Don't worry mate, I'm here to get tickets too but I don't fancy getting all up close and personal with the stranger in front of me cheers...

It's not just queues either. During national holidays, pretty much the entire Chinese population gets time off and uses it to go travelling to all the famous tourist hotspots. There's a famous Chinese saying that every local is familiar with that goes "人山人海" (ren shan ren hai) which translates as 'People mountain, people sea'. It really does perfectly summarise the overwhelmingness of Chinese crowds. Don't believe me? See for yourself...

'人山人海' on the Great Wall of China during a national holiday 

3. A VPN is both a blessing and a curse

One of the most common questions I got whilst I was out there and when I returned home was how I was able to access things like Facebook whilst I was in China, despite the fact that it's banned. It's no secret that people use VPNs to get around the 'Great Firewall'. I won't get into the ins and outs of how that works but basically having one gave me access to all the modern web-based conveniences I had access to back in the UK - Facebook, Google, YouTube etc. It was definitely a blessing. I could keep in touch with my family and friends all year. I could research teaching resources and ideas for my job. I could watch Lip Sync Battles and Carpool Karaokes to pass the time when I was feeling lazy. I'm not sure I would have coped especially well without a VPN in China.

That said, using a VPN always made whatever I was doing on the internet noticeably slower, which really tested my patience the entire year. And, if it wasn't slow, it was glitchy AF. You could lose connection at any given point and have to wait to reconnect - an excruciating minute or five. It was a whole lot of waiting. Expats in China will know my pain but it's the tradeoff between a frustrating wait and the ability to Google things. And in this day and age, who can really get by without googling things?

4. You're never going to quite get used to all the spitting

Of all the things that were strange to begin with and would eventually get accustomed to, spitting in the streets was not one of them. Squat toilets? No problem. Parents encouraging their kids to pee anywhere in public if their little one needed to go - a common sighting! But spitting? It's a habit that I never got used to happening around me. You'd be walking down a street, having a conversation with your friend and in the near distance, you'd here someone hawking up a gob of spit good and proper. More often or not, it was an elderly old man committing the crime but there were women too, which came as a double shock.

I've asked my students about it before and they are well aware of how gross the habit is and always condemned it as a disgusting act. They put it down to generational differences. Others have also explained that it's probably a response to the smoggy conditions whereby people need to clear their throats and chests regularly because the bad air does things to your lungs, which I guess is kind of forgiveable. Either way, it's something that stuck out to me in China and still makes me shudder whenever I hear someone about to do it...

5. You're going to fall in love with the place...

For all of the inconveniences that might get thrown your way, whether its smog, crowds, firewalls or spitting, I didn't ever think I'd love China as much as I currently do now (hence why I've been writing about all the reasons you should live there one day). If you'd have told me a year ago I would have done or seen all the things I did during my time in China, I probably wouldn't have believed you. And there's still so much left I want to do! I've become a bit of a China obsessive. I'm constantly checking the news for mention of China, always trying to keep on top of all the viral trends there, always on the search for authentic Chinese food to match that of the original. I can't let go of using WeChat. It's definitely a place that is difficult to get bored of because there is just so much to love about it. I just wish I knew I'd love it so much because it'd probably make the current China blues I have less of a blow, but until next time, China, until next time...