Challenge in China

Regardless, working or living in a cross-cultural environment isn't a walk in the park. At the end of the year, a time to reflect and start fresh, we rounded up some inspirational stories of six foreigners living in China. We hope these stories can inspire you in the start of the new year. Here is Ingrid Chen's story. Ingrid Chen of Northern Ireland was 28 when she landed in Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, for a five-week course in Chinese. Now 52, she found a family, a career and a purpose during her years in China.  A teacher of the deaf in Northern Ireland, Chen learned Chinese sign language in Kunming and then worked in a program that teaches sign language, crafts and sewing skills to people over 16 from the rural areas around Kunming with no educational opportunities.. To help local disabled people who struggle to find an education and a job, Chen and some partners from the NGO established their own company in 2002, Hearts & Hands, to sell products made in the traditional style of Yunnan ethnic cultures that are created by the deaf and sold overseas. She's never taken a salary for her work, so her family's daily expenses are covered by her husband, who is a woodworker. But Chen has never regretted starting her company. I love the challenge of working in China. Having a background in teaching but finding myself running a small social enterprise makes life even more of a challenge. It seems each year comes with new developments and new problems, but all are learning opportunities. In 2016, our small sewing business reached further afield, selling products to people in different European countries and to the Middle East. We joined a large online craft market that gave individuals all over the world access to our products. One major hurdle has been with logistics, shipping products quickly and making sure they arrive safely. They haven't always reached their destination, which is frustrating for customers and us alike. One discovery we made was the WeChat store. WeChat has done a fantastic job making it easy to set up and run a store. With little idea as to how it would work we put some of our products in the store and with one click, I sent our store details to all in my contacts list. Supportive friends then passed that on and in the first day or so we had over 7,000 views of our products. We continue to have thousands of daily views of our products and many sales of our beautiful products have ensued. Our products are now going out to all parts of China. Through online shopping the world for us has definitely become smaller and more accessible. As a foreigner working cross culturally in China, many issues arise and I often find myself asking the question, "Why do they do things like that?!" My coworker, Kathy, who is Chinese, often has to listen to my questions but responds with wise advice and amazing understanding of the difference between our two cultures. Sometimes Western directness can get foreigners in big trouble! Recently I learned through Kathy that when a problem arises with a staff member it is always best to approach it from the point of view that I have made a mistake, not blaming the other person in any way, thus saving face. This opens the door to good communication and a solution to the problem. We foreigners could probably learn from that in our own communication with each other. Added to the normal issues of cross cultural differences, in our work we also have the added complication of working with deaf people, who have their own cultural perspective. And then, on top of that we have language barriers. If you're not careful something said in Sign Language can become totally opposite of what you meant to say. This year we were very sad to say goodbye to our workshop manager. Susan had worked with us for over 10 years but because of a family situation had to return to her hometown in Shandong. For years she has carried out all the detailed communications with our workers on how to make products. Suddenly I find myself having to communicate these things and realize we end up with some strange products. I've come to appreciate Susan's love of detail and my lack of it! Sometimes, we have to work a bit harder on areas of our personality and I'm finding, with some extra care and attention, I can do things I thought I' d never be able to do. Despite our language and cross cultural challenges, our work place at Hearts and Hands is a place full of joy and friendship. Most of our workers have been with us for over 10 years. We've been through sickness and sadness together as well as times of happiness and celebration. Many of our staff joined us just after they left school. I've seen them develop, get married and then have children. Many of the children, this year, are entering school. Sad things have happened too. One of our workers is a single mother whose husband left her when her children were small. The children grew up and her son was working as a hairdresser and planning to open his own business when he was involved in a serious car accident. This happened last year and at the beginning his life was threatened. His leg was severely broken in several places and he had to have metal plates put in to heal it. A physical therapist friend, who saw him last year, confesses she thought he'd never again walk properly. One of our greatest joys is that when she saw him again this year, he is walking well, way beyond her expectations. Faith and hard work have restored this ability to him. Our friends and supporters have prayed for him and supported him. Although these difficult things happen I have seen the good that also comes through them. Kunming has become my home and I realize this more and more each year. My Chinese husband, two children and I love visiting my family in Northern Ireland, my home country. We visited this year but are always glad to be back "home" in Kunming. My children attend an international school here that they enjoy. Excellent teachers and a great learning environment make life easier for us all. Now my children are growing up they don't need help with homework and are able to help with chores. Because my work times are flexible I don't find much conflict between work and home life. All in all 2016 has been a great year for us. I am always grateful that we are a cross-cultural family, living with people from all kinds of backgrounds. I hope I never stop learning from others.