Although Grant has only lived in Beijing for two years, she is an experienced expatriate. Married to a globetrotting businessman, she left her Australian home and began 25 years of expat life, living in Hong Kong, the US, Germany and the UK.
From an expatriate perspective, she explains that foreigners are more open-minded in a new environment and become more receptive to new people. Living away from home, and in a country where English speakers are uncommon, newcomers rely intensively on “newly established connections,” and expat community groups, are as a result, closer and tighte
“I think it is harder to build social networks in Eglish-Speaking countries, because there is less need to create support networks,” she said.She says the key to social networking in a new area is “small talk” – “and especially when Starbucks is made so availahere” – with a sip of coffee and a plate of pastry, chit-chatting between strangers can easily take place, often difficult to stop.Nevertheless, she thinks it is always a better option to begin research early and recommends planning ahead by contacting accessible expatriate community groups before arriving in Beijing.
Read more:http://english.qianlong.com/article1.jsp?oid=22318547