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Zhang Qian
zhqcindy@163.com
LIKE their Chinese counterparts, many foreign nationals who live in Shenzhen also used the weeklong holiday to travel and celebrate in a traditional Chinese way.
An American known as Robbie, who has lived in Shenzhen for three years, spent his second Spring Festival with one of his Chinese friends in the friend’s hometown this year.
He spent the holiday in Shandong Province with the friend who he met at their university in the United States.
“I was in the countryside most of the time and what struck me was that everyone’s life seemed nice. A lot of people in Shenzhen always tell me that the Chinese countryside is so much different than the American one. Honestly, the only difference is the toilet,” Robbie said.
“Eat, sleep, eat, drink, eat, sleep, prepare to eat ...” Robbie wrote on his WeChat moments.
“We ate all the time … everyone everywhere has a big feast on big holidays,” said Robbie.
Robbie also said that the most difficult part of staying in the countryside was that everyone spoke a dialect.
“Even though I can speak Mandarin, they seemed to be most comfortable speaking their hometown’s language, which I don’t understand. So I zoned out a lot,” said Robbie.
Another expat, Ronny from Belgium, is married to a Chinese wife and has lived here for years. He enjoyed homemade food on Chinese New Year’s Eve and dumplings at midnight to celebrate the Chinese New Year in Shenzhen.
While some chose to celebrate the festival with big dinners and loads of food, a great number of expats in Shenzhen took the opportunity to go back to their own countries or travel.
Hassan Bo was one of the many foreigners who traveled during the holiday. During the first few days of the holiday, Bo took a test to earn a diploma in football coaching before spending a week in the United States.
“I found there were so many Chinese people in Sydney and the city put on a great firework show to celebrate the Chinese New Year, similar to Hong Kong,” said Bo.
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