The Transient Life of Beijing

 

In a global city of over 20 million people, it certainly comes naturally that people are literally at every moment coming and going. Still, you really only feel it when it  happens to you; when the phrase “coming and going” is more about the “going,” and the “going” really is someone close to you.

Lately, I’ve come to feel like Beijing has been a revolving door for friends and colleagues coming in and out. Take this weekend for example. I was alerted to no less than 5 “going away” dinners and/or parties for 5 different friends. Some of them have surely weaved in and out of closeness with me over the years, but the idea that they were “leaving for good” nonetheless gave me a sense of obligation to participate in each schwaree no matter how tired or over-booked I may have been.

There is a phrase I often catch myself using to describe life Beijing, and that word is “transient.” People of course come and go out of your life all the time, no matter where you live. I don’t think, on the surface, the transience of life is different in Beijing than it would be anywhere else. The transience of life is typically more evident when your are in your 20s and early 30s. So much about the course of your life is uncertain. You are youthful and are still ironing out the details on the most important, long-term relationships that will govern the rest of your life.

As I was reminiscing on this past weekend, on the 8ish parties I attended (people really hate saying goodbye. Most people “going away” held no less than 3 good-bye functions attended mostly by the same people!), I was trying to think about what makes the transience of Beijing perhaps different and more profound than in some other places. I was thinking about my friends Chris and Flamingo, who met here and are moving back to Seattle. He is an American, she is from Hong Kong. Or my friend Patrick, who is a Chinese-American who spent one year here in China to rediscover his roots and is returning to medical school in the U.S. And then there is my friend Evan – someone I’ve lost touch with while living in Beijing, but of course made sure to be at his goodbye party and wish him well as he returns back across to the Pacific to go to business school in Boston.

I then started to think about some of the people that come in and out of my life on a more regular basis. My friend Chris from Shanghai, who comes up to Beijing every month for work or pleasure. Or my friend Kate that just left for America and will be back next week. These are journeys of long distances, that cross through different cultures and time zones. And in many ways, for those of us that have lived in Beijing for an extended period, we find it old hat. Everyone is so well-traveled, willing and excited to accept diverse situations, and to constantly manage global relationships on a daily basis. We’re used to it, and it truly is something that we take for granted.

That, I think is the most profound part of the transience of Beijing. We have the privilege to be stewards of the revolving door, while living out our own unique, global stories. We can deal with the consistent heartache of saying goodbye to people we treasure, but inherently know that there are always going to be new faces to fill the void.

More importantly, we are learning how to manage the important people in our lives, wherever they are in the world, and whatever time zone.  And the longer we do it, the more we learn about our own endurance and who we really are. It is not an easy lifestyle, though it can be extremely fulfilling. In the end, it really is about you and your journey. Keep in mind that someday, whatever your threshold is, you may also be on the “going” end of a goodbye party. What story about your transient life in Beijing will you tell?

MSU Beijing Alumni Club Global Service Project: Rural Women’s School of Beijing

Michigan State University recently began engaging the entire global MSU community in a “Global Service Day.” It is a great cause that gives Spartans an opportunity to collectively give back in one, big, global effort. On April 18, Spartans around the world will organize their alumni clubs to engage in service projects in their community. The website they’ve SWP_2015_GreenShieldput together is pretty cool; you can follow the activities of Spartans around the globe on #MSUServiceDay on Twitter.

Our alumni club in Beijing wanted to get involved in this great event, and began seeking opportunities where we could make an impact. One of the advisors for our club is a professor at Eastern Michigan University (we Michiganders in China stick together!), and she has been volunteering at this place called the Rural Women’s School of Beijing (officially known as the “Beijing Cultural Development Center for Rural Women”). I decided to look into it, and after visiting, I knew right away this was a great cause for us to get behind.

What is the Rural Women’s School of Beijing?

From the English website: “The Center is an NGO promoting the advancement and personal development of rural women. It includes the Practical Skills Training Center for Rural Women, the Migrant Women’s Club, Rural Women Magazine ‘s grassroots activities centers and projects for women’s development in rural communities. It is a non-profit organization with an integrated program that “supports the poor and empowers rural women by combining development projects, news media and information services, and dissemination of the outcome of our research.”

Looking deeper, I found that the original founder, Wu Qing, was a revered member of the Beijing

Principal Luo Discusses the School (click picture to link to the video)
Principal Luo Discusses the School (click picture to link to the video)

Municipal People’s Congress, and is even a Schwab Social Entrepreneurship Award winner.

The school is administered by Principal Luo Zhaohong, who has been serving the school for over a decade. In 2013, Caixin Online did a piece about the school and recorded a great video interview that really captures the principal’s  servant spirit and the impact this school has made over the years.

According to Principal Luo, the school operates on a budget of about 2.5 Million RMB (roughly $400,000), which comes mostly through private donations.

My Visit

The school is located wayyyy outside the 6th Ring road in Beijing. Quite a trek for those of us used to staying in the confines of the CBD or Sanlitun area. (Even though it can be rough sometimes, my advice is to get out of the central part of the city at least once a month anyways to remind yourself there is scenery in life other than pollution, bars, hotels and skyscrapers! Did you know there are mountains surrounding Beijing? :)).

Principal Luo and I
Principal Luo and I

When I met Principal Luo and her staff, I was immediately greeted with a spirit of warmth and gratitude. They were very gracious that I would have done something as simple as even paying a brief visit to the school! The principal walked me around the grounds for a tour, and spent a great deal of time showing me the pictures they’ve displayed of volunteers, both Chinese and foreign, that have given their time at the school over the years.

I learned that the school has served tens of thousands of women from across China, representing pretty much all of the ethnic minority groups that have clans in China. Normally, the women will come for 3 months at a time to receive training in different fields like school teaching, medicine, or leadership. The key objective is to help the women become more creative and resourceful, to be able to grow and impact their home communities.

Girls from Guizhou Training at the School
Girls from Guizhou Training at the School

I had the privilege of engaging some of the girls in the current cohort. These girls are all between the ages of 16 – 20 and come from poor, rural communities like Guizhou in southern China, and have come to receive training to be Kindergarten teachers back home.

I really learned a lot and built a connection, and felt strongly compelled to make this school the cause our club would contribute to for the MSU Global Service Day.

Service Activity: Secondhand Item and Monetary Donation Drive at Home Plate Sanlitun

To make a more lasting impact and to provide the school with resources it needs, we decided to extend the service project beyond the April 18th day to give people the opportunity to donate. This gives MSU and non-MSU alums in Beijing the chance to make an impact! Graciously, Home Plate Restaurant in Sanlitun, which also hosted many of the Spartan NCAA tournament game watches, volunteered to act as a depot for RURAL WOMEN'S CLUB DONATION DRIVEitem drop off and cash donations.

The drive began only a few weeks ago, and already we’ve gathered many items that will be useful for the school – printers, paper, pencils, crayons, and even kitchen appliances. The biggest items they need are a new fax machine and laptop computers to enhance their training activities.

The Drive has started to pick up momentum, and has been featured in The Beijinger magazine.

Join Us on April 18

The Donation Drive is going on from now until April 17th at Home Plate. On April 18th, we are gathering a group of volunteers to drive out to the school to deliver the monetary and secondhand item donations. As part of our visit, we will engage the students and staff in an arts and crafts and recreational activity to be announced.

Please DM me @Danredford or email me at danredford10@gmail.com if you would like to join us. This activity is open to Spartans and non-Spartans alike!

#Spartanswill #GoGreen #MSUGlobalService

 

 

 

Expats in China Turn to Entrepreneurship

After a recent spate of travel to Shanghai, Guangzhou, and back to Beijing, I was blown away by the number of my foreign friends and colleagues that have gone the route of entrepreneurship. Some are doing it out of necessity or desperation, while others are pursuing passions or unique talents. These friends, along with recently beginning my own entrepreneurial venture, inspired me to write this piece in China US Focus:

Expats in China Turn to Entrepreneurship

(originally published in China U.S. Focus)

Recently, the apparent exodus of expats from China has surfaced as a popular topic for international news outlets and social media. In February, a study by UniGroup Relocation cited by the Wall Street Journal indicated that twice as many expats left China last year than moved in. Indeed, China can be a tough place to live. Overcrowded cities, slow Internet speeds with frequent interruptions, and choking air pollution are enough to make even the toughest expat consider moving out.

Yet, this is only part of the story. While many highly paid expat executives and specialized workers are leaving in droves, a new generation of adaptable, entrepreneurial expats is emerging to replace them. The implementation of certain new Chinese policies, such as the launch of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, indicate that the Chinese government is very motivated to create a smoother runway for foreign talent to contribute to the country’s innovation drive.

Facing a Challenging Job Market

After China’s economy opened up in 1978, and throughout the 1980s and 1990s, large corporations looking to take advantage of low labor costs and high productivity in the Chinese market dominated Western presence in China. The expats of those days were mostly company managers coaxed into moving to China to oversee the operation for an extended period by higher-than-average salaries, stellar benefits, and typically an end date for their term of service.

As China has changed, so have the dynamics and demographics of expats in China. More Americans started picking up Chinese in college in the 2000s, and slowly Americans have started coming to live in China for further studies, teaching English, or pursuing other work experience. Around the time of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, it seemed to many college grads that moving to China would be a faster jump-start to their careers compared to entry-level jobs at home.

Today, that is less true. Working in China for a foreigner has become even more challenging. For starters, Beijing and Shanghai are expensive; by many rankings, both cities are among the top 10 most expensive cities to live in the world. That does not bode well for young college grads. Moreover, good jobs for expats appear to be harder and harder to come by. Foreign companies that have been in China for some time now are seeing their tax-free incentive packages mature, and profit margins are going down. Thus, they are less willing to offer higher priced expat packages. On top of that, local Chinese talent educated in the West is increasingly available, and in most cases local companies will only hire expats as a last option.

China encourages foreign entrepreneurship and new market investment

Though the traditional expat job market is dwindling, new, more lucrative opportunities are emerging for those that are willing to pursue entrepreneurial or new market ventures. The start-up world of China is just taking off. Tech hubs and start-up incubators are now popping up all over China. Incubators including 500 Startups, Innospring, and Techstars all have established operations here to catch the wave of the new tech start-up craze.

According to the South China Morning Post, more than 100 foreign tech start-ups have popped up in China in the last few years, and the Chinese government seems poised to grow that number. In January, the China Daily reported, “policy incentives will be launched in different areas of China to support talents from overseas.” According to Zhang Jianguo, director of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, “We have to focus on the nation’s strategic goals and attract high-level talent to start innovative businesses in China.” With this type of attitude, it seems likely that we should expect new programs to attract start-up businesses from abroad to China.

In fact, one might say that the Chinese government is becoming even more innovative in its quest to attract entrepreneurial minds. In 2013 in Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province located right across from Taiwan, the local Bureau of Foreign Experts Affairs launched a start-up incubator program to provide free workspaces and investment to attract up and coming foreign start-ups. Around the same time, the Shanghai Free Trade Zone was established to make it easier for foreign businesses to be established in China by taking a great deal of red tape out of the typical business registration process.

While westerners are familiar with the metropolises of Beijing and Shanghai, more opportunities will continue to emerge in the central and western parts of China. This is because more and more factories are moving west as transportation infrastructure combined with low land cost and local government incentives lure manufacturers. The Chinese government frequently publishes new editions of the “Catalogue of Priority Industries for Foreign Investment in the Central-Western Regions,” which lists incentives and programs for foreign investment into high-target areas in the less developed parts of China. Expats willing to explore these new markets, living and working in places not often traversed by foreigners, will be pioneers.

To take advantage of these opportunities, American businesses will no doubt need culturally skilled, and well-connected, expats to be a bridge to those programs. The entrepreneurial expat that is committed to developing a sustainable business idea, and stick it out long enough to build necessary relationships here in China, should profit substantially. This is the new generation of expats in China.

“China Dan” – By Tom Watkins

I’m flattered by a recent article posted in Dome Magazine by Tom Watkins highlighting my China journey. The article is called China Dan, and you can read the article on Dome here or read the whole text below.

Truthfully, my global journey has been an amazing experience, but its a road that I do believe will lead me back to the Mitten state someday!

China Dan

by Tom Watkins

There is much angst about the brain drain in Michigan. You’ve heard it: Our young college grads securing education, knowledge, skills and talent only to flee the state after graduation.

Yet it is a big world out there, and Michigan has two beautiful peninsulas — we are not an island.

Perhaps Michigan will benefit from the worldly experiences our youth gain elsewhere, if the magnetic pull of Pure Michigan can draw them back someday.

I met one such young man, Dan Redford, in his senior year at Michigan State University. He flew the coop and now makes his home in Beijing, China. Dan is fluent in Chinese and bleeds “Green” as a proud MSU grad.

Redford earned a bachelor’s degree with a double major in Chinese and international relations from James Madison College at MSU.

Redford, now 25, originally wanted to get a political science degree and attend law school. That all changed after his first trip to China in 2008.

Why China? He first fell in love with the language, and after his Middle Kingdom trip in 2008, taking in the sights, sounds, culture, language and people, he was hooked. The added excitement of the 2008 Olympics pulled him into the China orbit.

Redford grew up in Frankenmuth, a town of 4,000 people – in stark contrast to Beijing’s nearly 20 million people. As he says, “There are nearly as many people in my Chinese apartment building as there are in the entire city of Frankenmuth”.

Living in the Chinese capital, Redford feels like he is at the center of the most dynamic, unfolding story of the modern world. He clearly is, as China is the fastest growing large world economy, bursting with possibilities. Going forward, all major world geopolitical issues will intersect at Beijing and Washington, D.C.

Redford is director of China operations for First Pathway Partners of Milwaukee, promoting this Midwest state in China. Yet, he is a Michigan cheerleader, as well as one for Wisconsin, and a one-man marketing crew promoting the Mitten State with his unbound enthusiasm.

Does he miss Michigan? Of course. He would like nothing better than to mesh his love for Michigan and love for all things China. His life ambition is to “make a lasting impression on everyone I meet, and meet as many people as possible before I’m done.”

Redford credits his time at MSU with helping to open his eyes to the world. His first trip to China was through a study abroad program. MSU taught him to “think globally”.

Redford appreciates Governor Rick Snyder’s efforts to make Michigan a friendly place for immigrants and to build bridges.

“Governor Snyder is taking risks to propel Michigan forward past denial and to thrive on the global stage,” he says.

When asked what advice he would offer high school kids, he responds, “Find something to be passionate about and let God be your compass. Let your passions drive you forward.”

Sound advice from a young man who has circled the globe.

Yes, Michigan has lost Redford for now.

At some point in the future, he will return to Michigan and our state will get its ROI — return on investment — from his global experience and perspective.

Commentary on Ashton Kutcher’s Teen Choice Award Speech

Most of you reading this post have no doubt seen your Facebook newsfeed filled with posts and reposts on Ashton Kutcher’s motivating Teen Choice Awards speech.

This is definitely a great message no matter what age you are or where you are at in life.
I also think that along with the motivation that comes with the content of what Kutcher says in his speech, there is something else that is revealed as part of his talk. Do you notice how the crowd reacts when Kutcher brings up the word “sexy?” It roars. I am guessing that a majority of the audience at the Teen Choice awards are teenagers, and judging by the sound of the crowds roars alot of those cheering loudest were young, impressionable girls.

Our society does have a problem. We elevate sex in our pop culture and media, which sifts through onto the web and into the minds of our kids. They gravitate to it, and things don’t change when they get older, in fact it usually gets worse. We know its wrong because when someone like Ashton Kutcher (or I guess, Chris) says something like this, we all realize he is right; thus, we can conclude that the way things are going on the mainstream level, the messages we are leaving our kids on how to live their lives, are on the whole not correct.

Thanks Ashton for making this speech, and I hope we can all take to heart what he said. I hope that our society can reverse the trend of “sex sells” in favor of a “its sexy to be smart” mentality. The first line of defense is of course what happens in homes across America, but things need to change in terms of what our leaders in government, business, and entertainment decide to do about this problem. The problem should be acknowledged and acted upon.

And I suppose for us as individuals, including myself, one must ask – what am I doing in my own life that is contributing to what is happening in our society? How can I be better?

Reflections on “10 Things Most Americans Don’t Know About America.”

As an American living in Beijing, I’d like to weigh in on a piece read this evening. In his post today, blogger Mark Manson chronicles the “10 Things Most Americans Don’t Know About America.”  Overall, it is an entertaining and well written piece that begs one to ask the questions “Is America really the greatest place in the world anymore,” and “Does it even matter?”

I agree with some things in his piece, such as #3 “We Know Nothing About the Rest of the World.” It is no secret that many Americans are detached, quite ironically I feel, from the rest of the world. There is an old saying that “If you speak 3 languages, you’re tri-lingual, if you speak two languages you’re bilingual, and if you speak one language you’re a (ready for it???) an American.” In fact, I was just remarking this evening with a group of American students here Beijing traveling as part of an exchange program (more on that in a minute..) that only about 40% of Americans have passports and even less travel abroad to “overseas lands.” I’m glad to have been mostly confirmed on those off the cuff statistics here.

However, despite all the ways in which I think I’m nodding my head at Mark’s points, I’m still thumbs down on the article. Why? I just can’t get over the apathy. He’s given up, saying that he returns to America “only a few times a year” and that he thinks his points will “go on deaf ears.” If those of us that have these global experiences won’t stick up for America, then who will?

I have seen mostly the opposite when engaging with Americans abroad since starting my global journey in 2008. I believe that while the jury may still be out on whether or not America is the greatest country on earth, we can still take it back! Coming from the state of Michigan, I have learned about some of the hardest realities of the current state of America. People are poor, blight runs rampant, and the talented people with job creating capacity are leaving.

But, what if they came back? What if, as my friend Tom Watkins said in his Lansing State Journal Column last year, young people actually boomeranged back, bringing with them in one foul swoop an arsenal of global knowledge and resources.

It can happen. It is happening. I saw it this evening here in Beijing with a group of young American students from inner city schools taking part in a great program called the Jump! Foundation. Jump! is part of a series of programs overseen by Americans Promoting Study Abroad, which collaborates with U.S. high schools to offer scholarships to inner city kids to come learn Chinese in China.

Tonight I participated in my 2nd Young Professionals Panel with the students. These are young but impressive kids. Their questions are inquisitive, and when you talk with them, they sound wise beyond their years. Contrary to the apathetic and ignorant version of Americans elicited in Manson’s column, these kids are well aware of the lack of global knowledge and attention that runs rampant in their communities. After being in China, most of these students described to us how motivated they were to go back home and serve as educators to their friends and family.

And that’s it right there – the American spark of being pioneers to return home and report what we’ve seen. It is that spark that is being ignited across a nation of young globally minded people that have not yet come of age. When they do, it will be amazing to see what we can accomplish as a country. I believe that as generations that have come before, our generation will rise to the occasion to build our nation back up again. It will be people like those young folks I met tonight that will lead the charge.

#America

 

 

Big Ten Fourth of July Weekend Bash 2013

One of the most unexpected joys of my time in Beijing actually has its roots in something closer to home than you’d think. While I am always of a mind that Spartans everywhere are changing the world, I am equally inspired by the work I see every day being done by Big Ten Alumni here in Beijing.

Since early in 2012, the Big Ten Alumni Clubs of Beijing has emerged as a dynamic group of individuals that are lighting this city on fire. As I mentioned in a previous post, til now we have hosted the 1st and 2nd annual Big Ten alumni Mixers, both bringing in alumni from around this city.

Big Ten Bash with Spartan alum Charles Eveslage (right) and Purdue Alum Sylvia Liu (middle)
Big Ten Bash with Spartan alum Charles Eveslage (right) and Purdue Alum Sylvia Liu (middle)

This year we tried something different: The Big Ten Fourth of July Weekend Bash in Ritan Park. It is always amazing to me the different kinds of people that you meet that come from so many different backgrounds that show up when hosting these types of things. We even had one MSU alum that took a flight in from the city of Changchun, which is is somewhat like going from Georgia to Michigan, just to be at our party! #Spartanswill

We also had an endorsement from the Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, Dr. Robert Wang, for the event. Dr. Wang received his PhD from Iowa so is a fellow Big Tenner! Check out the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEn_WXz8RN4

It was a great success, with over 200 alumni from around Beijing coming out to celebrate this great occasion, including members of most of the Big Ten schools. And to be honest, I was impressed especially by the turnout from the University of Wisconsin…looks like there is another dynamic club in the making.

We’ve made some great progress for the Big Ten Conference here in China and the MSU Beijing Alumni Club looks forward to collaborating on future events and initiatives.

Spartans Unite at Alumni Clubs of Beijing Ball 2013

Since the beginning of 2012, I began taking an active role in the “Alumni Clubs of Beijing”(ACB). This group is a consortium of clubs representing over 60 universities, mostly in the United States but also including a few in the U.K. and China, that are organized here in Beijing. The mission of the group is to: “Provide a platform to strengthen and offer resources for Beijing’s university alumni clubs, such as sharing best practices and enabling cooperation for larger scale events. Together we can tackle the challenges that no one individual club is equipped to handle on its own.”

cropped-bj-alum-clubs-logo_clean_885

As the President of the MSU Beijing Alumni Club, I am not only responsible for organizing and hosting events to bring together Spartans here in Beijing. I want to make sure that MSU’s presence and the “banner of Sparty” is heard and felt throughout Beijing and China. I became involved in “ACB” because I saw it as an opportunity for the MSU club and for the university to make itself known in Beijing among others that share their passion for their university.

2nd Annual Big Ten Mixer, April 15, 2013

Moreover, it is also an enormous resource I can share with our club members that are looking for a job, a project, or anything to “get their feet wet” here. Beijing is indeed one of the world’s most important cities; it is also one of the largest, and thus easy to get lost. ACB is a tool that can be used to really take advantage of “six degrees of separation” to move more efficiently.

I am proud to say that among the crowd of universities involved, MSU has really been recognized as one of the most active, successful clubs. We have now co-hosted a first and second annual “Big Ten Pre-Alumni Ball” Mixer, in 2012 and 2013, respectively, each year bringing around 200 folks out for networking and fun.

This year, MSU once again participated in ACB’s signature event, the  2nd annual “Alumni Clubs of Beijing Ball.” As you can see from the picture, MSU was well represented by a group of top notch Spartans. We sure do look good, eh?

MSU Spartans at the 2013 Alumni Clubs of Beijing Ball – Kerry Hotel, Beijing, China

As my friend, Scott Westerman, Director of the MSU Alumni Association always likes to say, there are Spartans everywhere. Here in Beijing, we are uncovering a gold mine.