It’s always hard trying to start an article when you have no formal training in being a journalist or much history in committing to a blog diary for more than three entries. This could turn into a terrible diary entry. My name is Greg, I’m from Reading, England, I have a bachelors in Film Production and I have not found a job that has stuck since graduating from university. I suppose it hurt those chances a bit not going to university for five years after getting my a-levels and deciding to get a job in retail of all things I guess I was more eager to get some money in my bank quicker rather than investing in my education and getting more money in the long term. My girlfriend had it on lock from day one, education, education, education to quote Tony Blair and she is now a star at her company as a Graphic Designer.
Let’s back track and give some perspective on how I got to China before delving into how my life is going at the time of writing. As stated I went to university late and with a passion in film making and not wanting to get a job that had zero creativity I took a course in film production, the years flew by and to stick to the cliché they were some of the most fun years of my life. Life afterwards began the hard times, I kept my job in retail up to Christmas where I found a job as the events manager at commercial radio station. It was a start to something that would not seem to be tied to the degree I held, but with the interview it gave the impression of being heavily creative and hands on. The cracks showed quick, my co-worker in that area was a pain that was in many people’s opinion in a desperate needing to have her high pedestal removed. My interview pitch of an event was never even close to coming to fruition as I would take a gazebo to a location and hand out flyers then crucified for trying something new and when I exceeded the goals and created business connections with local business and other event managers were giving nothing but the advertisement for the radio station I was then told I would not be kept on. Leaving was easy as I was looking for other work as the 21 day streaks were tiring an living from pay slip to pay slip was tough considering everything would be put on expenses only to be spent again on materials for the events. I found a job in a small but successful creative agency and was offered it four days after being fired from the radio station. It seemed to be a good job.
Again the interview went well, they were impressed and with my education in film and a presentation on deconstruction of several successful TV marketing campaigns I was brought on, the pay was not high but with it being close to home the travel was cheap and they provided lunch, bonus. I was an assistant production manager with this company who worked in events, video and web design. I started by working on web translations for a well known ice cream companies new website, this soon moved onto a good friendship with the post production manager and I drifted over to working on some simple edits and organising of the post production office and its material, at one point with the manager getting sick I was in charge of sourcing mood film material for a pitch that would be a big break deal for the company and exporting and sending client videos for approval. Thrown in the deep end is a good analogy, but sufficed to say I did all the work, put in extra hours both before work and after, the clients approved the videos and the mood film got amazing feedback but alas did not get picked up. After this and coming into my last month of probation I was called in and told they could not afford to keep me on because of losing several projects and clients, I left that day, it was tough and yes, I did cry. They were kind and paid me for the month I was not working and offered me a letter of recommendation, problem was the time of year, being so close to Christmas and having two jobs on my CV that were no longer than six months I was unemployed for two months and had to go back into retail. The joy. This started a year and half long employment where I did not get anything to help me in my long-term goals of actually starting a life, but I thought I could spend more time on myself and developing my skills in film.
This is starting to read as a whiny diary entry, or it builds the story.
I spent over a year in retail as a logistics manager, continuously looking for work and attempting to build a portfolio or content that could be used I met with a friend from university and we started working on shorts, comedy sketches and developing stories. I also have worked into comic book writing and my editing skills with mood films and montages. Just saying montage sounds bad. Then I got a phone call for an interview for a job for teaching English in China, I took the phone interview and in my opinion was not the best interview, but I did think I presented myself well. Two weeks later I was on my annual camping trip with friends and I got a call saying I was successful and the job would start in September, so I had two months to sort my life out. I handed in my notice, got my luggage ready, vaccinations up to date and all the paperwork done. The biggest issue to myself was my future both professionally and in some ways more importantly my personal life. I have been in a relationship with my girlfriend for twelve years, and all we wanted was to get a home and start our lives together. We talked for a long time and he would say “there is nothing better here for you” in terms of work yes, she is right I have looked unsuccessfully for over a year and with several job interviews I had not been offered any work and needing money I could not afford to go freelance for more than two weeks. It was true there was no reason to stay in England for work, where I could get experience teaching and maybe learn another language, I would be able save money due to the cost of living so low and the wages being comfortable. As obviously stated I took the job and after twelve years together what is ten months?
After all the prep work getting ready to go to China I said my goodbyes to friends and family and spent my last few nights with my girlfriend, wishing I was not going just to stay with her for longer. She took me to the airport and after a few hours we parted ways at the gate, struggling to hold back the tears so I did not meet the people I would be with for the next year with eyes full of tears. Over twenty hours later and a stop over in Beijing we landed in Wenzhou, collected bags, found our liaison who would be our main port of call, and then we drove for an hour and a half to our apartment. The heat was strong, humidity high, and the jet lag was starting to se in. After dumping our bags we headed out to the local shop and bought water and snacks. Then we went back to the apartment. I had a shower, shaved my beard as I was sweating too profusely and then it hit me. I was in China, I left my girlfriend in England and I could not speak the language. It is a weird feeling moving country with nothing and no one. My friend said the first night he cried when he worked on a cruise ship, but he also said a lot of things that I could not honestly compare myself to, mainly due to the fact he did not have a partner or really cared about much apart from giving the illusion of a rock star or an Instagram model that feeds off likes. Yes I did cry, I wanted to go home, but more importantly I just wanted my girlfriend with me. Again is this starting to sound like a diary entry? Maybe so but I don’t think anyone who has been in a long term relationship can be overwhelmed with emotions when moving countries away from someone you care about so much. Yes the following nights did get easier but does not mean that it is easy. At this point now, with four months down of a ten month contract I am still missing her and although I don’t cry I do miss her and just want the connection, the company to be in person and not over we chat.
First night? Yes it’s the hardest part of taking a job in another country, but it does let you think about why you are doing it. For me? To put money away and get some new skills to help me when I go back. This maybe being a step to getting a job I can call a career, I have been vlogging, writing script, making short videos and now I am going to try writing articles/blogs, because it could lead to something and although I miss my girlfriend there is no point in spending the time wallowing when I could develop myself and have something to show when I’m back in England and we can start our life properly. Some people find themselves later in life and maybe I’m one of those people.
Oh That Greg 