A Life Lesson in “忍耐”, Endurance.
Western English alumnus Neil Larocque shares his experiences living and teaching abroad in China.
In my youth, my father would travel to many different countries for business. One place my father often used to visit most frequently was China. He would leave for weeks at a time returning with, what I thought to be, unique trinkets acquired from a long forgotten past. Gifts such as chops with undecipherable markings used in lieu of a signature to mark important documents; one chop, he claimed, had my name inscribed in Chinese characters. I now know Chinese characters are called “Hanzi” or translated literally as “characters of the Han (Chinese)”. If only I had known at the time that the chop would be of use in my current circumstances, I might have taken better care of it.
While my dad traversed the globe, I was growing up in the fashion of every other Canadian boy; playing hockey was one of those Canadianisms in which I participated. Being only 5 foot 5, my hockey career was destined to be limited and it was, ending at around the age of sixteen. Beyond athletics, I pursued varied, creative interests such as playing guitar, writing music, writing literature and acting. Through learning drama, I developed an enthusiasm for teaching not only drama, but my other areas of interest as well.
My passion for creative endeavors continued into my teenage years. I have a pension for pursuing my interests with enthusiasm and dedication while ignoring those subjects that hold little interest for me. It naturally followed that my school grades reflected what I was most keen to learn right up until application to university. Prior to applying to a few of the major Canadian universities, my dad had just returned from Daqing, China. During a lunch I recall him asking me if I would consider going to university in China. Without knowing why, I immediately replied that it would be of great interest to me. I had never visited China, so all I knew about the country was through second hand, fragmented accounts from my father . Knowing what I know now, I’m happy that I didn’t pursue the Chinese university option.
The desire to study in China faded after being accepted to Western where I majored in English Literature. I continued to play in bands, write music and write short stories in my spare time. It seemed only natural, to me, that I would attempt to delve into a career that could possibly utilize these talents. Lamentably, after graduation, I started to work for a computer company in their sales department. I couldn’t have chosen faster way to stagnate creativity. Work was monotonous and irksome. My dreams of being a musician or a writer were disintegrating with each cumbersome day.
Eventually, after languishing in an environment of sales and marketing, my creative inclinations needed to be satisfied. I was fortunately “let go” while the company downsized to move their operations to Asia. Subsequently, I focused solely on writing music, short stories and even attempted a novel. I sent the novel manuscript to a major publisher in New York where it was expeditiously rejected. In response, I wrote a rejection letter to their rejection letter.
Simultaneously, I was sending demo tapes (I’m dating myself) to different record companies. All my music was being met with dismissal as well. With no real job and therefore no income whatsoever, I decided to work in the Toronto television industry while jointly hammering away at music and writing. I started at the bottom as a production assistant and after two, arduous years, remained at the bottom. In a single word : failure. In two words: “continued failure”. As the wise Buddha once said “Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes.” So I moved to Japan.
I say “I moved to Japan” as if it were a blasé decision and anyone could argue it may have been irrational. However, what I knew for sure was that something in my life needed to change drastically, if not quickly. I was 27 years old, still living at home with zero savings. I had experienced independence on several occasions only to be forced to move back to my parents house. This was not the future I envisioned for myself nor the expectations I held for myself either.
Ironically, living in Japan for a total of six years was rather inconsequential in the framework of my life. It’s only worth mentioning for two reasons: Firstly, I wrote and released two CD’s in Tokyo with different bands while working as an ESL teacher. Secondly, but more importantly, I took a week long vacation to Beijing, China at one point. It was there that future events were to unfold, though I didn’t know it at the time. In fact, I distinctly remember telling my friends in Tokyo that I enjoyed visiting China, but I could never see myself living there. The reasons for this declaration were numerous and varied.
Currently, I’ve lived in China for a total of four years. I started living in Beijing where I stayed for a little over three years. Then, certain bodily functions, like respiration, become an important issue for me. In response to these concerns, I recently relocated to Shenzhen, China. Shenzhen is the sister city in mainland China to Hong Kong. While living in Beijing I started to gain experience in teaching Chinese students interested in applying to North American high schools and Universities. Not only do these kids need to learn language skills to help them pass English fluency tests, they also need to be taught critical thinking, literature, poetry, drama and writing. Insert a resounding “hallelujah” now. I had found an outlet that finally makes use of my talents. What about music? I played in a band, the same band, for almost three years but I was forced to switch to bass. I learned a new skill in the process and that band won an award for the most outstanding band in Beijing.
The company I worked for paid for me to get a CELTA certificate from Cambridge University (this is equivalent to a one year University degree with practicum for mainstream teachers). The same company also paid for me to get certificates in business management from Harvard online as well as other management courses. I had found my niche in the Chinese educational market. At around the same time, I also started to write for a national newspaper called “The Global Times." I was overjoyed at the complete turn around my life had taken. Be that as it may, the most important experience for me in Beijing was meeting my wife.
My wife, whose English name is Selena, has been involved in English education in China for ten years. She loves to read, listen to music, and she loves to laugh. Selena has the best smile and the most contagious laugh. We met at one of my shows in Beijing as if by fate. We were married in her home town of Luoyang, China on September 28th, 2015. We recently had our marriage ceremony set in the backdrop of the Han Tang dynasty, again in Luoyang.
I’m currently the manager of an international School as well as being the head of the English Literature department. I also started a company with Selena that trains Chinese kids who wish to attend schools and Universities in the U.S. I write for The Global times once in a while, I still play music and most recently I did some acting in a video that will be released on MTV Asia on February 14th, 2016. I’m involved in the things I’m most passionate about.
As a foreigner living in China, I could have easily written a piece about the many ways that living here disagrees with my Western sensibilities. Every day I continue to struggle with different aspects of life here. At the same time, I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to make a successful living. It would be unappreciative for me to begrudge a culture that has given me so much. I wouldn’t recommend living in China to just anyone. It’s not as conducive to foreigners as a country like Japan. For all it’s idiosyncrasies, it suits me well. It’s my home for the foreseeable future and I look forward to what that future holds. It’s been a wonderful experience so far. The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that experience builds on experience as long as you are willing to endure. It is to the one who endures that the final victory comes.
