Wudaokou Watch: “I Am Impacted by the Peace of Mind That I Receive Here in Beijing”

Welcome to Wudaokou Watch, where we profile a different west end dwelling expat each week to hear about their life in China's capital. You can read the whole series here.

My name is Abraham Williams, and I’m from the United States of America.

I came to Beijing to explore the beauty of Chinese culture and teach English. China is a super good country and I wanted to have a feel of it.

Life is a little different for me here because of the language and the location. There's so much to learn. China is different from the USA because I’m surrounded by a total population of over 1 billion Chinese people so that on it of itself is a new thing for me to embrace.

The biggest challenges for me here are learning more of the language and maintaining employment. Also, I'm not a spicy food eater, so I have to find places that suit my taste. Thankfully Beijing offers many types of cuisine such as Spanish, Asian, and Italian. The language barrier plays a role of its own too.

Sanlitun and Gaomao are some of my favorite Beijing hangouts. Sanlitun gives you a chance to see different people from all over the world. It reminds me of New York. This is where I visit in my free time, meet new friends and have fun.

I love how Beijing is so big, with so many places to visit. I like that this is a clean city that is full of greenery. I also enjoy the weather, for the most part. Now I personally think that as an American, China opens my mind to see things from a different lens than if I was in the USA, and allows me to see the practices and traditions of Chinese culture – I like this too. This gives me the chance to see the differences between us. I enjoy the weather here but it gets too cold. Luckily, I’m a New Yorker so I can manage ok. I also like the produce here; I can get fresh watermelon and Bananas all year around.

My most memorable Beijing experience is working with my students. I am so passionate about the work we get done in the classroom.

I am impacted by the peace of mind that I receive here in Beijing. Beijing has allowed me to see and learn things in a way that is contrary to the way I saw things in the West. For example, I see people more devoted to their work and education here compared to back in the States. Pride seems more vibrant, which reminds me of how I saw the West in the past.

Beijing has given me more experience and made me more of a cognitive teacher. I make sure my students get what they need and I am inspired to contribute as a teacher here in Beijing. Currently, I’m teaching AP world and American history. I hope to one day have a small business of some kind here that would allow me to stay longer.

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Photo: courtesy of Abraham Williams