Struggling in the US? Move to China!

by David A. Williams

A young American arrived in Beijing in spring, 2006 with little money, no friends, no job, and little knowledge of the language or culture. Within a year, he knew the language, had a fulfilling social life, wide connections and many interesting jobs. This book follows David Williams' incredible journey through modern China. He goes into detail about the freedoms that he feels in China, gives hard facts about the amount of violence and crime in the U.S. compared to China, and talks about the safe feeling he has living in China. He goes into detail about the incredibly low cost of living that he has living in China. He also tells about the way new Chinese friends have welcomed him, why Chinese women make such great girlfriends or wives, and why Chinese cuisine is healthier than American food. The most interesting and at times hilarious part of this book though, is the description of the many types of job opportunities that he has experienced in the Middle Kingdom. He works as a pastor at a Chinese wedding, becomes a foreign modeling and acting agent, and works on numerous TV commercials, shows, infomercials, exhibitions, and modeling shows. He works as an actor in an American movie with a well-known action star. He tells the story of how he one day, on a hunch, he strolled into the offices of a Beijing entertainment company, told them he wanted to work as an actor, and immediately became friends with the CEO, who offered him a part in a movie being filmed in Shanghai. David illustrates the many advantages to living in China. Whether it is to find more job opportunities, a good wife or husband, lots of friends, a fast, developing economy, a low cost, safer standard of living, or just more adventure, China is the place. Mr. Williams tells how he quickly integrated with the Chinese how he won a lot of friends fast, how he approaches every Chinese person he meets, and how he made friends with the right people. He tells how to become a zhongguotong , or old China hand and what it can mean for the successful career and social life of new foreigners living in China. He explains how he learned Chinese on his own (without the aid of classes or tutors) in less than a year, and how that propelled his success in winning over the Chinese people and finding many jobs. A very inspiring story about how one man moved to China and found a new life.

215 pages, Perfect Paperback

First published November 8, 2007

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book at the library and, in spite of it's somewhat cringey title, decided to give it a try. I read up until page 18, which is where the author reveals that at the time of writing, he had only lived in China for 11 months.

This guy is clearly in the throes of China enthusiasm. Based on my own experience (and that of many other foreigners who've lived in China), this enthusiasm typically lasts a year or two and then sort of fizzles out (and often turns into China disillusionment). It's the nature of enjoying that which is new and strange-- it eventually becomes old and familiar.

So... I decided to stop reading and move on to a more knowledgeable author.

Just to give you an idea of why I think this guy is an enthusiastic noob:
He loves getting into conversations with random strangers who are curious about him (constant, repetitive questions from strangers is a big turnoff for a lot of foreigners in China).
He claims to have become fluent in Chinese in about 9 months without classes or tutors (amazing if true-- probably not true).
He gave up a job in civil engineering because he wanted to go to China really bad.
He thinks a Chinese F visa is a work visa (hint: it's not; it's a business visa. Big difference.)
He claims to have worked as a pastor (but he actually just officiated a wedding; there's a difference).
He's happy about all the hordes of people who "want to be his friend" (it's likely many of them were more interested in free English speaking practice).
He considers Chinese television to be "good wholesome entertainment" (instead of boring, derivative, and saccharine).
He's excited about the fact that if you go to a big cultural site in China you'll "see thousands of tourists" (I've never heard anyone describe "thousands of tourists" in a positive way).

Anyway, you get my point. If you're looking for a way over-the-top description of a guy's amazing first year in a foreign country, then this is the book for you.

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an ok book, the the author was full of himself. Basically this book is about how wonderful he is and how everyone should move to China and be just like him. Annoying, but had some good points. I do not agree with total and complete language immersion, and alienating my friends just because they do not speak Chinese. Nor would I ever refuse to speak to someone who couldn't speak English very well.