Of course, my first inclination is to make comparisons between what is familiar and what is unfamiliar. I come from Colorado, home to tons of rednecks and countless trust fund recipients, affectionately known as ‘trustafarians.’ It is about the only place I know that you can purchase spandex in your choice of paisley or camouflage. By day, my vistas include blue skies and tall snowcapped mountains. The acreage is habitat to mule deer, raccoon and an occasional black bear. I enjoy clear starry night skies. The only noise is the sound of the creek rolling by, or a gentle breeze rustling through the aspen trees.
By contrast, Shanghai’s nights are filled with colorful neon, screeching automobile brakes, blaring horns and is habitat to millions of people. The skies are rarely blue and the views are filled with tall buildings as far as the eye can see, which isn’t all that far on a smoggy day. Nothing is quiet in Shanghai. I suppose it’s the contrast that brings me here, and it’s the people who keep me coming back.
The Chinese people are enchanting. They are incredibly humble and accommodating. My neighbors back in Colorado think I’m crazy to travel half way around the world to work in a foreign land. I often share stories about how I wander around Shanghai, lost most of the time. And how it’s always a local, who doesn’t speak my language, that takes notice of me studying a map and graciously tries to help me find my way. Once a tiny, gray haired woman took hold of the sleeve of my coat and pulled me down the street, until I was standing directly under the address I was searching for.
Fortune 1000 companies abound in this bustling city. More businesses are moving here each year, and the Expat community is growing. Each time I come to Shanghai, I meet with new clients and am often asked, “So what brought you to Shanghai?” I generally respond with, “Do you want the short or long version?”
There are many highly educated executives in Shanghai, and then there’s me… a ‘Jacqueline of all trades’: a freelance writer, graphic designer, photographer, commercial illustrator and fine artist. I’m a flaming workaholic who seeks opportunities that will allow me to travel. I’ve been to three continents and eight countries, so far. My resume’ is so diverse that many people cannot believe how much I have jammed into my — ah — fortyish years. My sense of adventure drives me forward, and forces me to learn new things every day of my life, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Shanghai is growing rapidly. The older sections of the city are being demolished to make way for modernization. In the challenge to have the tallest building in the world, Shanghai will have the right to boast when it completes construction of the World Financial Center building.
China has many interesting sights to see: the great wall, terra cotta warriors of Xian, beautiful alpine landscapes of Jiuzhaigou, to name just a few. Each time I visit Shanghai, I intend to take in the sights, but rarely have the time to enjoy more than one short tour at a time such as the zoo, the Bund, the Yuyuan Gardens and Market. There are numerous museums, temples and pagodas, and the Pudong horizon features the famous Oriental Pearl Tower and other architectural wonders. You will be surprised to find KFC, Starbucks and McDonalds in Shanghai; however, you won’t find rear seatbelts in a taxi or a safe pedestrian crossing.
This land of contrast has farmers who still use oxen to plow their fields, while some of the most sophisticated tractors in the world are being built there. A funky modern bronze sculpture stands in front of one of the ancient temples, hundred year old buildings are swallowed up by multi-million dollar architectural icons. Human powered bicycle carts, carrying goods to market, in a city that runs a magnetic levitation train traveling at speeds that exceed 400 km an hour! Communism and capitalism, traditional and modern, classical and quirky — it all blends well in Shanghai.
The English language is not widely spoken in China. In order to get a taxi you’d better have your destination address written down in simplified Chinese to hand to the cab driver, or you may not get very far. The official language of China is Mandarin. Cantonese is spoken in Beijing, and every province has its own dialect, so learning Chinese is no simple task. There are five different words used to say a simple “no.” It’s nearly as difficult to learn as American English, which is infamous for its over use of ever-changing slang.
There are those of us who are bold enough to attempt to learn a few words in Shanghainese, only to butcher the language. It’s a good thing that the locals never seem to lose their patience with us. They try to teach us how to pronounce the words correctly, or even write directions down for us so we can make our way around. Many of the young people in Shanghai can speak more than one language proficiently, and are climbing the corporate ladders. The west has been trading in Shanghai since the time of big clipper ships. Many western businesses and features have infiltrated China but the culture, for the most part, remains unchanged.
Every Expat I talk to has a story to tell. Taxi experiences are the most entertaining: often hilarious, sometimes frightening. Then there are the surprised looks on the faces of English-speaking restaurant patrons, who had meals delivered to their table, after simply pointing to items on a menu they couldn’t even comprehend. I’ve had a few of these experiences myself. Point: Expats are not afraid to experience new things.
The most important reality that I’ve discovered in my travels is that people are generally the same everywhere. We love our children, enjoy a good joke, love music and hate crime. We all want to make a living to give our kids a better life than ours. It’s our differences that make life fun and sometimes funny. It’s our similarities that bind us as members of the human race. Expats, well, they’re my inspiration. They have taught me that it is the journey that enriches life more so than the destination.
The Expat community is a close-knit family. These global explorers have chosen to expand their lives by living and working abroad. They fear little, welcome challenges and have rich experiences on their life-journey. They put their fears aside and pave the way for others to follow. It’s not an easy task to move to a country where you don’t know the language or the culture, but they welcome it all as the adventure of a lifetime. When they arrive, they learn that Shanghai is an interesting mix of contrasts and cultures. 
