In early 2020, my husband was assigned to an overseas office of his company in Beijing. I was hard at work at a job of my own at the time, so the news caught me off guard. But after giving it a lot of thought, I decided to take time off from work and accompany my husband to Beijing.
My top priority was that I didn't want our family to be apart. It was also a big plus that our child would attend an international school with top-notch facilities. I was sure she would be able to experience a great deal, studying in English with friends from all over the world. She struggled to adjust to the new surroundings at first, but she is doing just fine at school now.
I also had a lot of ups and downs at first, since I didn't speak a lick of Chinese. I started to study the language, thinking that I couldn't just be illiterate. This new attempt at learning a new language is still ongoing.
- It's not very important, so don't give it a lot of thought. / I gave it a lot of thought before I answered.
- Making friends is a great way to adjust to the new surroundings.
- People who don't speak a lick of English can still enjoy the movie. / I did not speak a lick of the local language.
1: You've had experience living abroad, right?
2: Yes, when my husband was assigned to an overseas office of his company.
1: Oh, I see.
2: We thought it over, and decided to whole family would move together.
1: How long were you there for?
2: About three years. The kids picked up a lot of English before we returned.