Introduction:
After finishing my graduation I was looking for a job either in France or abroad... But for me abroad was meaning again going far away... Then an opportunity came: joining Veolia Water & Technologies for 2 years in Beijing... It didn't take me a long to decide as I knew already the city and had some friends (Lolo - my old roommate, Olivier who has become an F&B manager of the bakery, Mathias my old manager and Gutcha & Ala who were my roommates in India). I met Kevin (also there for 2 years) with whom we were introduced by a common friend and we were exchanging by mail. My sister introduced me to Victor and Krassy who were a very beautiful Bulgarian art couple. So basically I was going to a place where I knew already some folks which made me stress less.
On the other hand I wanted to visit Asia, so this was a great opportunity to visit a lot of places for a short period of time.
It will be complicated to summarize two years in one article but I will try to go to the essential points and of course i will start with the people who shared my life over there. Indeed, they may seem just names but they are much more:
During this period I managed to visit several monuments I didn't have the opportunity to visit during my first stay:
What really impressed me in Beijing was the speed the city was developing itself... For two years several buildings have been build, 4 Lines of subway have been opened & 2 new city rings were about to be finished.
In the meantime the air pollution has also been increased a lot... I remember that my body needed several days to get used to the air. We also had several picks of pollution especially in February 2014 where it was almost impossible to see the buildings nearby...
Nevertheless, thanks to those two years of experience
I learnt a lot regarding the Chinese culture and working, I met incredible persons who became my family who will stay forever in my heart.
I managed to visit 10 different countries in Asia and several places within the Mainland China.
After finishing my graduation I was looking for a job either in France or abroad... But for me abroad was meaning again going far away... Then an opportunity came: joining Veolia Water & Technologies for 2 years in Beijing... It didn't take me a long to decide as I knew already the city and had some friends (Lolo - my old roommate, Olivier who has become an F&B manager of the bakery, Mathias my old manager and Gutcha & Ala who were my roommates in India). I met Kevin (also there for 2 years) with whom we were introduced by a common friend and we were exchanging by mail. My sister introduced me to Victor and Krassy who were a very beautiful Bulgarian art couple. So basically I was going to a place where I knew already some folks which made me stress less.
On the other hand I wanted to visit Asia, so this was a great opportunity to visit a lot of places for a short period of time.
It will be complicated to summarize two years in one article but I will try to go to the essential points and of course i will start with the people who shared my life over there. Indeed, they may seem just names but they are much more:
- Gutcha & Ala introduced me to their Brazilian and international friends who became my family for the next two years: Fernando, Claudia, Francesco & Kathy.
- Very fast we became good friends with Kevin and were going out all the time. Soon later I met his future wife Anissa who is an adorable person.
- It is impossible not to mention several people that I met a bit later but who became very good friends or even something more and with whom I have shared a lot of fun and nice stories : Florence, Lucie, Ariane, Gregoire, Renato, Anna, Cathrine, Bruno.
- And also all the family members and friends who came to visit me: my sister (Jacki) and my brother in law (Mitko), my cousin (Krassy) and her boyfriend (Svetlio), my cousin Stefan, my friends Todor and Iliana, and finally Oleg and Eli.
During this period I managed to visit several monuments I didn't have the opportunity to visit during my first stay:
- The Lama Temple
- The Confucius Temple
- The art district 798 which was basically an old factory center transformed into art district with a lot of workshops. A great place to escape from the noisy Beijing.
- The summer palace while my cousin was visiting me in 2014.
- The Olympic stadium while my sister and her boyfriend were visiting me. I went there several times after, for the Beijing Open Tennis tournament and the athletics world championship where I managed to see Usain Bolt from very close.
What really impressed me in Beijing was the speed the city was developing itself... For two years several buildings have been build, 4 Lines of subway have been opened & 2 new city rings were about to be finished.
In the meantime the air pollution has also been increased a lot... I remember that my body needed several days to get used to the air. We also had several picks of pollution especially in February 2014 where it was almost impossible to see the buildings nearby...
Nevertheless, thanks to those two years of experience
I learnt a lot regarding the Chinese culture and working, I met incredible persons who became my family who will stay forever in my heart.
I managed to visit 10 different countries in Asia and several places within the Mainland China.
There are a lot of things to say about Beijing, but to make it short:
My favorite places to go out were:
My favorite restaurants:
My favorite places to go out were:
- "The Bar" in Sanlitun where I have met the barman Jim who was very nice and always offering us extended happy hours. He made us also discover the Monkey Brain shots from which the memories are all unclear :)
- "Modernista" in Gulou. A nice bar in the Hutongs with live international music.
- "Sirteen": a club which is located on the west side of the Workers Stadium opened in 2015 which Gutcha made me discover a Wednesday night during which one of the guys of LMFAO was performing there...
My favorite restaurants:
- "Peking Duck" in the area of Sanlitun where the Beijing Duck was just delicious.
- "Bao Dzi": a great place to eat jiao dzi (dumplings), near the Landmark Towers
- "O'steak" the best place to eat a nice steak French style which Gregoire showed me. It became soon after something like our cantine.
- "Taverne" a nice French restaurant with really good choice of food and a nice terrasse.
- "Cafe de la Poste": located in the area of Gulou where an amazing Tartare is served.
Well in kind of conclusion, what I can say is that those two years spent in China allowed me to discover myself, to discover others, to learn, to enjoy, to travel, to love, to respect, to overcome. It has also allowed me to meet some of the most incredible people I have met in my life... What it is sure is that China has not been my last living destination... while I am still in Europe, there are still dreams about going somewhere for 2-3 years again...
While I am waiting/dreaming for the next destination, three words are coming in my head: Xie Xie, China ! For your hospitality and opportunity you have gave me.
While I am waiting/dreaming for the next destination, three words are coming in my head: Xie Xie, China ! For your hospitality and opportunity you have gave me.