Even before JavaMan and I were married, we talked about living abroad. We had both lived in other countries for the short-term, he in Estonia and me in Hong Kong. Although it certainly wasn’t the only factor in this desire, among other things, we wanted our children to have the opportunity to learn a second language and experience another culture, something we both value very highly.
We’d been married nine years, and Pumpkin was already six. There were no plans to move abroad. Since we’re Canadian, and bilingualism is really important to me, I’d done what I could to introduce our kids to French. We had cancelled English satellite TV and any programs the kids did watch were en francais. We also had a number of books and resources we purchased or borrowed from the library in French. As much as possible, with my limited abilities, I practiced speaking French to my kids. I looked longingly at ads for Rosetta Stone, but didn’t take the plunge.
Then in the spring of 2008, my husband took a trip to China and began to see the possibilities. He came home in March, and we had given notice on our apartment and with his employer by May. (Unfortunately, our visas didn’t come through until July!)
We lived in China from July 2008 through June 2010. We spent our time there learning the ins an outs of business in China, learning the language, and getting accustomed to the rhythm of life. This year back in Canada has been a year of strategy and networking, preparing to go back and start a business. My husband has had a wholesale coffee business here, and we plan to expand that into China.
“Coffee in China?” you ask. Well, Starbucks thinks so, and while we don’t have aspirations toward business on that level, there is still a world of opportunity there, even for the “little guy.”
We are still learning the language, and when we return, we plan to launch a vlog with Chinese lessons aimed at other homeschool families, hosted at www.holdthemsg.com. Stay tuned! We are excited to be heading back early in the new year (2012).
If you want to hear a slice of our story, read by Stuart McLean of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Vinyl Cafe. I wrote a letter to the broadcast, and it was selected to be read for their “Letters from Away” episode. Our story begins at 22:53, a little more than halfway through.
