正文
A sea turtle's swim back home may be long and treacherous. The open waters are filled with predators both humans and fish, and sometimes even the occasional oil spill. Yet they are not the only ones who struggle on their journey home. Sea turtles, also known as haigui, are the Chinese youth who have studied abroad and are returning back home to a different China. In a time when the job market is just recovering, these Chinese youth who were born in the late 80s come back home to a new China that seems just as tough to navigate as the dark, oil-slicked waters of the open sea.
"It's very difficult to live in China now," said Guan Fang who studied in France for eight years. "People do things for money… There is a lot more fear here than when I left." Fang sees the current China as unstable grounds for this quickly developing country. She believes that many Chinese cannot sustain their lifestyles with the incomes they have.
"The Chinese need to earn more money to give themselves assurance of their future and lifestyle…In France people know how to enjoy their lives. They attempt to make life more beautiful. Whereas, the lifestyle here is very expensive and the income they make cannot support their lifestyles."
Fang works at a normal nine-to-six desk job where she toils as an assistant. Unhappy with her own career in China, she believes that it's hard for many Chinese students who have studied abroad to find rewarding jobs. "They want a job that's equal to their profile," said Fang. "Students who have come from abroad want higher salaries and better working conditions, and especially to work for a foreign company."
Unremarkable
However, there are those who do not see the worth in these students who put down hundreds of thousands for an oversea education. "I would say that at least 80 percent of these Chinese students who have studied abroad are simply unremarkable," said Rui Leow, who worked in the human resources department hiring for top Fortune 500 firms.
Leow said many of these students remain unqualified despite the hefty educational price tag because of their weakness in adjusting to the Western culture or not making it into the top foreign universities. "Honestly, they just wanted to say, 'Hey, look at me, I have a Masters and I'm a liuxuesheng [a foreign student].'" She believes many of these students feel as if they have the right to better jobs just because they have studied abroad. However, that doesn't cut it for the current job market, Leow said. Many of those who have spent a fortune studying abroad come back home with little prospect for a stable or even desirable career choices.
Yet the students think otherwise. "They think we are stupid for studying abroad," said Fang, "they only can think about economics and that's all they care about in the world. They don't care about the society or the world. They only want to have fun or to play. They don't take responsibility."
Unlike many, Fang sees "guanxi" as a negative word that has handicapped China instead of opening doors. "In China it means you have to pay money for their dinner in order to get what you want," said Fang. "Chinese people are almost too realistic - they don't trust each other because they want to use each other to fulfill their own goals… Now it's about giving someone a gift so that they will give me a job. It's not real friendship, it's mostly for benefit."
Reverse culture shock
Others such as Ethan Sun, 26, who has studied abroad understood that the opportunity would give him the competitive edge that no other student his age could achieve. At the age of 17, Sun packed up his few belongings in China and started anew overseas. Now, 10 years later, Sun's eyes are tired and blood-shot. He's stressed from the studying for his financial exam. He is taking the exam so that he has "financial security" in case his future doesn't pan out the way he wants it to be.
But China is not exactly the most monetarily secure place at the moment, he believes. "People want so much more these days," he said. "People want new cars and houses... China just isn't the same anymore." His study abroad left him with a conflicting image of the current China. "It's hard to readjust to the new world here," said Sun.
Last month Sun visited his hometown in Zhengzhou, Henan Province where it is now filled with cars, sex shops and overwhelming price tags. Now when he walks into a mall he sees overpriced brands when before it was just local goods. "I see brands that have ridiculous price tags in a second tier city. That would be unimaginable years ago. But now people's consumption ability has grown," said Sun.
Sun can precisely point out the cultural clashes that make him uneasy from the newest short-short fashion that would have been unthinkable years ago to expensive hobbies. "They seem to enjoy this feeling of ownership … people aren't buying these expensive watches to tell time but it's simply acquiring a new identity," said Sun.
Big China
However, there are others such as Ryan Wang who look past the problems in China and see opportunity. The white walls of his office are bare aside from a few books on his shelf. The windows overlooking the city are large, bringing in an abundance of sunlight into his empty office. From his large bay windows, one can see the vast landscape of the Beijing skyline.
"One day I will own an even bigger office," Wang said. "I want to own an office in the Huamao tower," a high-end office building that costs 300,000 yuan ($44,000) a month.
He is just 26 years old, yet he has achieved success by starting his own investment firm built upon his knowledge of foreign markets. "Ten years ago when I left China it was THAT small, but China has become THAT big. Now there are more educated people and more people who are getting rich," said Wang. Now he owns a new office on the 39th floor of the Jianwai SOHO building in the CBD area.
Wang, Sun and Fang are among the generation of Chinese youth born in the 1980s who first grabbed at the opportunities of studying aboard after the economic reform in the late 70s. At the age of 17, these students began enrolling in universities abroad. During this time the few who could afford it, found their way abroad, some even hoping to come back to carry on their family businesses.
However there are few like Wang who have achieved success. Wang was able to capitalize on his understanding of foreign markets from his time abroad. He recognized that the Chinese markets were ripe for the picking. "The Chinese market is controlled and the Chinese citizens have no choice. They have nothing else to invest and real estate is too expensive to the average Chinese citizen."
Wang gives average people an opportunity at success with his knowledge of foreign markets and trading. Wang sees that in this new China anyone can be successful if he has the right knowledge.
For these haigui, the long swim back home has been a struggle, some come back to a home that is completely destroyed. While others cannot adjust to their city's growing pollution problems among the many other social issues that are changing their habitats. Many are just trying to find a place and a position where they feel that they belong. Yet for some of these turtles, the future is just unfolding.
Click to view Haigui's Dilemma
Note: 严格来说， 我的女儿并不算是海归， 因为她是在美国出生的。 她大学一毕业， 就到北京工作了。 这一年多来， 她慢慢熟悉中国的生活和文化，也认识了一些80后海归，于是，就在中国的英文报纸写了一篇海归的报道。 这是她在环球时报刊登的第三篇文章， 也是她自认为最得意的文章。
"It's very difficult to live in China now," said Guan Fang who studied in France for eight years. "People do things for money… There is a lot more fear here than when I left." Fang sees the current China as unstable grounds for this quickly developing country. She believes that many Chinese cannot sustain their lifestyles with the incomes they have.
"The Chinese need to earn more money to give themselves assurance of their future and lifestyle…In France people know how to enjoy their lives. They attempt to make life more beautiful. Whereas, the lifestyle here is very expensive and the income they make cannot support their lifestyles."
Fang works at a normal nine-to-six desk job where she toils as an assistant. Unhappy with her own career in China, she believes that it's hard for many Chinese students who have studied abroad to find rewarding jobs. "They want a job that's equal to their profile," said Fang. "Students who have come from abroad want higher salaries and better working conditions, and especially to work for a foreign company."
Unremarkable
However, there are those who do not see the worth in these students who put down hundreds of thousands for an oversea education. "I would say that at least 80 percent of these Chinese students who have studied abroad are simply unremarkable," said Rui Leow, who worked in the human resources department hiring for top Fortune 500 firms.
Leow said many of these students remain unqualified despite the hefty educational price tag because of their weakness in adjusting to the Western culture or not making it into the top foreign universities. "Honestly, they just wanted to say, 'Hey, look at me, I have a Masters and I'm a liuxuesheng [a foreign student].'" She believes many of these students feel as if they have the right to better jobs just because they have studied abroad. However, that doesn't cut it for the current job market, Leow said. Many of those who have spent a fortune studying abroad come back home with little prospect for a stable or even desirable career choices.
Yet the students think otherwise. "They think we are stupid for studying abroad," said Fang, "they only can think about economics and that's all they care about in the world. They don't care about the society or the world. They only want to have fun or to play. They don't take responsibility."
Unlike many, Fang sees "guanxi" as a negative word that has handicapped China instead of opening doors. "In China it means you have to pay money for their dinner in order to get what you want," said Fang. "Chinese people are almost too realistic - they don't trust each other because they want to use each other to fulfill their own goals… Now it's about giving someone a gift so that they will give me a job. It's not real friendship, it's mostly for benefit."
Reverse culture shock
Others such as Ethan Sun, 26, who has studied abroad understood that the opportunity would give him the competitive edge that no other student his age could achieve. At the age of 17, Sun packed up his few belongings in China and started anew overseas. Now, 10 years later, Sun's eyes are tired and blood-shot. He's stressed from the studying for his financial exam. He is taking the exam so that he has "financial security" in case his future doesn't pan out the way he wants it to be.
But China is not exactly the most monetarily secure place at the moment, he believes. "People want so much more these days," he said. "People want new cars and houses... China just isn't the same anymore." His study abroad left him with a conflicting image of the current China. "It's hard to readjust to the new world here," said Sun.
Last month Sun visited his hometown in Zhengzhou, Henan Province where it is now filled with cars, sex shops and overwhelming price tags. Now when he walks into a mall he sees overpriced brands when before it was just local goods. "I see brands that have ridiculous price tags in a second tier city. That would be unimaginable years ago. But now people's consumption ability has grown," said Sun.
Sun can precisely point out the cultural clashes that make him uneasy from the newest short-short fashion that would have been unthinkable years ago to expensive hobbies. "They seem to enjoy this feeling of ownership … people aren't buying these expensive watches to tell time but it's simply acquiring a new identity," said Sun.
Big China
However, there are others such as Ryan Wang who look past the problems in China and see opportunity. The white walls of his office are bare aside from a few books on his shelf. The windows overlooking the city are large, bringing in an abundance of sunlight into his empty office. From his large bay windows, one can see the vast landscape of the Beijing skyline.
"One day I will own an even bigger office," Wang said. "I want to own an office in the Huamao tower," a high-end office building that costs 300,000 yuan ($44,000) a month.
He is just 26 years old, yet he has achieved success by starting his own investment firm built upon his knowledge of foreign markets. "Ten years ago when I left China it was THAT small, but China has become THAT big. Now there are more educated people and more people who are getting rich," said Wang. Now he owns a new office on the 39th floor of the Jianwai SOHO building in the CBD area.
Wang, Sun and Fang are among the generation of Chinese youth born in the 1980s who first grabbed at the opportunities of studying aboard after the economic reform in the late 70s. At the age of 17, these students began enrolling in universities abroad. During this time the few who could afford it, found their way abroad, some even hoping to come back to carry on their family businesses.
However there are few like Wang who have achieved success. Wang was able to capitalize on his understanding of foreign markets from his time abroad. He recognized that the Chinese markets were ripe for the picking. "The Chinese market is controlled and the Chinese citizens have no choice. They have nothing else to invest and real estate is too expensive to the average Chinese citizen."
Wang gives average people an opportunity at success with his knowledge of foreign markets and trading. Wang sees that in this new China anyone can be successful if he has the right knowledge.
For these haigui, the long swim back home has been a struggle, some come back to a home that is completely destroyed. While others cannot adjust to their city's growing pollution problems among the many other social issues that are changing their habitats. Many are just trying to find a place and a position where they feel that they belong. Yet for some of these turtles, the future is just unfolding.
Click to view Haigui's Dilemma
Note: 严格来说， 我的女儿并不算是海归， 因为她是在美国出生的。 她大学一毕业， 就到北京工作了。 这一年多来， 她慢慢熟悉中国的生活和文化，也认识了一些80后海归，于是，就在中国的英文报纸写了一篇海归的报道。 这是她在环球时报刊登的第三篇文章， 也是她自认为最得意的文章。
To woyawoya: thanks for your advice. I assume my daughter's goal is to become a real journalist