The language barrier is usually the first challenge for newcomers when they go shopping. Gao Erqiang
"It is very humbling to be an expat." These are the words of Canadian Doreen McBride, who knows better than most because she works helping expats get over culture shock.
"It is difficult for a capable adult to have to admit that in the new country, they do not know how to pay their bills.
"To bridge this gap is invaluable."
McBride has had her share of adjusting to new environments. Married to an American, McBride has moved with her family of five from Canada to the United States, to Malaysia, to the United States again, and now to Shanghai where she has lived for the last two-and-a-half years.
As excited as McBride is about expat life now, her first expat assignment in Malaysia from 2000 to 2003 started with paralyzing culture shock.
"The challenge of moving to Shanghai has been very different from what I experienced in Malaysia," says McBride about the "incredibly overwhelming" experience of adjusting to Malaysia.
Hailing from North America, McBride initially found herself unable to get the daily life of her family going in Malaysia, which she found utterly alien. Fortunately, a friend of the family from Hong Kong literally took over the McBride family for a short while to show them how things were done in Asia and how to cope.
Now McBride talks about Malaysia as a dream destination.
"I cannot thank our friend enough for what she did for us."
When she moved to Malaysia, her children were 6, 8 and 10 years old. Since the children were older when the family moved to Shanghai - 12, 14 and 16 - McBride found that she had more time to give back to the community.
After the culture shock in Malaysia, McBride learned to treasure help with getting to know a new culture: "Anything you can share to make life as expat easier is valuable."
Therefore she now tries to give back to the international community by helping people adjust and get to know Chinese culture, just like that friend of the family did eight years ago on their first expat assignment.
Through Community Center Shanghai, McBride offers introductions to local culture through tours. The five types of tours McBride does are to the local fruit and vegetable market, a flower and plant market and a furniture store with Southeast Asian furniture, a candle factory and a trip to Yu Yuan Garden to eat "xiao long bao" or small steamed stuffed buns.
"It's been a lot of fun and a growing experience. The tours are still a work in progress as we try to figure out what expats are looking for and ways to help them connect to each other and to a new environment."
Some of the most common questions expats ask McBride during the tours are basic things like how to get back to the location or what specific items are called.
Doreen McBride (left) accompanies an expat on a visit to a local market in Shanghai. Courtesy of Doreen McBride
Many of the people joining the small weekly groups exchange e-mail addresses and information on how and where to get those little daily necessities which newcomers rarely know how to track down.
"From art supplies to wrapping paper, nothing is too small, when you've been craving it," McBride says.
Although the language barrier is a huge issue for most of the expats, McBride found that most questions relate to culture more than language.
"People need to find out what's appropriate in China. However, they rarely know how to access that type of information."
McBride experienced an instant connection with the expats on the tours. "We all went through the same things, like leaving friends and relatives back home. You can't get that kind of instant connection at home."
What has made McBride somewhat of an expert on these issues is neither years of Asian Studies nor long time experience in China. To her, the secret was her Mandarin instructor.
"My brilliant teacher has given me not only a wealth of information but also valuable insights into the Chinese culture. She has been working with foreigners in China long enough to know the important differences between Asian and Western culture."
According to McBride, what she gets out of helping other expats is to see what she calls "the newness of expat life through the eyes of others".
"I love to see the expression on their faces when their world here opens up to them."
The value of the lessons learnt by McBride from multiple expat postings is obvious for her. "I really wish that everybody could get at least one year abroad. Because it teaches people to be tolerant of other people."
(China Daily March 31, 2008)