Anthony Chow, 36, born in Sydney, Australia
Julia Wang, 29, born in Beijing, China
Yilan Chow, 3, born in Beijing, China
Daniel Chow, 10 months old, born in Beijing, China
Anthony: My parents came from Hong Kong. My dad went to Australia from Hong Kong when he was 16, and my mum arrived there when she was around 24. Australia is where I was born and raised.
Julia: I am from Beijing. I used to live with my parents in Haidian District and I went to primary school, middle school and university in Beijing. So I guess you can call me a real authentic Beijinger.
Anthony: The first time I came to China was at the end of 2005. I was passing through on holiday and I was lucky enough to meet Julia on that trip. I was here for only a couple of weeks and we managed to meet up; it was very random. Then it was all downhill from there. [Laughs]
Julia: I was teaching English in an English training school. That was how we got to know each other. One of the foreign teachers in that school is a friend of Anthony’s. He invited both of us to dinner once, and that’s how we met the first time. Then nothing happened after that until the next year when he emailed me. We exchanged a few emails, [including one]on Valentine’s Day when we found out that we were both still available.
Anthony: We decided to go on a holiday together so I came back to China and we went to Sichuan. During that same trip, I [made inquiries]about work and managed to find a company that was interested. I sent in my CV, had an interview in Australia and the Beijing office said, ‘Yeah, we need someone. Can you come work in two weeks?’ It was a big move for me, because I had spent two years in London, and my family and friends were expecting me to go back to Australia and settle down.
Anthony: We decided to go on a holiday together so I came back to China and we went to Sichuan. During that same trip, I [made inquiries]about work and managed to find a company that was interested. I sent in my CV, had an interview in Australia and the Beijing office said, ‘Yeah, we need someone. Can you come work in two weeks?’ It was a big move for me, because I had spent two years in London, and my family and friends were expecting me to go back to Australia and settle down.
Anthony: Aw, this has brought up lots of memories.
Julia: After we met and decided to be together, we rented an apartment here. We got married in September 2007 in Beihai Park. It was a really unique, romantic wedding.
Anthony: I spoke a little bit of Mandarin through some short courses in Australia and then when I came here, I started taking lessons. But I found that very difficult, because working as an architect involves really long hours. I work weekends and now I have two kids. Then at the end of the day, you have to go to Chinese class and it’s pretty difficult.
Julia: I speak English well, but Anthony’s Chinese is really bad.
Anthony: One of the biggest challenges to adjusting to life in Beijing when I first moved here was communicating with people for basic things, like organizing my bank account. I would have to rely on Julia to help me.
Julia: Yeah. Still.
Anthony: I had lots of laowai moments.
Julia: We will probably move back to Australia next year. We want our kids to go to school there.
Anthony: In some ways I am looking forward to going back. I miss my family, friends and the beach. When you grow up in Australia, the beach is very much a part of your life and you can go there after work and relax. It’s just different than Beijing. But I will miss Beijing too. I have lived here for five years and have developed a career path and have a life here now.
Julia: I don’t have friends there and that’s the biggest challenge. I will miss the city life of Beijing as well. Beijing is so busy and crowded and lively and when you go to Sydney, it’s quiet and peaceful.
If it weren’t for the kids we’d love to stay in Beijing, but in Australia there’s a better natural and social environment and less pressure in terms of the competition in the schools. But for just the two of us, in terms of living and working, I think it’s better here in Beijing.
My parents are here and they will not come with us to Australia. For Yilan and Daniel, visiting their grandparents will give them a reason to come back to Beijing.
This article is excerpted from beijingkids September 2011 issue. View it in PDF form here or contact distribution@beijing-kids.com to find out where you can pick up your free copy.
