Meet The Latino Expats Families of Beijing

Beijing is one of the largest cities in the world, with a huge population of foreigners, including a big Hispanic community. Meet three Latino expat families who came to Beijing with their hearts ready for new adventures that only a city like ours could fulfill.

The Bonani Family

Juan Bonani moved to China from Brazil in Feb 2015 to teach one of the most popular sports in the world, football. After moving to several different cities around China throughout the years, Bonani decided to settle in Beijing with his wife Chanel. Since he had lived abroad as a child, moving to China didn’t come as a big challenge to Bonani and he arrived with an open mind and accepted the best of what the country could offer him. As well as being a football coach, Bonani works at the Beijing International Bilingual Academy (BIBA) as a PE teacher. He is grateful that international schools provide long breaks, especially during the summer so he can make the long trip back home to catch up with family and friends. Bonani’s advice to other expats living in Beijing who are trying to make the best out of their experience is to come with an open mind and always remain positive. As for himself, he plans to stay here as long as he can in order to continue taking the great opportunities Beijing has to offer.

Claudia Besnier and Her Family

Claudia Besnier, her husband, José Miguel, and their five children, Martina (6), Catalina (9), Sophie, (11), Andre (14), and Tanya (16) arrived in Beijing ready for a new start in Mar, 2015. Although settling into a new country and learning your way around is always a challenge, they felt they were ready for the change and always kept a positive attitude when confronted with the struggles of being newbies in a foreign country. Besnier believes that the key to making the most of your experience is to stay busy and connected to other expats in order to learn from each other. For spouses that have little to no work, taking time to learn the language of the host country, keeping yourself busy, and joining activities offered to the expat community, all serve towards your happiness and tranquility. She also mentions that she highly values dedicating her weekends to quality time with her family. A positive aspect of living in Beijing that Besnier brings up is how secure it feels when moving around the city. For many expats who come from Latin American countries, this is a major bonus. Overall, Besnier and her family feel very happy here. The enriching cultural experiences and the meaningful friendship connections made is something they value and appreciate. Currently, they are all in Chile and hope to return to China in the near future to their home in Beijing.

Teresa Rodriguez’s Story

Finding himself suddenly unemployed and having to seek a job outside of Mexico, Teresa Rodriguez’s husband had to look even farther away from home to continue supporting their family and secure a future for their daughters. Therefore, the story of how they moved to China comes with an array of emotions.

In May of 2011, Rodriguez’’s husband had to make the trip to his new job in China alone, leaving his family behind. With tears and sadness, they all said their good-byes and promised to stay strong and to support each other despite the distance.

In June of 2013, Rodriguez’ decided to join her husband in Beijing while both their daughters stayed in Mexico to continue their university studies. Things were a little difficult for Rodriguez’ at the beginning. She was often lonely and missed her daughters dearly while she settled into a new place so different from home, but that changed when she decided to explore the world outside her doorstep and began to connect with others around her. She tackled lessons such as Mandarin, cooking, Tai Chi, and photography. Rodriguez also reached out to the expat community and established several friendships, and even volunteered up her time as a translator at the Beijing United Family Hospital.

The challenges were there and the thought of being away from her daughters was also hard for her, but the realization of being in a place with such a vast and rich culture gave Rodriguez the motivation to immerse herself into discovering what each day could provide for her. During her seven years in Beijing, she has seen many positive changes especially regarding technology which makes life easier for foreigners (translators, WeChat, cashless transactions, Didi, etc).

Rodriguez’s motto has been to look at the silver lining, leave the negative aside, and absorb the unique experiences that only a city like Beijing can deliver. China will always be in her heart!

As expat experiences go, sometimes it seems like it all boils down to one thing: getting yourself out of your comfort zone and out of your bubble. The trick to enjoying your experience is to explore the city that you now call home and experience all the wonderful things the experience of living abroad has to offer. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience that should never be taken for granted.

Eloisa Duarte is a translator and language instructor who is living in China for the second time. Her interest includes languages, writing, Latin culture, music among others. She lives here with her husband Joseph and two daughters, Katherine and Sofia.