In many aspects, life as an expat in China is like anywhere else: eating, shopping, going out and chatting with other people.
Alfons Mairhofer, Area Sales Manager Asia at A&T Wiener Neudorf / Austria shares the experiences he has made as an expat in China:
Unfortunately I cannot return at the moment because of the worldwide travel restrictions due to Covid-19. Like many people I hope for a quick return to normality - until then my memories help me to suppress my wanderlust.
To answer a frequently asked question up front: No, I do not get fed up with food in Shanghai. First because I am quite into Chinese and Asian cuisine, and second because it is not necessary to miss out on any other dish or food from pretty much any place around the world. If you are not such a fan of soup dumplings, hairy crab, braised pork, fried or steamed buns, or any other of the divers local delicacies Shanghai has to offer, there are still hundreds of other international food options whether a classic American burger, or Italian pizza and pasta, Mexican Tacos, Japanese, Persian, French, Thai, Moroccan, Greek,…. you name it. (No offense if I missed out yours).
As my fridge is mostly empty, due to my frequent travels and poor self management skills, I prefer to eat out. In fact this is often a cheaper option anyways as my repertoire of recipes is limited to a few European dishes for which getting imported ingredients is costly.
There is one thing my kitchen is always equipped with though – Instant Noodles.
Yet, finally making the step and actually moving your center of life to another continent, into a – to yourself – non-native surrounding, is of course coming with a few hurdles to overcome, some of them that you might not have thought of or have evaluated differently at first. So while at first sight everything seems the same, of course many things are different and very specific to China.
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Alfons MairhoferArea Sales Manager AsiaAviation & Transportation, Wr. Neudorf / Austria
After his studies at the University of Applied Sciences in Upper Austria with a focus on medical engineering, Alfons completed the Master of Arts in Business for Global Sales & Marketing. Alfons studied abroad for a term in Seoul and did several internships in Austria. In private Alfons is very sportive and enjoys hiking, skiing and climbing. Since he is 6 years old he plays several instruments such as piano, saxophone and flute. Alfons has been working as Area Sales Manager for Asia at ISOVOLTA in Wiener Neudorf / Austria since 2015. |
