Name： David DrakefordChinese Name： Da WeiNationality： BritishOccupation： Self-employedTime in China： 5 yearsDavid is from Bristol in the southwest ofEngland. As it is difficult to find really good jobsin England， David arrived in China in 2002， withbright hopes and expectations， and began hiscolorful life here.
28 I made my first contact with David on the telephone. I couldtell by his distinctive Queen’s English that it was an Englishman onother end of the line.
In a quiet， cozy corner of the Dongzhimen Pizza Hut I had aface-to-face chat with Dawei， the young man I had talked with on thephone. A Briton with a cherubic face， he looked like a teenager butsaid he was approaching his thirties. This has completely changed mylong-held opinion that all foreigners look older than their actual age.
His full name is David Drakeford， and he didn’t need to rack hisbrains when picking his Chinese name： Dawei， the most common， offtheshelf Chinese equivalent of “David”。
David is from Bristol in southwestern England， a city to the westof London. After growing up in a village in an outlaying area of Bristolhe went to college at Bridgewater， where he majored in sound engineering.
“Isn’t life in the UK pretty good？ Why did you come to China？” Icame directly to our topic after an interchange of civilities. “Nowadaysthere are so many Chinese youngsters who go to college in the UKwith high hopes that they can carve out careers abroad. “I just wanted to come here to browse a little bit after I left college. “Is it hard to find jobs in your country？ I heard it is not so easy. I was really curious about the different employment situations in the UK and China. China has a big problem in providing suitable jobs forall of its college graduates.
“It’s not so easy for job seekers in England either，” David assuredme.
David came to China in 2002. Dalian was his first port of call，a coastal city with beautiful surroundings， similar to his home town.
There David landed a job as an English teacher. After four months， hestarted looking for something bigger， just like any young people whothinks the grass is always greener on the other side.
First Visit to BeijingAt the beginning of 2003， full of bright hopes and expectations，David arrived in Beijing by train and started his life here.
“East or west， home is the best，” as a Chinese saying goes. Athome you are always comfortable and away from home you are alwayson the verge of trouble. It is even so for a Chinese person inChina， let alone a foreigner stranded in a foreign land， far away fromhis kin. “Where did you stay first when you came？” I couldn’t refrainfrom asking.
“I stayed in a hostel near the Jinghua Hotel，” David said， “for thirty30 yuan a day. “Only thirty yuan？ That’s cheap. How were the amenities？ “Well. How shall I put it？ I had to share a room with other people.
There was no computer. “Did you get a job offer before you came？ “No. I just wanted to come and so I came. “You really are terrific.” I spoke highly of his courage. It wouldbe absolutely unthinkable for a conservative person like me to do sucha thing. Who would have thought that a foreigner， a complete stranger，could dare to venture out in this bustling metropolis？ “Since you knewnobody in Beijing， how did you manage to find a job here？ “On the Internet，” he said casually.
Indeed， at a time when the Internet is everywhere and informationflows unobstructed， it has become indispensable to life and makesthings much easier. A great deal of things which used to be very complexand hard to tackle are now a piece of cake. Without doubt， Davidis one of those who have benefited from the Internet.
David started his job hunt in an Internet cafè。 A few days later hefound an English teaching post with the private Shane English Schooland a monthly salary of 7，000 yuan. This was his first job in Beijing，and the starting point of his entry into the social circles of Beijing.
In the Shane English School， David met teachers from Australia，Canada， the USA and the UK as well as Chinese teachers. He workedfour hours a day， and spent the rest of his working hours learning Chinese.
“It is easiest for foreigners to get English-teaching jobs， isn’t it？” Iasked him.
“Yes. Most Chinese schools need foreign English teachers sincethe whole country is crazy about learning English. That’s why it’s easyfor native English speakers to get a job，” David concluded. “But notall of them qualify for the job. Some speak good English but don’tknow how to teach. Some have questionable behavior. Some are alcoholics.
Some even come here just to escape being pestered by a wife athome. David has learned this from his own work experience and fromcontacts with colleagues. Actually， we Chinese also know that not all foreigners who work in Chinaare the best. Their qualificationsvary — some good，some poor. To my knowledge，some foreign teachers havebeen sacked by their studentsfor poor teaching.
David’s contract with theschool expired in 2004 and he was somewhat homesick. After a threemonthpleasure trip around China and in Hong Kong， he went back tothe UK， with no plan to come back again.
“What’s brought you back then？” Staring into his eyes， I tried to readhis mind.
“Well， I had trouble finding a really good job in England. I sawan advert once for a position in the company which made the cartoonChicken Run. They were hiring a PA for two managers. I really likedthe sound of the job and managed to get an interview. “What happened？” I had no sooner finished asking than I realizedthat the answer to my question was obvious. He was sitting here talkingwith me， wasn’t he？ Anyway， I still looked at him， waiting for therest of the story.
“The interview was pretty weird. There were two people playingdifferent roles with entirely contradictory viewpoints. I was supposedto find a middle ground， I guess， but I sort of lost my bearings.
