Well, it has been more than a year since I posted a blog here. “Why?” you might ask. Life changes and this site has changed. As for my life, here’s a quick summary. My main change was a four month trip to China. I wrote a summary in Chinese and will adapt it here to provide English.

2018 年我的中国旅行：日子和旅行的传输媒界 (My 2018 Trip to China: my itinerary)

1月15日从美国阿肯色州 — 开车我的皮卡到飞机站在 Springfield, Missouri, USA (Jan. 15, travel from Arkansas to Springfield, Missouri, USA)

1月16日 — 到 Dallas, Texas, USA — 飞机 (fly to Dallas)

1月16日 — 到 London, England — 飞机 (fly to London, England)

1月17日 — 到上海 — 飞机 (fly to Shanghai)

1月19日 — 到扬州 — 高铁 (travel by bullet train to Yangzhou)

1月21日 — 到长沙金井 — 高铁和出租汽车 (travel by bullet train to Jinjing, north of Changsha)

2月30日 — 到长沙 — 长途车 (travel to Changsha)

3月01日 — 到成都 — 坐火车坐卧铺 (travel by bullet train to Chengdu)

3月04日 — 到四川凉山彝 — 坐火车坐卧铺 (travel by bullet train to Liangshan Yi)

3月06日 — 到成都 — 坐火车坐卧铺 (travel by bullet train back to Chengdu)

3月13日 — 到广州 — 坐火车坐卧铺 (travel by bullet train to Guangzhou)

3月15日 — 到香港 — 高铁和长途车 (travel by bullet train to Shenzhen)

3月15日 — 到深圳 — 长途车 (travel by bus to Hong Kong)

3月16日 — 到北京 — 坐火车坐卧铺 (travel by bullet train to Beijing)

3月17日 — 到沈阳 — 高铁 (travel by bullet train to Shenyang)

5月01日 — 到盘锦 — 长途车 (travel by bus to Panjin)

5月03日 — 到上海 — 高铁 (travel by bullet train to Shanghai)

5月09日 — 到美国 Los Angeles — 飞机 (fly to Los Angeles)

5月09日 — 到Dallas — 飞机 (fly to Dallas)

5月10日 — 到Springfield, Missouri — 飞机 (fly to Springfield, Missouri)

5月10日 — 到Mountain Home, Arkansas, USA — 开车我的皮卡 (drive home to Arkansas)So, what did I do in China, you ask? Aside from visiting friends and students in those cities, I taught English in Jinjing for several weeks and used English to teach art in Shenyang for several weeks. More specifically, I taught art near Shenyang in Shencai and in Xinmin.pH

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Eventually, I got my ABN (Australia Business Number)and a business name: Emma Kang Coaching. It took me the whole day to figure out what kind of business I should run with a company name, a business name, or simply using my legal name. I was on the phone with wow teamers, Michelle, especially Josh was so supportive; friends and professional ones from the website who were willing to give me the advice. I was trying to register with ASIC directly, yet it seemed the “create the account” button never works, which frustrated me so much. In the end, I registered with ABNRegistration.com.au; it only took 15 minutes to complete all the procedures. Now I am the business owner of Emma Kang Coaching. Setting an ABN and a business name is the first step for me to live on the creative life again. If I would love to live a secure but repetitive life, I don’t need to worry about a financial thing at all. However, I don’t think I am that kind of person who is content with a stable life, nothing changes. I need a bit challenging to make me regain the sense of being alive. Running a business is like swimming in the ocean; I can never predict what happens.As far as I am aware of, I can’t stop learning new things. Coaching is about self-development, I am ready to grow with my clients together. I am learning marketing, sales, business, coaching, etc. It’s a brand new world, which gives me a sense of the first time I arrived in Australia. I am full of curiosity to see what the world is gonna offer if I try my best. I find it’s fun, it’s a new adventure. I am experiencing something fabulous; I haven’t had this feeling for so long since I’ve achieved a big goal, a Uni degree, a PR, a job, an apartment, a car. Once again, It’s time for me to enter into an unknown world. Life is magic if you dare to give up a comfortable but boring life and ready to challenge yourself so that you can live on your ideal life. That’s the amazing part I enjoy most, which is unpredictable. It is fun. Barbara Sher said,Fun is going after what you want and meeting new people and making discoveries and fashioning things never seen before and learning things you didn’t know. That’s exciting, and excitement is half joy and half fear- that’s the way it is. It’s like skiing or diving into a pool- a little scary but lots of fun. That’s me; I feel a bit scared, a bit excited. I enjoy self-development, that’s the purpose I start a new business. There are so many things to learn; it keeps me very busy. How about you? My dear friends, you don’t have to go to another country or another city to experience something unique. One thing you need to do is to discover what you are passionate about, and use your wild imagination to think about a bigger picture, if you believe you can do it, if you take action and commit to success, then you can make it. If you feel stagnant; if you want to speak fluent English so that you can get your job promoted, or if you’re going to study overseas; if you’re going to change your career, please talk to me. Here I am offering six free sessions to help you achieve your goal and dream.You can count on me.Please join my Wechat: sweetolive2016 Let’s get connected.- Sweetolive (Emma Kang Coaching)

Last Friday, when I chatted with my Aussie colleague, Kaylene, she said: “Sweetolive, that’s how I love you so much.” “Haha, really? Thank you.” In fact, I haven’t done anything catering for her. One month ago, she sent me a link regarding an event she was very passionate about which was related to a drink product she’s having. I enjoy activities getting together with new people, yet at this stage, I am not interested in drinking supplements no matter how healthy they are. Also, I have so many things to do on my dream list. I replied: “Sorry, I don’t think I can make it.”Again, last Thursday at lunchtime, Kaylene asked: “Swetolive, would you like join us for lunch?” “I would love to, but I bring lunch box today.” “Are you sure you don’t celebrate with me? I’ll be on a trip to the U.S.A this Sunday.” “Sorry, you should let me know earlier.” “That’s fine, not a problem at all, I am just trying to be funny,” Kaylene said. “Cool.” “Sweetolive, you don’t go for a Friday night drink with us? It’s for socialising.” “I know, but not tonight, I had an arrangement with my family for dining out, probably next time.” I can’t remember how many times my answer was “Yes, yes.” quite a lot time I said: “No, no, no.” Unless I wanna join her from my heart, then I will say “Yes, yes.” It’s not because I wanna be friends with her, then change myself and to do what I am not really really like and make myself unhappy.The time I started a job in the company, as I wrote in the previous blogs. A CPA seemed caring for me very much: “Be careful to a few nasty Aussie ladies, quite a lot of accounts have lost a job because of them, please don’t ask them questions, and I will help you.” I did trust him, yet after a while, I found the CPA didn’t really care about the work, I have heard from him now and then: “Yes, I will, I will do it.” Very disappointing, he seldom take it into action. Then I had to ask the ladies; the problems were solved immediately, gradually I lost the trust of the CPA. I was wondering why he made such bad comments regarding those Aussie ladies; I didn’t get it. The CPA used to pick on my weakness, “You can’t speak so fast; you can’t say software complicated, the boss won’t be happy about that; you are very rude leaving the lunch table because it is full of people.” Please focus on big pictures, man, I am not your slave, please don’t try to change my personality, have you ever cared about my work? I know he’s a CPA, he wanna colleagues listen to him though he’s doing a crappy job and has no idea how to do it at all. That’s why he hated those ladies as no one ever listened to him; instead, he has been kept telling how to do a job properly.That morning, I’ve heard from Kaylene, “You know, why I like you because you are a rebel and have a strong personality, not afraid of saying no.” “I understand, in China, a new employee is supposed to obey a senior one no matter he’s doing correctly or not, but that’s wrong. For me, a cleaner or a boss, they are equal.” Kaylene told me.After I had a big argument with the CPA last year, Kaylene and the other Aussie lady were on my side: “No, Sweetolive is not rude, the CPA is rude.” Later on, the CPA was warned that he couldn’t treat a new employee like that.Since then, Kaylene changed attitude towards me dramatically. Also, she discovered that we are the only two in the company who are the fans of Tony Robbins- an American motivational speaker, a life coach, who helps people to gain self-confidence. Kaylene is not a CPA, but she works hard and takes responsibility for the job more than a CPA, even our new CFO is asking advice from her. I am not surprised at all for what the CPA is doing; everyone is chasing up with him as he’s not doing a proper job which causes big trouble for others. Fortunately, I haven’t listened to him because he has a higher position than me. I only respect and follow who’s doing a great job!!!!In a company, no one will perfectly happy with you no matter how hard you work, how much effort you are making, and it’s impossible to satisfy everyone. The only way is to be true to yourself, even you are at the risk of losing a job, and then you will win friends and be truly happy with what you are doing. Work is not only about money but also for happiness.you are most welcome join my wechat subscription:Englishpassion

I have some Pro Bono clients who are eager to speak English like
a pro so that they can talk with international clients.

If they speak fluent English, that will significantly increase
the chance for them to get promoted at work, to be a team leader, a manager or
later on a CEO.

Everything is possible. Yes, I guarantee you can speak as good
English as you imagine.

Speaking English is like driving a car, the more time and effort
you put, the better result you get.

Someone told me, “I want to speak
excellent English.”

“How many hours you spent per week?” I
asked.

“ A few hours a week.”

“Come on, if you spend a few hours a day, that’s
ok.”

It depends on your goal.

If you want to travel overseas and speak simple English, you don’t need to take it seriously. Just practice whenever you feel
like.

However, if your goal is to speak English like a pro, you want
to be a CEO, a manager, a team leader, a coach, a public motivational speaker
or you want to work in a better company.

Then you must spend a few hours a day on learning English.

Speaking English like a pro, it is not only about speaking
itself.

Improving listening skill is essential.

In fact, listening is more critical in communication, without
understanding what the other people are trying to tell you, that would be the
end of the conversation.

Reading is the key element for your English to reach the
professional level, and that makes you different from most of the others who
never read English books.

If you want to be a leader, read English books with regards to
leadership skill;

If you’re going to run a successful business, then read English
books about sales, marketing;

If you need more self-confidence, then buy books in related to
how to boost your self -confidence.Writing blogs is a very effective way.

Passing IELTS is not enough to be a professional.

If you only focus on IELTS, you will be stressed; it teaches the
skill how to get high marks in the exam, though it’s a
requirement for you to be an overseas student or for immigration purpose.

After that, there’s not much meaning for
IELTS.

If I ask my Aussie colleagues, I bet no one knows what IELTS is.

In a job market in Australia, no one ever cares about how high
marks you got in IELTS.

I have some Pro Bono clients; they have never studied in an
English speaking country; they try to find a way how to improve English in
China.

Some speak excellent English. They practice speaking with
foreigners online; they listen to the TED; some join English courses or go to
the English corner.

Therefore, please don’t blame you for
staying in China, you don’t have an English environment, that’s
the reason you can’t speak good English.

I can confirm that it is not correct. You must believe you can
speak fluent English and find a way to achieve your dream.

There’s a Facebook post from my business
mentor, Deborah Kleinert.

If you have a clear goal/outcome that is important.

If you can picture it and see it.

If you are clear on the person, you wish to become, then it is a
possibility.

If you believe in your goal and yourself,

If you are putting in place a plan and positive habits

If you are taking consistent action towards achieving it

Then you are on your way

If you are tracking your progress

If you are making small incremental improvements towards your
outcome

If you are achieving small wins, making progress or moving
forwards

Then it’s only a matter of time

If you stick at it despite the challenges and obstacles

If you keep showing up even though you don’t
feel like it

If you are continuously learning and making improvements

Then you are on the road to mastery

• Deborah Kleinert -

You can speak English like a pro and get job promoted; you must
believe you can and take action.

You must stick to it and overcome setbacks. Eventually, you can
achieve your dream if you keep going without giving up.

I am offering six free sessions to help you discover your
passion. Also, I give you strategies on how to improve your English, so that
you can achieve your dream- speak English like a Pro.You are most welcome add my personal wechat A/C: sweetolive2016

When I was on holiday in China, I visited a friend, Julie. We talked about Uni stories overseas and mentioned a friend of us, Ann; A girl lives in Australia. Julie is an amiable lady. After a while, she asked: “Do you have any nice boy for Ann; she’s still single.” Julie used to be the best Uni friend of Ann; indeed, she cares about Ann very much. After I returned to Melbourne, one day, I received a Wechat message from the other Latrobe Uni friend who lives in China. “Do you have a decent single Chinese boy for my friend, a girl in Australia?” “Sorry, I am not surrounded by any Chinese boy in real life, so can’t help.” “Hang on, are single Chinese boys so popular to Chinese girls in Australia? It sounds like they are the Chinese pandas.” “Haha.” Last Saturday, Ann visited me in Melbourne. She showed me a wechat message from a lady in China. “Hi Ann, I introduce you a Chinese boy, he lives in Melbourne.” Ann looked at his photo: “No, he’s not for me, look at his pair of luxury shoes and belt; I don’t think he’s my type, a material man like him.” “Come on, don’t be so picky, you should go and have a look.” I was making a joke. After a while, Ann replied to the lady: “Sorry, I am too old for him.” “How many years older you are?” “A few months.” “Ok, he might need a younger girl.” “You see, now Chinese boys are looking for a younger wife, a girl in 20s is the golden age, she’s very sought after, just like the apartment of Lujiazui (Most expensive CBD in Shanghai).”“Your daughter is supposed to find a husband right now otherwise she will become a suburban apartment in her 30s, which is like me.” “What?” I felt a bit sad. Why so far Chinese ladies are still worried so much about other people getting married, you see, three ladies from China sincerely care about their friends in Australia and trying their best to find the Mr. right for them. I do understand and trust my Chinese friends as they have an excellent husband and lovely children, so they wish their friends could have a good lifestyle which is supposed to have from generation to generation. On the other hand, I believe Ann must be stressed out: “Noo, please don’t care too much about my personal life, I feel perfectly happy if nobody reminds me as a single one from time to time.” That’s the freedom to choose the life you love; when to find a boyfriend, get married and have a kid. In China, a beautiful girl will have enormous pressure when turn to 30, feels like she’s secondhand. Even a girl with a boyfriend will still face a challenge: “When are you getting married?” That’s I’ve heard in my 20s.I was very depressed and gonna kill that colleague who asked me many times a day at the workplace. If I was as brave as I am, I should have told her: “Shut up your mouth, that’s none of your business.” What the hell to do with her, don’t push me to do things I am not ready, that’s my life, please take care of yourself. Eventually, after a lady married, she will be asked: “When are you gonna have a kid?” My mum was hurt as she had me after five years marriage which was abnormal in China. My Grandma wasn’t happy at all with my Mum because she couldn’t have a grandchild on time and there was gossip from colleagues, relatives, everyone worried so much about my mum without a kid. In China, a woman is likely to be considered as inferior if not find a boyfriend, get married or have a kid at a particular time; to be worse, some girls believe they are. My Mum was born in1940s, in 2018, the pressure still exists, how horrible for a Chinese woman!!!! I enjoy living in Australia because there’s freedom to live the way I like and no one ever says anything to me. In my current and previous companies, I haven’t heard Aussies asked unmarried colleagues those stupid questions. In Australia, a person is regarded as very rude who overcares about the life of someone else. One can have lunch at anytime 12:00, 13:00 or 14:00, as long as she feels hungry, it’s insane if one finishes lunch at 12:00, then she persuades a colleague to have it afterwards. Likewise, the marriage. It’s a personal choice. Marriage is such a big thing, which cannot compare with a meal, if don’t feel like and not prepared enough, why getting married? Just because of caring someone else to make them happy so that have to sacrifice yourself, or simply don’t wanna listen to the gossip. That’s very bad. If I am in China, probably ladies will ask: “Does your daughter have a boyfriend?”I know that feeling if I have been asked day in, day out, then I might have to push daughter to find a man get married though she is very young. Fortunately, none of my Aussie colleagues has ever asked that silly question. I also had dinner with an Aussie girl last weekend; she’s in her 30s, I couldn’t tell she stress about to be single as no one ever cares whether she has a boyfriend or not, let alone getting married. Probably one day, she will meet a dream boy at a party held by a friend, and that happens naturally rather than a friend introduce her a future husband on purpose.I believe my Aussie girlfriend must be scared to death, no, no husband at this stage, just be a friend, let’s see what happens. The Aussie girl cares more about the progress than the ending. Life is too short, let’s just experience life and meet the right person, if it fails, try again, why think about marriage at first sight.you are most welcome join my wechat subscription: Englishpassion

One girl commented on my message board of DIOEnglish: “You left your last job, how brave you are?” That made me smile, yet I can’t tell how dare I this time since I have been working at 10 companies in Australia, the longest seven years, the shortest just one day. Changing a company is like wearing a pair of shoes, if not match, and then going for the other one until you feel happy. I am so proud of myself for a decision made in the late 20s which I struggled for ten years, there was nobody supported me mentally, everyone worried about that I could never find one once quitting a stable job, and I doomed to fail, one colleague lady warned me: “You will have no future.” How disappointing!!! It was hard to find any books or magazines which encouraged me to create a roadmap on my own.Once upon a time, we were educated that the ideal life was to work in a big company until got pension and that could be dangerous if different from others. Just imagine if you walk alone in the forest, you will be hungry, thirsty, cold and sick, unfortunately, could be lost and dead.That’s the reason people around you are for your goodness to have a safe life, at least you have food to eat and a place to stay. That’s exactly the feeling I’ve got in the 1990s; I was too scared of resigning a job from a state-run company which I could work the entire of my life.If you are surrounded by colleagues and friends who are content with the current life, then how hopeless you will feel though you are yearning for a change. You might be bored and can no longer stand the life day in day out; you prefer working hard to kill time than listening to the gossips, yet it only takes five hours to complete the task of the day, you are now the expert, the job is too easy for you. You have no passion, no motivation for what you are doing and then look at your computer’s clock 10 times a day: “Damn, there are still two more hours to go.” Life seems to the end, how about the rest of 30 to 40 years? If every day goes like that, I am gonna kill myself. The bad news is I doubt you will be supported by your closest friends, colleagues or even family, most of them are satisfied with what they’ve got for better or worse. The good thing is nowadays there are hundreds of books and articles available from the personal experience of authors who tell you stories about how to make a change if you like.Any time you sincerely want to make a change, the first thing you must do is to raise your standards. - Tony Robbins - Yes, dream big which excites you, then make a plan and take action. That’s how you get your life started if you want to experience something unusual instead of admiring someone else.2014, after I survived in Australia for ten years, I made a plan for the next ten years.The top one on the list was to find a job in a better company, learning new skills and accounting software, meeting interesting people and experiencing the different company culture. Sounds like a good dream, however, every year when I was back from holiday in February, after I applied for several jobs, a couple of months past, I would like to make a plan for a holiday in July again, then had to give up the plan. Applying a job is time-consuming and frustrating, you have to take time off to get job interviews and answer phone calls without letting the boss know. My dream could never be realised; I wasn’t really full until started writing English, which made me much happier, I no longer felt bored at the workplace, I could do writing and reading at the spare time. At the end of 2016, my company was shutting down, I got redundant, instead of worrying about losing a job, I was a bit happy with smiling face, it’s time to make a change.Now my dream come true, I am surprised that I’m doing accounting in a company on my dream list which is not expected.Though I experienced so much frustration for job interviews and worked in different companies last year, and even don’t know what’s going on in the future, I never regret the change and enjoy life more. You never know what happens until you have a try. I am no longer afraid of a change and am becoming a better version because of the different experience.If I stay in the state-run company the rest of my life in China, I won’t write English blogs and won’t have an enriching life experience.It is never too late to make a change.I can accept failure, everyone fails at something, but I can’t accept not trying - Michael Jordan -Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore - Andre Gide -you are most welcome join my wechat subscription: Englishpssion

An independent woman is a happy one because she’s the master of life, she doesn’t need to rely on someone to consent what she should do or not.The first thing is to become financially independent. An independent woman works very hard as she has bills to pay, probably once she’s been told: “You don’t have to work, just stay with me, I can pay for anything if you like.” I believe he’s telling the truth, yet that is just for the moment. The world is changing fast, his future is uncertain, how can he guarantee your whole life. A business owner is at the risk of losing contracts; a company could be shut down at any time, in that case, no matter a CEO, a CFO, a manager or an employee is most likely to be unemployed. Therefore, please don’t trust what a man is telling you. I am sure he is sincere at this stage, but in the long run, no one knows what will happen.Work experience is more reliable than a man; there’s market value for your work history, if a company is closed, no worries, you can find a similar position in the other company. Probably your salary is not higher than a man promise to give you each month, yet after a decade, when the inflation rate is high, as long as you keep a job, at least you can afford to pay for basic necessities. And you don’t have to live up to his standards to do what you hate just because of trying to cater for him as you are afraid of losing financial security.Do what you love is the essential element of being a happy woman. Hence, your happiness relies on yourself than others. A woman gives up the opportunity to be financial freedom; I can’t tell that’s a wise idea.Emotional independence is also critical. To start with, Kathy was not serious about a man who is handsome, talented and generous. Gradually, her heart was touched by his caring and understanding of her feelings and moods. Kathy regarded him as a real man who could be trusted. Kathy got him on her mind as if he’s the only gorgeous man in the world. When time went by, there were conflicts, the feeling was fading, and the man started texting with other women than with her. Kathy couldn’t stand being ignored and felt there’s no love with a distance. In the end, she said good-bye. Kathy wanna cry when she recalled the happy memories and was very depressed for a few months as if that’s the end of the world.Kathy realised a man is not reliable; it is better to spend the time to improve her than put massive effort on him. Kathy is becoming marvelous by following the passion for doing what she likes; meanwhile, she attracts more handsome men which she has never thought about before. Now Kathy lives happily, she regards it as a life experience and is becoming stronger because she knows how to get out of a hard time. The man has already disappeared from her mind; it’s like listening to a story of someone else. Why care so much about a man who ever hurt her once?An emotionally strong woman is not supposed to wait for a man to find and change her, then being upset if he runs away with other women. An independent woman should always to be herself and do what she likes. If a man leaves, that’s fine, she is not worried about it because she has lots things to do, a man is just a dessert rather than the main meal. And she has other men on the waiting list; she can pick up one if needs.To be a happy woman, she has to be independent both financially and emotionally. Only if a woman has prepared enough, she will be a lucky one as she won’t put much pressure on a man: you must be responsible for my life if I marry you. A man loves a woman who gives him personal space, an independent woman is too busy to check his text messages and has no time to worry about losing him. Don’t be afraid of experiencing life. If fails, please consider it as a lesson; if it works, then happy ending!! Life is an adventure, Keep smiling and be happy!!! You are most welcome join my wechat subscription: Englishpassion

One girl commented on my message board of DIOEnglish: “You left your last job, how brave you are?”

 

That made me smile, yet I can’t tell how dare I this time since I have been working at 10 companies in Australia, the longest seven years, the shortest just one day.

 

Changing a company is like wearing a pair of shoes, if not match, and then going for the other one until you feel happy.

 

I am so proud of myself for a decision made in the late 20s which I struggled for ten years, there was nobody supported me mentally, everyone worried about that I could never find one once quitting a stable job, and I doomed to fail, one colleague lady warned me: “You will have no future.”

 

How disappointing!!! It was hard to find any books or magazines which encouraged me to create a roadmap on my own.

Once upon a time, we were educated that the ideal life was to work in a big company until got pension and that could be dangerous if different from others.

 

Just imagine if you walk alone in the forest, you will be hungry, thirsty, cold and sick, unfortunately, could be lost and dead.

Last Wednesday before lunch, our new CFO (Chief Financial Officer) talked with me: “How many hours did you work last week?” “40 hours excluding lunch time.” “Why did you work extra hours?” “Did I ? I was asked to work 40 to 42 hours per week the time I’ve got a job interview, and no one ever questioned about that.” “That’s fine.” After lunch, I asked the CFO: “How many hours am I supposed to work each week?” “38 hours.” “That’s ok; I don’t mind to work fewer hours, and I can start from the day.” “If you work extra hours, please let me know.” “Sure.”I prefer to work fewer hours so that I can do the reading and writing in my free time, which is perfect. On the other hand, I don’t care if work extra 2 hours per week and get paid because my job was very busy last year, this year it’s getting better. I was wondering why they changed idea this year.The following day, I confirmed with our CEO who interviewed me: “I’ve been informed to work 38 hours a week from now on.” “That’s right; I am so sorry. We don’t mind if you work extra hours. However, your job agency charged us 1.5 times the ordinary rate over 38 hours, and double time over 40 hours, so we can only offer you to do 38 hours per week.” Now make sense, that’s how I noticed my current payslip a bit different from last year, I’ve got 1.5 times and double time paid for overtime hours. Anyway, that’s good news for an employee; the labour law protects us from overwork. If can’t finish daily tasks, the company might have to find someone from job market rather than expecting an experienced staff to do extra work, which creates more job opportunities for unemployed workers.I remembered when I did accounting in my previous company for seven years, and I have never done extra hours as we were not allowed to stay in the company after working hours. Even the first year, as a new employee with no local work experience, my speed was extremely slow, it took me two weeks to do one week work, there’s always a pile of paperwork in the pigeonhole. At five o’clock, our team leader reminded us: “Please go home, you are not supposed to work extra hours.” I was worried about the outstanding work; fortunately, one nice Aussie man helped me. And the other Aussie lady used to tell us: “Just do what you can, try your best, let’s see what happens.” If there’s no law protection, a new employee might have to do extra one or two hours, even more without getting paid.A few days ago, a friend who does the part-time job in a supermarket texted me: “My manager roster me to work all three public holidays over Easter, can’t complain, 22 hours at $55 (275CNY)per hour, so I am busy.” That’s the benefit to be an employee; everyone is supposed to have a break during public holidays, if you have to work, then double time and a half rate will be paid.Someone argued: “World doesn’t always work like that.” True. In Australia, if a business owner doesn’t care about the law or the employees don’t know how to protect themselves and are willing to do more hours without getting extra payment, then you don’t have to follow the law, but it is illegal. A business owner is at the risk of losing money or being bankruptcy if the company has been accused of underpaying staff and the business won’t grow bigger. As is always the case, my previous boss finally to be a lawyer after running a business for more than 20 years. There were too many employees took him to court for various reasons. While dealing with tough employees, the boss gained lots practical experience, eventually, passed courses for being a qualified lawyer and Australian business law becomes part of his life. Therefore, the law is influential in Australia.Moreover, there’s minimum wage for a new employee. In 2004, I got a job as a casual cleaner in Chisholm College. I worked 10 hours per week and was paid casual hourly rate at $14.76; apart from that, I worked extra hours during Uni break. With the money earned, I could afford to pay for accommodation AUD500 per month (it was pretty expensive at that time) and food AUD250 though I lived on a budget.I was so happy, that’s the first time I made money to support myself in Australia.If the minimum wage is too low, then we might have no motivation to find a job. That’s the way I love to be an employee in Australian companies because the law protects us no matter which country we originally come from, it provides the equal opportunities for everyone.You are most welcome join my subscription: Englishpassion

In the TV series “Women in Shanghai”, luckily, Haiyan Chen (陈海燕) is offered a dream position as a Uni graduate from a top advertising company in Shanghai. When Haiyan works in the company, colleagues introduce themselves, “This is Kate, this is Amy; our manager is Scarlet, what is your English name?” “Sorry, I don’t have one, you can call me Haiyan.” Haiyan prepared APP with lots passion and efforts; however, she was so disappointed after Kate taking over of her to do a presentation in front of clients, a group of English speakers. Haiyan swears that she must improve English speaking, and then she enrols in an English class. Kate invited her to a bar practising English with foreigners and got her an English name: Harriet, which is quite similar to her Chinese name: Haiyan.Shanghai, the No.1 city of China, is significantly influenced by western culture. In Shanghai, it is a fashion to have an English name though it’s not necessarily, and a person who speaks fluent English is likely to have better job opportunities in a larger company with the higher salary. Also, Shanghainese would love to send children to study overseas if it is affordable. Last year when I was on holiday in Shanghai, I met two schoolmates. One friend’s son is studying in the U.S.A for two years. After finishing master’s degree, he will be back Shanghai, hopefully, work with a Fortune 500 company. English is an essential skill, and that would be a bonus if he has an overseas degree. Moreover, he had internship experience working at Lujiazui, the financial centre of Shanghai.The other friend, her son will study in the UK for two years and then back to Shanghai. Shanghainese always hold a dream: study overseas, if can’t realise it by themselves, then the idea will be passed onto next generation.Meanwhile, young graduates from other parts of China are eager to work and live in Shanghai. Honestly, Shanghai locals are not comfortable to compete with them, they study and work extremely hard because there’s no choice, either stay or go back to hometown. In the TV show “Woman in Shanghai”, Haiyan realised her English pronunciation is not as accurate as Kate, a girl from Shanghai.Generally speaking, Shanghai parents send their kids to learn English from an early age, and the quality of English teachers in Shanghai is better than most of the other cities so that there’s a competitive advantage for kids born in Shanghai. Haiyan is from Anhui, her English pronounce is not as good as Kate, but I bet her English grammar is perfect as she graduates from a Uni in Shanghai. It doesn’t mean she is doomed to fail without speaking fluent English; she can make a change as long as she spends time and put effort into it.Please don’t take English speaking too serious. We Chinese Uni students have learnt English for more than 12 years with excellent grammar which is much better than native English speakers. Quite a lot of them are too afraid to speak out one sentence in front of others. They are so scared of fail or laughed by friends who speak better English. If you don’t try, one can never make an improvement, which is quite similar to driving and swimming. The more practice, the better. In the TV show “Women in Shanghai”, Kate speaks fluent English because she goes to the bar after work and learning English in a relaxing way.From my personal experience, I can tell no native English speakers will laugh at you no matter how awkward you think your English is.Please give yourself a chance, don’t be shy about making mistakes; please don’t overthink about grammar when you are trying to express what’s on your mind. I’m afraid it’s not necessary to translate Chinese into English when speaking in English, as long as people understand what you are trying to say, that’s fine. You don’t have to make it perfect before speaking out a sentence; it will slow down the speed.Someone in China might admire overseas students, how lucky they are surrounded by English speakers. It is not always the case. It depends on who you stay with and how much time you have spent on English. If one works in a Chinese company, watches Chinese movies, talks Chinese with colleagues and friends, and never read an English book or occasionally write emails in English, then that would be a bit difficult to improve English even though she lives in an English speaking country. On the other hand, if one lives in China writing English blogs, reading English books from time to time or watches English movies and find a chance communicating with English speakers, I bet their English will be better than the ones in an English speaking country without spending any effort on it.Getting a Uni degree and certificates is just a starting point; if you want to stand out of the crowds in this competitive world, learn from Kate, don’t stop learning English in your free time. You don’t have to go for a training school, the most important thing is, do not stop learning, expose yourself in an English environment by reading books and articles, writing blogs, watching movies, finding online or friends in real life to practice English with. By the way, I am happy for what I am doing at the moment- English blogs, without writing and reading, my English will be stagnant even I work with Aussies, now English is no longer a disadvantage for me finding a job in Australia.you are most welcome join my English subscription: Englishpassion