James Huang - Far far away from Scouseland

I’m riding the train on the way home to Britain after a 4-day holiday in Denmark. I stayed with Anne and Mads, my recently married friends. I enjoyed Anne’s well cooked breakfasts, lunches and dinners.

I got to experience normal Danish life rather than the superficial tourist pleasures. I concluded that British and Danish culture are very similar, except for a few nuances:

1. Toilet paper is hung the other way round.
2. There are wind turbines everywhere.

The whole country is in a euphoric mood after the men won the European Handball Championships. The handball team had an audience with the crown prince and the buses have Danish flags hanging off them.

I was invited to give a short 45-minute presentation with Anne about Chinese culture in her 9th grade class. A few students were interested in my moans about the queues in China. But I wonder if I place too much emphasis on cultural differences at the expense of finding out the common ground?

The next blog post will be about the cultural differences between Britons with light hair and Chinese with dark hair.

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I’ve been back in Britain for a week. I have a month’s holiday for Chinese New Year so I decided to return home. I’ve noticed a lot of changes in myself and I don’t feel as comfortable living in Britain as I used to. Living in China has opened my eyes to the deficiencies in China and Britain. I guess everywhere in the world is far from perfect.

I’ve spent a few days in London with my friends from university and school - who are either medical students or working in the city. They work long hours throughout the week. I realise that I am lucky to have had time off before I start work. And yes, I shall be coming back to Britain and I am not living in China forever.

I had the chance to go to my future KPMG office where I shall be working. It’s not built yet though:

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