Hot Dry Noodles 热干面的碎碎念

In this episode, Fei joined me to share our experiences of working in Germany.

As usual, we had no script, and it was surprising to see that we both reached the same conclusion: these days, except for a few highly specialized roles, it's increasingly important not only to be a good technical or professional fit but also to be a great cultural fit. Sometimes, the latter even outweighs the former.

We have a saying in Chinese, "要学会做事，但是更要学会做人", which translates to, "It's important to learn how to perform your tasks, but it's even more important to learn how to be a person." Navigating society is complex, and being a person can be multi-faceted, especially today.

Do you agree with our views? If you're working in Germany or any other country, what's your take on this?

Music source: https://pixabay.com/

• Sparks in Hand - moodmode
• Rumba - Lesfm
• Orange Juice on the Table - MondayHopes

In today's episode, we explore the intricate dynamics of friendship and the often overlooked relationship we have with ourselves. Joined by Mei and Jing (Vivienne), we navigate the complexities of friendship through different stages of our lives, particularly as Chinese living in Germany.

We've all had our own fair share of moments of solitude, where we've had to learn to spend time with ourselves, be our own friends, and deal with our own emotions, because friends keep coming into and leaving our lives. Sad but true, and it's not easy to tell them goodbye.

Ultimately, this episode serves as a gentle reminder to cherish the connections we have, while also recognizing the enduring friendship we cultivate with ourselves.

"Why are the protagonists in all of your films alone in the end?" - "You think you won't be alone in the end?"

Music source: https://pixabay.com/

• Latin Summer - William_King
• Feel Bossa Nova - William_King
• I am sad and melancholic (IG version Loop 02) - Lesfm
• Start slowly - Darockart

We've been binge-watching the Apple TV show Slow Horses lately, and before we realize it, we've been imitating to speak with a "British accent" with each other at home. And that's the trigger of this episode.

On social media, I've noticed some trolls and comments bashing other people for not speaking a foreign language "like a native speaker", "native speakers will never use terms like this", etc., as if they could appear more superior than others, even though they themselves don't even speak that foreign language. Well, I guess making oneself feel good about themselves by laughing at others doesn't cost anything.

This idea hit me when I was driving back home from work. As far as I could recall, in my generation, we were always taught that we should sound like an American or Brit when speaking English, because that would be the only standard of evaluating whether your English was good enough, or not. People speaking English with a thick "Chinese accent" would always be ridiculed. That was the case back then, and nowadays, it's still not going away.

However, time has changed, and people have changed as well. Speaking English with a non-American or non-British accent is not anything to be ashamed of, why should it be a shame to begin with anyway? I somehow have the impression that many people then to draw an equal sign between language and communication. Yes, language is an essential part of communication, but there's way more to communication than just the language and the accent. I've met and worked with native speakers of certain languages whose language skills are on the native speaker level, yeah no doubt, but some of them are also horrible communicators. A good command of a foreign language is equal to being good at communication? Well maybe, but not always.

Therefore, Nelli, Paul and myself decided to record this episode to have this discussion.

And since we all watched the box office blockbuster "Barbie", we found a link between this movie and the theme of our episode today: don't let anyone put you in a box, or in any box! Because you're great, and don't make it easy for them.

Have faith in yourself, and have no fear.

Music source: https://pixabay.com/

• whooo - Pixabay
• Once In Paris - Pumpupthemind
• Oh, No! - SergeQuadrado
• COTTAGECORE - Pixabay
• Call To Attention - UNIVERSFIELD
• Pleased Crowd.flac - Pixabay
• Best Time - FASSounds
• Lights , Camera, Action.WAV - Pixabay

So, following the previous trip in September, I had the chance to fly back to my hometown in China again at the end of November. Well, this time, it was a very smooth ride, because I was able to pick up where things left off! That literally set everybody in the best mood possible.

I took my mom to Shanghai as well. It was her first time there, and I'm really glad that she had a blast. <3 Things got funny as I took mom and my college friend to do a professional photo shoot, where I was basically "insulted" by the photographer from the beginning to the very end. Pretty much everything about me was wrong, or, not right, according to his aesthetic standard, except my skin tone was "still ok". This is a very specific experience providing an interesting perspective, through which one can clearly tell there's a huge difference in how the east and the west define "good-looking" respectively, especially in the photo studios. As for the photo shooting process itself, it was loads of fun, and we really enjoyed the spontaneity. Still, over the years, I've experienced things myself and come to realize, at least for myself, the confidence from within is the best accessory/make-up, and that's just something one can't fake (for long).

CoCo Lee, one of the best singers and performers of my generation, left us back in summer, and her passing impacted more people than one can imagine, just like the positive influence she had on all of us when she was alive. I took the opportunity this time to visit her tomb and pay my respect in person. May CoCo rest in peace! You were loved by the many, you're missed by the many, and you'll never be forgotten. You were one of a kind.


Music source: https://pixabay.com/

• Sunshine - lemonmusicstudio
• Aesthetic Boomopera - Podcast LoFi Lounge intro Music (15s) Seconds - Lidérc
• Shouldn't be sentimental - guitar - musix_relac

Another episode in one week! :D

Today, this episode was recorded remotely with Nelli who just got married and started with her new job. Congratulations Nelli! We're so happy for you! <3

The title of this episode stemmed from a quote Nelli shared with me during the conversation: "At work, everybody's darling is everybody's a**hole", with which, we entered a talk about our jobs.

I landed a new job starting from 2024, and with extreme reluctance, I resigned from my current job. And I ugly cried on camera, while telling my boss about this. This has been 2 years where I found myself, recognized myself, and loved myself as a human being. I truly felt seen. Yet, all good things come to an end.

No specific topics were chosen for this episode, but we have a great talk, spontaneously.

Get well soon with the finger, Nelli! Keep up the good work!


Music source: https://pixabay.com/

• Little Break / LoFi Beat - SoulProdMusic
• Celtic Folk Song - Caffeine_Creek_Band
• Hopeful Piano 2 - Music_For_Videos
• French Jazz Music - William_King
• Romance - Music_For_Videos
• Storytelling - Music_For_Videos

So yeah, after 3.5 years, I was finally able to go back to China at the end of August 2023.

Before I got on the plane, I had pictured this trip in my head thousands of times: how I'd react when I'd get to see my mom again, my cousins, and my friends. I was feeling excited, anxious, nervous, and even a bit scared all at the same time.

Well, there were indeed moments which I enjoyed a lot while being back in my hometown again after such a long time. However, after all, the entire stay was not as good as I had expected. There were multiple reasons, and one of them hit me hard, feeling that that placed I once called home for over 20 years is no longer "my home", but rather "my parents' place". It feels really subtle but somehow also weird in my head.

Vivienne joined me in this latest episode to hear my thoughts and reflections regarding this long overdue trip. And she stayed for dinner of course, which was also why she came here in the first place XD

Music source: https://pixabay.com/

• Little Break / LoFi Beat - SoulProdMusic
• Rumba - Lesfm
• Orange Juice on the Table - MondayHopes
• Home Logo - MondayHopes
• Start slowly - Darockart
• City Traffic (Outdoor) - Pixabay

Today, I had the pleasure of having a new guest, Mei, join me in this episode, sharing her own first-hand experience of being a mother.

And what a coincidence! It's mother's day today! Perfect timing for a perfect topic!

Along with her husband, Mei was introduced to us back in early 2017 by Nelli. Over the years, we somehow managed to stay in touch and maintain a "visit frequency" of at least once a year. Each time we met, we seemed to have something new to share with each other, witnessing the process of growing up on both sides. And this time, Mei brought her story of spending 4 months with her baby back in China, while the quarantine policy there was still not lifted in December 2022.

When I was younger, I always thought I'd also have to have children, because that's the idea and the "plan" we were raised with. However, over the years, I learned the fact that one could actually choose, whether they want to have children, or not. After all, it's no longer a path that everyone has to go down.

However, we're happy for Mei and her husband for becoming parents. because that's what they both want, and we're firmly convinced that they'll do a great job at it! <3

Happy mother's day, Mei! And happy mother's day to all the mothers, including my own!

It's mother's day today, and it's mother's day every day!

Music source: https://pixabay.com/

• Little Break / LoFi Beat - SoulProdMusic
• Mother - Music_For_Videos
• Cartoon Intro - Muzaproduction

Anyone who has watched "Mean Girls" must have recognized the line in the title of this episode. :D

Yes, I'm late to the "big party" after 3 years: COVID has finally caught me. Unfortunately, we both are not one of those who don't show any symptoms. Instead, we've suffered from pretty severe chest pain, coughing, headache, and fever (only me).

Obviously, I'm not fit to work at the moment, and I had to take sick leave. All of a sudden, it occurred to me that after having worked for over 6 years in Germany, this is my very first time of taking sick leave. Why is that?

Then I got triggered to have a discussion with Nelli on the differences of "sick leave culture" between Germany and China, hence this episode.

My head still hurts. Get well soon.

Music source: https://pixabay.com/

• Little Break / LoFi Beat - SoulProdMusic
• I am sad and melancholic (IG version Loop 02) - Lesfm
• Who are you - MondayHopes
• Where the light is - lemonmusicstudio

Currently, the weather in Germany has been a bit of everything: sunny, rainy, snowy (?!) and of course for the most part, cloudy.

Vivienne joined me in today's episode. Just like the weather, we shifted from one topic to another, covering my most recent trip to Liechtenstein, to her upcoming trip to the Netherlands, and then to anxiety, etc.

Do we have to have a fixed topic for each episode? No, we don't. :)

The first quarter of 2023 is almost over! Hope you guys have made it worth your while so far. Take care!

Cheers.

Music source: https://pixabay.com/

• Little Break / LoFi Beat - SoulProdMusic
• Be Free - Vladislav Kurnikov

Time always seems to go by faster than you might think.

In a blink of an eye, I've been in Germany for 10 full years already.... What a ride it has been! Damn, 10 years? And just like that? Sometimes, it does feel like as if I had been here for my whole life, but when you look back, it's been "only" a decade. Not sure how exactly I should feel...?

10 years are enough to shape someone into a new person, yet something also has never changed. Looking back, I absolutely had no idea how my life would turn out, where I'd be, what I'd be doing, and what kind of life I'd be living. Sometimes I think, maybe it's easier to move forward when one doesn't set a specific goal and just go wherever life might take you. Nahhh, that's probably something one only dares to do when they're still young.

10 years are a short period of time when compared to one's whole life. I'm only glad and grateful for the old me in 2013 for having made the boldest decision to come to Germany, paving the way for many decades to come. These past 10 years have witnessed the entire process of me growing, maturing and also countless struggles. During these 10 years, I went from a more or less lost undergraduate to a Master graduate in Germany, and then to an employee here, and then went on to become a husband of a not perfect but great man, building own own family with 2 cats and a dog (as of today). Would I be living the same life, if I did stay in China instead of going abroad? Unfortunately, there's no way to find out, and there's no "if". What I do know is, I've earned what I have today, and I cherish that.

I've done pretty well during this first 10 years! And I know it's a cliché to say I can't wait to see what the next 10 years have in store for me, but I am indeed looking forward to that! :D
Here's to the 10th year anniversary in Germany to myself and also to those who have loved and supported me all this way with their faith in me. Cheers!

With love.