Personal Blog of Carl Pei

I’ve now been in China for a year, surviving on my own. This entry is a look back at what’s happened and is written both for you the reader and me, as a reminder of what has happened and what remains to be done.

I remember many years ago, when I was 6 and attended preschool in Sweden, we were doing maths. I worked and thought hard to complete my assignments quickly, while many others were struggling and held their hands up for the teacher to help them. I too help my hand up, not to ask for help, but to ask the teacher what to do now that I was done. To my great surprise, she told me to sit quietly and wait for the others. Then she left me with her stinky breath of too much coffee and cigarettes, to help someone else. I expected the teacher to praise me. All the hard work for nothing.

Throughout the entire Swedish school system, I was never motivated, always staying under the radar and not joining into class discussions unless asked by the teacher. But I was not dumb either, I always managed to get above average grades, just a cut below those who put their entire heart and soul into the schoolwork and system with minimal effort. During the last year of High School, I got very fed up with the school system. I felt underestimated by everyone, especially some teachers, who failed to recognize my abilities and compensate accordingly. Slowly, the idea of moving to China formed, and as graduation approached, I decided to go for it.

I initially came to Zhuhai, in Guangdong (Southern China) in July 2007 and left again to stay 20 days in December before returning. Why I chose Zhuhai is a long story and calls for an entry for itself. My parents weren’t very willing to let me go again, and my friends had the same, if not bigger, question marks on their heads as last time. In the end, one is responsible for their own failures and successes, and no one could stop me. Again, I now realize that I made the right decision once again. I’ve already written about what happened last time. Now, lets focus on the second part.

I returned during the winter of 2007, one of China’s coldest winters in decades. I booked two nights at a local hotel and began hunting for an apartment to rent. I found a good and comfortable apartment for rent, the best in the area. 27th floor (keep in mind other buildings around here were 4-5 stories) with a view of the sea. That night I realized that I had no blanket. I left it at a friend’s place when I left last time, and couldn’t contact the friend (who I got to know later was out of town). I had to choose whether to stay in the hotel again, or to buy a new blanket. Both options would set me back $20. I chose neither. Instead, I slept on the empty bed without a pillow or blanket but with a jacket on. That night I didn’t sleep well and kept waking up due to the cold. The next morning I told myself that I would write about this on my blog as soon as I got internet working, and wrote a note on my desktop. Now I can finally delete it.

During the rest of this time, I’ve tried many different things and failed, but also found success in others. In between I’ve also had a lot of fun. Partying, relaxing on the beach, going to the movies, shopping and much more. Below I’ve made a list of what I’ve learned and integrated into me during this time, in no particular order:

• Don’t panic - Panic doesn’t solve anything and often leads to more problems. Staying calm, confident and clearheaded is the best in every situation.
• Don’t blame others - You have full control of everything pertaining to your life, no one else is responsible for what you’ve done.
• Think big - Don’t let the small ideas and details take too much of your brain capacity. I see people selling fish and think they are wasting time. The fish dealer might think that the the garbage collectors are wasting time. Likewise, someone above me will think that I’m wasting time.
• Seek perfection - A little error can slowly grow into a big problem, so why not do everything right from the start?
• Try - Humans are not computers. We are flexible. For the things that you think can’t be done; try, ask. You will be pleasantly surprised.
• Never regret - Learn from your mistakes, never waste time regretting them. Without them, you won’t be the you today.
• Always reinvent - Never stand still. Unless you are old and unable, you should always be doing new things such as improving your work, life, business, friendships and all the rest.
• Greed is good - Don’t try to take the moral high-ground. Admit that you are greedy and move on with it. Successful people are often more greedy than the rest.
• Be inspired - Learn from the good things around you, incorporate them into you. I am still inspired by water delivery men delivering heavy bunkers of water late at night (11PM).
• Know that you are like anyone else - You have the potential to become a great success, but also a big failure. It all depends on what you want.
• Do, don’t talk - Talk is cheap, everyone can do it. Let your actions speak for you and be aware of people who talk too much.
• Reward yourself - You yourself is your best friend and only full-life companion, treat yourself well. Some of the things I’ve treated myself to during this time have been; an iPhone, a Nintendo Wii, a Black Nintendo DS Lite, new sunglasses (Dior), two pairs of sneakers (one Nike, one Adidas). I really deserve a vacation, so now Thailand awaits me a little more than a week away.

Before I go to do something else I just want to leave the final comment. It’s pretty satisfying to discover that I’ve met the goal I set in January. Setting goals really work. If you don’t already, you should try it some day!

What have you been doing the last half year?

This entry was posted on Friday, July 4th, 2008 at 4:00 pm and is filed under Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.