We Are In This Together

One of the things I was concerned about with our impending move to China was what I was going to do with myself as I had no job and no kids in tow this time to ‘break the ice’. I decided to look for an international woman’s group and found it, quite easily, when I googled ‘Shekou women’s group’. I was in business.

The woman’s group is called SWIC, Shenzhen Women’s International Club. It was started in 1986 by five women gathering together for coffee and planning events. Thirty three years later, this group is still going strong and has some two hundred fifty members from around the world. All you need to join is a foreign passport…well I certainly have one of those!

My first encounter with SWIC was a field trip to the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital. We boarded a bus to the hospital where we met with hospital doctors and various administration people to inform us on how this hospital would work for expats. (Two of the head doctors that were attending the meeting were Canadian). After the meeting we were given a tour of their very beautiful facility and were shown the emergency department where there is a special window for expats and if you just ring the doorbell, someone will instantly appear to help you. I have it on good authority that this does not happen. Also, I learned if you need to use an ambulance here, you will need to keep cash in your sock drawer to pay the ambulance people on the way to the hospital. Please bear in mind that an ambulance here is only a transportation vehicle, there is no lifesaving equipment aboard, not even oxygen, so appreciate what we often take for granted back home. The only thing I came away with from that trip was… do not get sick in China. SWIC meets every Tuesday morning for coffee at the Hilton Hotel. Even though I had met a couple of women on the hospital field trip, it was still very difficult to talk myself into going to this. I could have very easily stayed holed up in the hotel but I put on my ‘big girl panties’ and headed out. (And really what choice did I have? If I had stayed home I would be isolating myself and you do not want to do that here). I needn’t have worried though, everyone was very welcoming.

What was amazing to me was how quickly they brought you into the fold, no standing on ceremony. The first question people asked was your name and where you were from. The next question people asked was who does your husband work for? All very standard. Then they filled you in on how to live here and by that I mean, how to actually function. Have you been here? Have you been there? Do you know how to do this? Do you know how to do that? Do you have WeChat yet? I will be your contact on WeChat. Do you have WePay yet? Have you been apartment hunting yet? Here is what you need to look for. Let me show you how to do it. I will take you with me when I go somewhere. Come and join this activity. And my absolute favourite…here, just give me your phone, I will do it for you.

What was also amazing to me is that these women are from all over the world. Some have been doing the expat thing for years and some are mothers with young children navigating the international school system. I love to hear their stories and how they came to be in Shenzhen, not to mention listening to their accents! Oil and gas is not king here, people work for Walmart, Huawei, Harmon (as in Harmon Kardon speakers of old), Daimler and many others. There are also independent business people who work in manufacturing and the import/export world. All very international. When you encounter a fellow Canadian, you have a friend for life!

When you join SWIC you get great swag like this backpack!

Inside the backpack you get SWIC magazines, published quarterly, a guidebook answering all sorts of question, a handy umbrella and a T-shirt!

But by far the most useful item in the backpack is the little package of cards. The cards have a picture and the address in both Chinese and English of everywhere you will need to go. These are very handy when you use the taxi and the taxi driver has no English. Also it is vital to know your home address or they could just drop you off wherever and then the fun would begin! If that’s not enough to intimidate you, the taxi driver may refuse to take you if he doesn’t recognize the place where you want to go.

There are lots of activities that you can become involved in when you join SWIC. There is a very active hiking group that literally climbs mountains, mah jong, tennis, various craft activities led by someone with a little expertise in something and always an interesting field trip.

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My first field trip with the group was to Zhuhai, by ferry, to a Chinese furniture place. You could get anything you see in the pictures in any colour you wanted! I did not buy anything.

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My personal favourites are May I? and archery. May I? is a variation of rummy that requires a long attention span and razor sharp thinking skills, neither of which I possess. I’m pretty sure they let me play just because I can shuffle the cards. We meet every Thursday, have lunch and then play for three hours. There is a small charge involved to cover your refreshments but most of the money goes to support a handicapped child. So far this group has raised $1000 CDN. The ladies are very patient with me and they tell me I am making great progress! Archery, on the other hand, is where I show some proficiency and our group is gearing up for an in-house competition soon called The Hunger Games. I am going to practise in Calgary while I am home and be ready when I go back to Shenzhen in the beginning of May.

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Female bonding is as old as time. We do not need elaborate systems, fancy clubs or special handshakes to get the job done. It can be as simple as a pot of tea or a glass of wine. Studies have shown that female friendships can reduce stress and lower your blood pressure, heart rate and cholesterol. Who couldn’t use some of that? Joining this group, meeting these ladies and participating in the activities has been one of the best things I have ever done. It was nerve wracking at first to go, not knowing a soul, but each time it got better and now it seems like I have known them forever.