Name: Carla Croman
Country of Origin: Spain, Barcelona
Occupation: Fashion designer
Years in China: 4 years
How did your journey in China begin? My story in China started when I got a job offer for a company in Guangzhou. I never thought of China as a place where I would like to live, I only considered it as a place to travel sometime in my life. Surprisingly, China has turned out to be the country that has brought me the most exciting adventures and experiences in my life so far.
What do you like most about Guangzhou or China as a whole?
I currently live in Guangzhou, I have been here more than 4 years now, but I am moving to Xiamen shortly. Guangzhou as a city has made me find a hobby and a passion that is dancing salsa, thanks to this I have been traveling through the rest of Asia always looking for places where I can dance and meet new people. Also the location of Guangzhou has allowed me to travel to many countries and live unique adventures, which is perfect for a restless and curious soul like mine.
What fascinated you the most about living in China? One of the things that fascinates me the most about China is the security that this country provides, especially for a woman. The tranquility of being able to walk at dawn knowing that nothing is going to happen to you.
-What is your unique China story?
I am a faithful believer that things do not happen without a reason, even if China was not in my plans. Life gives you what you need and not what you think you need. China has given me the privilege of having a good quality of life and a job that possibly in another part of Europe I would not have gotten.
The most wonderful thing about being here is the possibility of meeting people from all over the world. Most of us come from our countries with a closed mind, when we arrive here, our experiences enrich our lives and modify our vision of the world. I do not think that what China has provided me with is anything material, but something more valuable that has to do with the expansion of knowledge about many aspects of life.
-Add a random fun fact about your country or hometown.
Continuing with the aforementioned, it is fun to go back to your home country and see that people don’t let go of preconceived ideas about China and other places in the world. When you tell them about the things you have experienced and how wrong they are in many of their prejudices, you feel that you come from another world.
Every time I return to Barcelona, there is one side of China that I always miss. In my life abroad it feels like there is always an anecdote or valuable experience at the end of each day, but when I return to my hometown the days seem boring, as well as the conversations that I share with people. It feels like in my hometown nothing has changed and I feel that I no longer belong to any place specific place in the world, but to everywhere.
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