Laura Piila - A step into the unknown

Laura Piila works in Beijing as a build manager for the Finnish telecommunications company Nokia. Moving to China was not something the young Finn had ever thought about before last year, when her boyfriend was offered the possibility to take up a job in the Chinese capital. Although Piila had never been to China and had no job waiting for her there, she had no hesitations about accompanying her beau on this exciting adventure. Soon after the move, through stroke of good luck, Piila also managed to get a job in her new hometown.

"In the beginning, I really didn't feel so lucky. I didn't have a job when we came here. I had just graduated from Oulu university with a degree in industrial management and I took on a temporary job for six months because I knew we would be moving soon. Once we arrived, I was unemployed for three months, but then I found a job," Piila says.

The move to the other side of the world was made easier by the fact that the young couple was able to move into an apartment owned by Piila's fiancés employer. Some time later, the couple moved to another flat, that was more suited to their taste. There was also no need to bring a lot of furniture from Finland, as the apartment was already equipped with everything they needed.

Unique opportunity

Piila says that neither she nor her boyfriend had any connections to China prior to their move. Their mastery of Chinese was also close to nil, so now Piila is making the most of the Chinese language training provided by her employer.

"I did take one course of Chinese, but it was only 1,5 hours, once a week for three months, so that didn't really help much. Now, after spending nine months here I have resumed my studies. In the beginning, I intended to invest a lot of time and effort in learning the language, but somehow that idea never materialized itself. My Chinese is still very basic, but I can tell the taxi driver where to go and ask how much things cost at the store. Reading is a whole different matter, however, I can only recognize about ten characters, and I don't think learning to read Chinese will ever become a goal for me."

Most of the locals Piila has grown to know she has met at her workplace, where many other nationalities are also represented. In a city as large as Beijing, it may take years before you really get to know it. In the space of a year, Piila has only twice visited the city's west side. One thing is certain though, in Beijing, leisure time activities are definitely not lacking.

"We eat out a lot, because it's almost cheaper than cooking at home. Then we go to bars with our friends, and this summer my boyfriend will try to teach me to play tennis. We also have a gym in our building. It's really easy to think of things to do here -- and then there's always shopping."

Earlier, many of the people who took foreign assignments were rewarded with a significant salary raise, which enabled them to grow a nest egg during their time abroad. Today, foreign posts are not necessarily as well paid as before.

"As far as I can see, global postings are not as well paid as before. Earlier, the salary abroad could be a lot higher than in Finland. Nowadays so many people are willing to accept foreign assignments that employers don't have to offer the same perks as before. I myself have a local job contract, so I have the same salary as the Chinese employees. But my boyfriend, of course, does not have a local contract. I hope that we'll be able to save some money for the future, but I do think that it's more for the experience that people take these postings," Piila says.

One of the upsides of living in Beijing right now is the upcoming summer Olympics. However, many preparations still need to made, one of which includes reducing air pollution in the city of seventeen million before the arrival of the athletes.

"From the beginning of June, a regulation will take effect which limits the use of cars on Beijing's roads. Driving days will assigned according to a car's license plate number, but taxis and buses can drive everyday," Piila explains.

According to Piila, the partial car ban will not affect her personally, because she does not have a car or a local driver's license. Moreover, her employer provides free transportation to and from work everyday, so there is even no need for a car.

The advent of the Olympics have not driven the local population into a sports frenzy, Piila says. On the contrary, the general attitude seems to be one of indifference.

"I can't say that the locals would be very excited about the Games. If you ask them if they've got tickets and if they're all fired up for the big event, the most common answer is 'no, I was thinking about staying at home, I don't want to be stuck in the huge crowds.' I have twelve tickets for two events. We invited some friends from Finland to come visit us and they said that if we get tickets for the javelin final, they will come. Then we took part in the lottery and now we have eight tickets for the final, so our friends had to march to the travel agency and book some tickets," Piila laughs.

Living and learning

China is infamous for its censorship, and Piila herself also witnessed its existence after the Tibet riots in March.

"After the riots, some Finnish news sites were blocked. And some television programs were censored, which of course happens here anyway. So if the government does not want the people to see something, they just black it out. And in March, there was more of that black than normal, I guess."

Additionally, the unrest resulted in a tightening of rules regarding international travel. According to Piila, her employer said that from now on, all foreign residents exiting or entering China have to report at the police station within 24 hours. Previously, foreigners with work permits only had to present themselves to the police authorities once a year, she says.

One of the things that Piila will miss the most when the time comes to return to Finland is the local food.

"I would love to take a Chinese cook with me. But if that is not possible, I guess I'll just have to go to a cooking class. Then there are of course some wonderful spices here that are not very easy to come by in Finland."

To people who are thinking about moving abroad, Piila recommends reading as much about their country of posting as they can. Different kinds of preparation courses are also a good plus.

"I attended two orientation courses to Chinese practices, one of which was organized by my union. But when I think about it, I really learned a lot just by reading the newspapers. China is so hot right now, that you can read about it in almost any newspaper or magazine."

Piila and her boyfriend's job contracts in China end one year from now, and future plans are still open. But right now, the couple intends to make the most of life in buzzing Beijing and looks forward to rooting for their countrymen at the Olympics.