Humans of Beijing

Q: “So you're an employee, are you satisfied?”

A: “Yes.”

Q: “So what kind of car do you own?”

A: “I don’t own one here, I was given one!”

Q: “So that‘s probably why you’re pretty satisfied?”

A: “Yeah! But I always ride my bicycle; I don’t take my car because I’m trying to look after the air here in Beijing.”

Q: “大众汽车希望给客户留下什么样的印象？”

A: “我们的主要目标显然是成为全球第一的汽车销售商，以及具有最高的客户满意度和员工满意度。”

Q: “您也能算是一个员工，您满意么？”

A: “满意。”

Q: “那么你拥有什么样的车？”

A: “我在这里没车，是公司给的！”

Q: “是不是因为公司做到的这一点让您非常满意？”

Q: "Where do you get your inspiration from when you're designing advertisements?"

A: "I don’t know if there is such a thing as inspiration. I think it’s more about exploration and feeling your way to ideas. I’m not necessarily sure that the light-bulb moment is really true."

Q: “您设计广告时，灵感都从哪里来？”

A: “我不知道这世界上到底有没有所谓的“灵感”。我觉得这更多是在于探索以及感受。我不确定那种“灵光一现”的瞬间定是不是真实的。”

Q: "Where do you get your inspiration from?"A: "I don’t know if there is such a thing as inspiration. I think it’s more about exploration and feeling your way to ideas. I’m not necessarily sure that the light-bulb moment is really true."

We interviewed a Chinese PE teacher with his high school graduate students.

Q: “Is there a secret to having such a great relationship with your students?”

Teacher: “It’s probably my charisma. When I taught them, my charisma got their approval, which was very important.”

Student: “He would always buy us ice-cream after class, even now he still does. So we all really love him. Every time the school bell rings before his class, we would rush to his class - this is Mr.Wang’s class, we must attend it properly. We never skipped any of his classes, we didn’t even want to leave after class ended.”

Teacher: “Do you dare skip classes?”

问: “您的学生跟您关系这么好，有什么秘诀吗？”

老师：“可能是人格魅力吧。当年我教他们的时候我的人格受到了他们的认可，认可是最重要的。”

学生：“他课下会请我们吃冰激凌，到现在还会请，所以我们都特别爱他。每次该上他的课了，一打铃，我们就冲到教室里——这是王老师的课，一定要好好上。不会逃课，下课了都不愿意走。”

“Would you want to teach your child about art appreciation?”

“Yes, because that way they can be more culturally diverse. Liking art can also help them find inner peace and have more patience, because art provokes a lot of thought.” “What would you say is the most important aspect of art for you personally?”

“Believing in beautiful things; art can make us believe in the power of societal cultures.” “您会特别培养您的孩子艺术欣赏呢？”

“会，因为这样他们可以多元化一点。喜欢艺术也能帮助他们活的内心更平静一点，不要太着急。因为艺术会让人思考的更多。” “你觉得艺术对你而言最重要的是什么？”

“France is my hometown, and the size of Paris is like a little village compared to cities in China- they are completely different. I think Beijing has changed a lot within the 7 years I’ve been here. Coming halfway across the world to China was a bit of a gamble, but it’s been the bet of my life to come here- no regrets for the moment.”

Q: “What inspired you to get where you are today? “ 

A: “I did it because I was really interested in fairness and justice. So I figured out I would study law. You lose a bit of passion as it becomes more professional, but you win it back when you find an area that you're interested in. Students are young and free, enjoy your time, because once you start working you will be very short on time. “

 Q:“有没有什么启发让你现在到了这里？” 

"What’s your favourite band, and who’s your favorite singer?"

"I listen to English songs quite often. I like Linkin Park, my phone is full of their songs. The reason why I like them is very simple: I love Rock n’ Roll! Rock n’ Roll is exciting, it can relieve stress and express inner emotions. My favourite singer is Linkin Park’s lead singer Mike Shinoda, he is very cool and very stylish. In terms of Chinese singers, I like Jay Chou. His songs are very unique, and their styles are different from other Chinese songs; that’s what I like."

"你喜欢哪只乐队，哪个歌手？"

“As a teacher, I would advise you to keep a stronghold of your humanity, especially to the regard of awareness, throughout all of your life- don’t let it go. We are here to live but we need to remember that we are just human beings and that not everything is within our power.”

Q: “ In your opinion how does the lifestyle in China compare to the one in Korea?” A: “When I first came to China, it wasn’t convenient nor comfortable. But now it is fine because I’m used to it.”

Q: “Why wasn’t it comfortable when you first came? Was it because of the language barrier?” A: “It was not so much the language; it was actually the climate, especially the pollution.”

Q："您觉得中国的生活跟韩国比有什么不同的地方吗？" A："我刚来中国的时候，会觉得不方便也不舒服。可是现在没问题了因为我现在习惯了。"

Q: “How is life in the Wangjing district?” A: “We are Koreans, so living in Wangjing is quite pleasant. In terms of its culture, there are a lot of Korean restaurants and Koreans living here. Even though my Chinese is not very fluent, there are a lot of Koreans helping me here in Wangjing.”

Q: “What are the main differences between China and Korea?” A: “Well, when I first came here in 2005, the streets were a bit dirty and there was a lot of trash, but it’s way better now. In terms of the ‘toilet culture’ here, China is way worse than Korea.”

Q: “What do you think about Beijing?”

A: “The education system here is much better in my opinion; it’s more rigorous and more selective on students. In the education system in the US, there are just too many students and too many colleges. There needs to be competition in order for the colleges to be selective on students.”

Q：“你觉得北京怎么样？”

Q: “Do you have any regrets, or anything that you would like to change?” A (woman): "In terms of change, I hope that life becomes better, and that I can make more money!” A (man): “Pretty much the same as her.” A (woman): "After all, we’re a family- we have the same mentality.”

Q: “How long have you lived in Beijing?” A: “I came to Beijing in the year of 1999 to attend university. After that I went to America to study as a graduate student, and after getting a Doctor's Degree I came back to live in Beijing again.”

Q: “What, in your opinion, are the differences between America and China?” A: “When I first went to America, China wasn’t as developed as it is now, so back then America was obviously better.”

Q: “How many children do you have?” A: “I have two children, one boy and one girl. They are attending the international section of a local Chinese school. My son is currently in Grade Six, so I am a bit concerned about whether he should attend middle school at a local school or an international school.”

Q: “What is the most unforgettable experience between you and your husband?” A: “When I was still in school, my classmates and I went mountain-climbing, and my husband went with us.”

Q: “What kind of dad do you think you are?”

A: “I’m very busy, so I’m just a weekend daddy. I just want my child to be happy and do what he has in mind in order to fulfill his dreams.”

Q：“你觉得你是一个什么样的父亲？”

Q: "Why aren't you wearing shoes? "

A: "I was sitting on the grass relaxing when I noticed that the sun was setting. So I ran up here as fast as I could with my camera and things to get the perfect shot of the dusk. Evidently, I forgot my shoes."

Q: “你的鞋子呢？”

“Why did you come to Beijing?”

“In my opinion, Beijing is an international and urbanised city. Here, I can gain knowledge, become skilled, learn and find a direction in life.”

“You’re promoting ‘Wall Street English’, so what kind of people are best suited to take part in its English programmes?”

“I have a passion for English myself. It depends on whether or not the person desires self-improvement, their future career plans and whether or not they want to travel abroad etc. Learning English can also help improve your personal skill sets.”

“你为什么会来到北京？”

“我认为北京是一个国际化的大都市。在这里可以长见识，锻炼自我，可以学习，可以找到人生到方向。 ”

“您是推销华尔街英语的，那您认为什么样的人适合学习你们的英语课程？”

"Do you have any regrets?"

"Yes, I do, but I believe we only lose certain things because there will be better things waiting for us in the future. This is why I don't have many regrets. But if I have to say one, it would be not studying hard enough. I don't think I realized the importance of studying when I was younger. If I had studied harder and had a better academic background, maybe I would have been a better person today. "

“您有什么后悔的事情么？”