‘Working in Ireland is less stressful than in China and you can make friends with colleagues’

In Tiantian Wu’s home country of China, it was the sound of her alarm and the pressure of trying to reach her maximum potential that woke her up every morning. Since moving to Ireland, however, the sign that it’s time to get out of bed is now the sound of nature outside her window.

“A long time ago, we would wake up every morning because you have a dream. Your alarm clock would wake you up to reach your dream success,” she says.

“But in Ireland, sometimes you wake up because of the birds chirping, which is really nice because it’s really different. The birds are chirping outside, whereas in China outside it is cars and trucks.”

Wu, who is often called Tina by friends, moved to Ireland in 2016 as she wanted to fully immerse herself in an English-speaking country to improve her proficiency in the language. She was an English teacher in China at the time, having fallen in love with the language through watching cartoons as a child.

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“I had this idea [to emigrate] a long time ago, maybe 15 years ago. My college in China was English education so that’s why I wanted to learn English in deep and I realised I wanted to move to English-speaking countries,” she says.

“I was teaching TEFL [teaching English as a foreign language], those exams, so all of my students would go abroad to study in different universities so I decided if I got that experience, I could be more professional as a teacher.”

I didn’t have any connections so I tried many, many times and then finally I got experience about how to do the interviews and how to make Irish jokes

Wu’s plan was to move abroad to study, before returning home and resuming her job as an English teacher.

“At that moment, I didn’t think I would live in this country for a long time. And then later, I realised this country was nice so I tried to find a job,” she says.

Despite her knowledge of English, language was still the biggest challenge she encountered upon her relocation. She found that Irish accents varied so much from region to region, and that took some time to adjust to.

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“Also driving on the left, that was challenging. When you get used to one side, it confuses the road. My first day driving from Athlone to Limerick, on the journey back there was no motorway and always small roads,” she says.

“It was very dark and I had never driven on really dark roads because in my country, everywhere is really bright, and with the trees overhead, I thought I was in a forest. I was so scared. I stopped my car and cried, I was outside a pub and two men came out and were like ‘you did great’. I just followed Google maps and continued home.”

Getting a job once she finished her studies also proved difficult, she says.

“I didn’t have any connections so I tried many, many times and then finally I got experience about how to do the interviews and how to make Irish jokes.”

Now the 34-year-old teaches business and Chinese at a secondary school in South Dublin. She loves her job, and says the work-life balance is much better than it was when she was back in China.

“In China, you must improve yourself everyday. You must study everyday and if you stop studying, if you stop improving yourself, then you fall behind. Work and life can’t be balanced. Everyday when you talk to people, they only talk about your work and successful things and achievements and money. They judge people and their success based on their position and based on their wealth,” she says.

I think Irish people really like when other people make them laugh. Chinese people, when we get together, we don’t talk a lot about funny things

“Here, I can slow my pace and enjoy the life here. I don’t need to be like ‘oh if I don’t study today, I will feel anxiety’. Working here is less stressful and you can make friends with colleagues.”

This slower pace allows her to have time to think more, and to figure out what it is she really wants from her future.

“I made loads of friends here, mainly Irish people. They’re very friendly and they like drinking. I’ll tell you this joke, some people told me ‘Tina if you don’t drink, you cannot make friends’. But I don’t drink any alcohol and I do make a lot of friends,” she says with a laugh.

“And when we’re in the bar, after a few hours it’s only me and my mind that’s clear, everyone else is different. So I still make friends in the bar, I’m the only person to have tea there or water. They are very nice. They really want you to be happy. We just laugh a lot.”

She says: “I think Irish people really like when other people make them laugh. Chinese people, when we get together, we don’t talk a lot about funny things.”

While the pressure in work is different, so too is the culture around life achievements, Wu says.

“In our culture, we have this thing where you need to do things at a certain stage and time. Before 25 or before 30, you should have your house, you should have a baby, you should be married; everything has a deadline,” she says.

“But life doesn’t have a deadline. In Ireland we don’t see that. If you’re not married at 35? Nobody will push you to marry somebody or say ‘you must marry somebody quickly’.”

Overall, Wu says that Ireland feels like a place she can call her home.

“The only challenge is China had a one-child policy so I don’t have siblings. My parents are getting old, they are my responsibility. So I can’t see them everyday or every weekend; I’m thinking if they get sick or very sick, that is very hard for me. And that creates a dilemma for me about whether I can stay forever,” she says.

“Ireland is my second home now. I can feel very relaxed when I’m walking on the street or talking to people. I feel safe here. Everything here just gives me the feeling of home. I think I will stay here for a long time.”

We would like to hear from people who have moved to Ireland in the past 10 years. To get involved, email newtotheparish@irishtimes.com or tweet @newtotheparish