Books on Living Abroad

A problem that readers can experience when choosing a nonfiction book is the massive amounts available on Amazon. Info-dumping causes confusion and fatigue to your brain, which is no bueno. Saying "Forget this" is easier than searching for an eye-catching book cover to click.

 

Some of you might say, "I don't want to read about someone who's worked and lived abroad," or "Who cares!" or "I'm not interested." True, but if you're craving out-of-the-ordinary stories to stimulate your mind, you're in the right place.

 

You don't need to browse on Amazon to get unique and authentic nonfiction/memoir titles because two are at your fingertips. My books on living abroad have interesting facts, strange stories, shocking and giggling moments, plus more. If you're an American, perhaps you'll realize after reading my books that living in the States isn't bad after all. Maybe you'll feel more grateful for the luxuries and conveniences we have too. 

 

Why not take a chance? Join me for the rides today!

In Sweating in the Land of Smiles, I unveil living in Thailand during COVID-19, the year of radical change. We’ll discover the Bangkok way of doing things through my observations and conversations with some Thai locals. You'll get an honest account of my experience living in a city with ten and a half million people.

 

In this book, I don’t advocate for people to pack their bags and leave everything behind. The grass isn’t always greener. We must endure hardships different from the ones back home. Consider that the chapters aren't research-based or a how-to manual to get by. I don't know the nuts and bolts about Thai culture or the Bangkok lifestyle either.

 

If you’re open-minded and want to swim in a book that’s not the usual stuff in Amazon’s library, then this read might do the job. You’ll at least learn some interesting things about Bangkok and Thai culture that you won’t get in textbooks. Who doesn’t like to stimulate their mind and broaden their horizons?

The Twists and Turns of Living in Shanghai consist of two and a half years in China's largest city. We'll encounter the trials and tribulations (both conventional and unconventional), which textbooks and colleges don't prepare us to wrestle. In fact, there's more Yang (chaos) compared to Yin (order).

 

If stories about quitting a job to experience wanderlust or preaching the perks of living abroad are what you're craving, well, you won't find it here. Now if reading stuff that makes eyebrows raise, to say, "What the f***?" and causes some chuckles along the way is your cup of tea, then I welcome you to taste my batch. We'll explore the other side of the coin: the things we don't see or hear about on social media posts. In this book, it's the twists and turns of living overseas with twenty-four million people in Shanghai.

For 180 days, Aldo resided in Langfang (Hebei province) with locals at Yang Guang Jae Hue, a community that doesn’t have a street address and is unknown on Google Maps. In July 2013, five days after his commencement ceremony from graduate school, he was on an airplane to the People's Republic of China (PRC). Aldo worked for a Chinese corporation and was an English teacher at a five-employee startup. Also, he traveled to cities throughout the country, which included Langfang, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Beijing, and Shanghai.

 

He touches base on how a "when in doubt, send it out" moment resulted in the unexpected. Aldo shares how he was able to adapt to an entirely different lifestyle and culture, along with popping the culture-shock bubble in a short amount of time. Plus, the unforeseen surprises, memorable moments, the highs and lows, Chinese business practices, and so on. 

 

Keep in mind that Aldo doesn’t claim to be a subject matter expert on the Chinese way of life. With the help of some locals and from the many conversations logged in a journal, 180 Days Abroad with the Chinese Locals reveals topics that textbooks and classrooms don’t tell us about China from a real-world point of view.