Former North Carolina A&T employee and alumna Brittany Haney aspires for a career in international business consultation and brand development. That aspiration has sent her 12,000 miles away from home. Armed with determination, a passport and pumps, Haney made the trek to Tianjin, China and is writing all about it on her blog.

Haney, a 2009 graduate from the department of journalism and mass communication, spent time working on campus as the program assistant for the office of international programs.

“I was part of the mission to internationalize the university through implementing global enrichment programs, encouraging students to study abroad, helping them prepare for the study abroad experiences and assisting exchange students acclimate to their new home in Greensboro,” she said in an e-mail.

In 2007, Haney studied at Peking University in Beijing, China for a semester.

“While in China I became fascinated by the country’s history and culture and realized my desired career path,” she said. 

“After my study abroad experience, I decided to move back to China in order to become fluent in Mandarin Chinese and to build a career in international business. I’m most interested in helping companies develop a brand and a presence in China,” she added. 

Haney is currently teaching English for English First Tianjin and is a part of the team that is reconstructing the company’s teacher recruiting website.

“I found out about this position by doing some independent research, and talking to English teachers in China,” she said. “I sent my resume to a recruiting company and was eventually offered the position I have now.”

Because she was not proficient in Chinese, the best way for Haney to secure employment was by teaching English.

“I could also learn about my desired field and transition into my dream job,” she said.

While Haney does have a plan for her presence in China, the transition has not been an easy one.

“I have been through all of the stages of the Culture Shock U-Curve at least twice since my return to the East,” she said.

“Though I speak a little Chinese, the language barrier is very frustrating. When I first moved back, I felt like a baby because I depended on my Chinese colleagues to help me do simple things like order food or deposit money at the bank.”

Now that she’s been there for four months, Haney says she is learning more of the language each day and she has grown a thicker skin.

“As an African American working in China, thick skin is essential. The country is one huge homogenous society. If you look different, people will stop and stare,” she said.

“If you have brown skin and natural hair – as I do – people will gawk, point, laugh and assume that you’re African. Some people will ask you ignorant questions and openly say ’What is this Black person doing here?’ in Chinese.”

Haney said she had days in the beginning when she wouldn’t leave her apartment.

“For the first couple of months of teaching, students used to run away from me like I was the Boogie Man,” she said. “At first I was hurt by their reaction, but realized that it was only because they were not used to seeing people who looked like me.”

Now, her students have grown used to her and now say “Hello, Teacher,” when they cross paths.  Life has improved for Haney as she has grown more patient and less angry.

“I don’t let stares and ignorant comments bother me as much anymore. I think I said it best in one of my blog posts: Instead of thinking of myself as a strange animal at the zoo, I’ll think of myself as an exquisite piece of art on display at the museum… something that makes everyone Stop. And. Stare.”

During her time as a student in Beijing, Haney says she came into contact with a lot of different people who wanted to learn as much about her as she did them. She hasn’t had the same experience in Tianjin.

“I come in contact with different types of people who may have no desire to learn about me as an individual or my culture,” she said. “Sometimes I feel like it’s me against the world. Other times I feel like the world is mine.”

Haney recently celebrated her 26th birthday in Tianjin and periodically takes trips to Beijing.

“I am grateful for this experience – for its triumphs, and even its struggles,” she said.

The hardest part of this transition for Haney has been having only e-mail and pictures to share this experience with her loved ones.

“I created my blog to keep in touch with friends and family, to share my experience of living in a different country, to encourage people to travel abroad and to encourage others to pursue their dreams, domestically and internationally,” she said.

While it’s not her preferred method of communication, Haney will have to operate her blog a bit longer as she plans to live in China for at least three years.

“After teaching for a year in Tianjin, I will move to Beijing in order to focus on studying the Chinese language, and to gain more experience in my desired field,” she said.

After her three years, she plans to attend graduate school in either the United Kingdom or the United States.