Today was the day when my old friend Jade 黄玉 had contacted me.
It's a funny story about how we met. I worked as a purchasing manager in a Russian company. A part of my job was visiting China, places like Shanghai and Guangzhou, attending big fairs and exhibitions, meeting new suppliers, and saying hi to existing ones.
Jade was a sales manager whom I met in 2010 in Shanghai Exhibition Center.
And I remember that the company she was working for was not very professional; I had so many issues with them and Jade. But we kept on cooperating and sorting out all misunderstandings.
A few years later, when I decided to quit my job in Russia, leave my boyfriend, friends, and family and move to China, Jade was the only person I knew in Shanghai.
And just before resigning from my job, I texted her to say goodbye and share my plans to move; she told me that she was also in the process of quitting her position, and she offered to meet me up at the airport when I arrive.
This honestly was a huge deal at that time because, even though I wanted to change my life, deep inside, I had that fear that I would simply get lost in a massive city like Shanghai.
When I visited it before, I was intimidated by the size, energy, amount of people, but at the end of the day, I knew it was just another business trip, and I have my return ticket.
But that time, it was different. I bought a one-way ticket and made up my mind to move to China and start at 0.
Photo by Joshua Earle
When Jade was kind enough to offer me her help, I finally saw her for who she was.
She was kind, open, friendly, she was terrific. She was a true friend when I needed one.
So, on the night of arrival, it was almost 1.00 am in Shanghai when I landed, she met me up, helped to carry my luggage, dropped me off at the hotel I booked, and even spent some time with me to make sure I was ok. (to be honest, the "hotel" was more like a cheap motel in a bad neighborhood), so, she was just there for me.
The next day she met up with me, showed me around: some places I could shop, a few restaurants, the way to the subway.
She welcomed me in her house, introduced to some of her friends, she even went to a few job interviews with me, so I could feel safe and comfortable.
She was amazing and so kind to basically a stranger.
You never know where you find a good friend. And Jade was an excellent friend for me during my years in China.
A lot had changed since 30th of June 2012, when Jade met me in the airport, we both got busy; I moved from Shanghai to Zhangjiagang, later back to Shanghai, then Wuxi, then Ningbo.
She got married, gave birth to two beautiful babies, started up her own company; I got married too, and later my husband and I moved to the US, but nothing changed between us. We still keep in touch, and we'll meet when the opportunity shows up.
Photo by Yiran Ding
I often hear people saying something like, "nobody helped me get where there," " I did it all by myself," etc. And I think it's so not true because every decision or move we make was either because somebody else pushed us or inspired us.
I mean, in my particular case, it was more of a push than an inspiration, but I know for a fact, if Jade didn't offer to meet me at the airport, I could have easily changed my mind and gave up the ticket.
But there were so many people and circumstances involved that I am where I am now. Not because I did it, but because the whole Universe helped me to get there.
In the end, I want to say, there are so many great people out there, and if you were lucky enough to meet one, stick to this person. And also, if you feel like you need a change, do it. And it doesn't matter how many strings attached: family, friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, job, if you feel like you are suffocated, do something about it, and I promise, you'll be a better, happier, and a brighter person at the end. It won't be easy, but it's so worth trying.
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