The other day, we were just sitting in the office concentrating on the work, our boss came in and announced shocking news. “Guys, you know, half of 2022 is already gone.” she said, that was the last day of June. Today, I am writing these words, it is the end of August. I have been working at NDKD for almost three months. How time flies. I got my first payments. I bought some books for my son and invited my parents-in-law to a restaurant. The meaning of working is that you get paid and more importantly, you know that you are doing something that makes sense.

To be honest, these three months have not been easy for me. It is a big step for me and of course for my family as well. I was very nervous at the very beginning which probably happens to everyone wo starts working at a new company. Thanks to my boss and my colleagues, I got used to it quickly. I had poor knowledge about the dancing world before, after reading magazines, watching videos, and having enjoyed beautiful dances from all over the world, I remembered a famous saying in China, “One minute on the stage, 10 years hard work behind it.” The dancers, famous or successful dancers have been working hard for their performances. Then I tell myself, go on practicing longer, you will see the progress. That was a relief. I wasn’t so nervous anymore, because I know I still need time and I am lucky to work for NDKD, while the time that I need was and is given to me.

Let me spend some time introducing myself next. My name is Ting Wang. I was born and grew up in a small village in the north of China. As a child I had a very happy childhood and like every other child in China I studied very hard to get into a good university. As the result of my hard work, I got an offer from Beijing International Studies University and spent four years there and got my bachelor’s degree.

After that, to expand my horizon and to experience different cultures, I went to the UK and studied there. Ich have enjoyed my time in the UK. There were so many activities to attend and so many friends to get to know. That was the first time that I went abroad and as you can image, the culture shock was huge and the people there spoke slightly different from what I have learnt in China. I struggled quite some time and managed to get everything under control and finally got my master’s degree successfully. That was a time, that I still miss today.

After my graduation in the UK, I decided to get back to China to start my career. I worked four years in Beijing and liked my work there. The colleagues, whom I worked with, were always ready to help and we did a lot of teamwork together. Five years ago, I got married in Germany and since then, I have been living here. There are many differences between Germany and the UK, but the culture shock that I have experienced in the UK didn’t happen. I am satisfied with my life in Germany.

So much about me. I hope that I didn’t bore you. I must admit that this is a hard time for many people, due to the lockdown, due to the war that happens in front of our eyes. The prime minister in the UK resigned, again. Japan’s former prime minister was shot at a speech. This is not a peaceful time. Some say, we are experiencing history. The other say, we are history. I want to say, this kind of history, I would rather avoid. But this is life, we cannot choose what we are given, we have to accept it. What we can choose is that with what kind of attitude we are facing it. Like our title, the past is gone, and the future is before us. If the worst has happened, what happens next will by all means better, won’t it? One day, we would tell our children and grandchildren, what we have been through and that we have tried our best to make it better. That ist enough.

Last, but not least, I would like to say that I am very happy to get to know new friends and work with people from different backgrounds and I am looking forwards to getting to know you all and of course the coming months and years.