你喜欢一个人呆着吗? PET双语沙龙精彩回顾@4/17 | Do you enjoy spending time on your own?
Kelly Chong 2019-05-02
<8618510985516>In a world filled with constant pressure to be out socializing as much as possible, spending time alone can feel taboo. Thanks to social media, we are exposed to constant reports about where our friends are and what fun things they are doing; and sometimes, we may detect some judgement from colleagues, friends, or acquaintances when we tell them that we spent the previous evening or weekend enjoying our own company. Of course, finding a good balance between juggling family time, colleague socializing and self-reflection time can be challenging, especially in Beijing city's face paced lifestyle.The reason why I chose this topic was because ever since I set foot in Beijing, I started to experience many periods of alone time; something that didn’t come by very often when I was back home in Malaysia. So, it was a topic that intrigued me and I would like to know what was the general consensus on spending time alone here in Beijing; and how it differed from Malaysia.
The idea discussion and experience sharing sessions were very eye-opening. I did not expect majority of the participants would regard themselves as introverts. My thinking was, tonight’s event was on a voluntary basis and only extroverts would bother coming. Turned out, I was wrong! Many of them came because they prioritized learning English and meeting people; reasons valid enough for them to get out of their comfort zone of staying in after a tired day of work. An attitude I found very admirable. Yes, it differed slightly from my expectations, but in a good way. We touched on many other aspects of solitude, such as different countries’ approaches to being alone, how personality affects quantity of alone time, how family/friend/society shapes our views towards alone time. Throughout the entire discussion, the atmosphere was relaxed and light-hearted. Everyone was very willing to share and eager to listen and learn from each other.
Of course, I gained tremendously from hosting this event even though it was just a short session. Through them, I learned more about myself especially on how to approach solitude; what to expect when job priorities clash with rest time; how to diplomatically decline an outing and putting myself first. All in all, it was indeed, a rewarding experience!
PET is a community of English lovers where you can speak English, make friends and share your experiences. We will discuss a topic every Wednesday evening, welcome to join us next time, see you:)Host / 分享人Kelly Chong / Student Hi, I'm Kelly from Malaysia! Currently on an exchange to Peking University, under International Relations and GuangHua School of Management. Prior to this exchange, I am a full time student in Monash University, Malaysia studying Econometrics and Finance. Other life experiences involve interning at a P2P Fin-tech startup, backpacking round Europe for a month, participating in stock investing challenges, hiking up the tallest peak in South-East Asia, and most recently Bungee Jumping in Beijing!
In brief, I love adventure and people. There is nothing more satisfying than a good cup of tea and great stories shared across the table. Let’s make great memories together!
PostEnglishTime, Speak English, make friends, be interested in people and connect the worldPET后英语时代|聊英语，交朋友，关注他人，连接世界PET is a high-quality network of English-speaking international youth in Beijing. We organize various social activities and provide various community services. Our mission is to build a high-quality community of locals or expats who are interested in culture, language, technology, and humanities.PET创立于2011年，从一个集语言学习，社交与知识分享的英文爱好者社区，现在逐渐发展成为一个更加包容与多元的国际青年社区。我们致力于成为国内外朋友都信赖的高质量社区，并为广大外语爱好者，外国友人提供线上线下不同类型的语言交流活动与不同主题的分享与社交活动，及其他社区服务。在这里有趣的灵魂将自由连接，平凡的生命也一样精彩。
