I was born in China and went to Germany when I was 7 with my mom. My parents are divorced as well and my dad stayed in China. I have always wondered the same thing: How would my life be if I stayed in China? How would my personality be? Would I be different or the same? This year, after my graduation, I finally had the time to visit China and reconnect with my dad and grandma. It is difficult to build and maintain a relationship when you are on different continents. It broke my heart when I left the airport to go back to Germany. My dad and grandma were waiting and looking after me until they couldn't see me at the gate anymore. I think the worst part is that I don't know when I will be able to visit them again and if my grandma will still be on this earth until then. Thank you for sharing your personal story and how you try to reconnect with your dad. I can say from my own experience that it takes a lot of courage and can be heavy for your mental health since you're dealing with childhood trauma. Thank you also for saying that it counts when you show up and try your best since that is the only thing we can control. I wish you the best and will be rooting for you!
I looked your comment.I want to tell you something in my opinion.The first is that no matter where are you,no matter what personality will you be，you are always the best child for your grandma .you are always the person that your grandma is concerning and missing.Maybe your dad don't have enough miss to you,but your grandma always love's you in her heart.If you have some vacation,I hope you can back to China to company your grandma,because your grandma may not have the more time living in this world.All things will be losed if you quit before you do it
East or west, home is the best. No matter where, motherland is your real home. You are always the foreigner outside of your own motherland. The conclusion from me, a successful Canadian Chinese.
A person character may change anytime b4 30 years old. After that, the change would be much slower, except physically. I am now 52 years old. Character wise,my drive to do things is not as strong as before.
Im Chinese living in Australia, I’m crying watching this while eating some rice balls. My heart aches knowing that I can never be in both worlds at the same time😢 so much grief, loss and nostalgia.
I feel you, sometimes I feel as if there is a hole in me, a deep sense of sadness wanting to be more Chinese, but can't. In Australia if we act too Chinese, it will make life really hard for our self.
I am sorry for your loss but I want to share that I understand as I just lost my dad at 27 and I still cannot believe I only got 27 yrs with him. I’m the youngest of my family so I’m the one w the least amount of time with him and it’s interesting to navigate life without him! But I hope you are kind to yourself during grief & life - which seem to become one. Healing isn’t linear, I hope you take care❤
Hi from Beth in California, 32. With the risk of sounding dumb, I want to share… my mother was visiting my house today. She is great, but she worries too much and talks about her problems - even small ones. Lol. When I put your video on TV, she was so interested in watching and listening. She is 63. When the video ended she talked about how pretty and interesting you are. It was a nice moment🙂 New subscriber! …I don’t know what you believe about yourself and your channel, friend. But please know that you are amazing and important ❤️ Beth
Those moments are beautiful. Thanks for sharing! It’s these glimpses into how others view and face the world, glimpses of how life could be different if you show up to it differently yourself, sparking introspection, that are valuable. It seemed to have touched your mum :) All the best!
As a Chinese the beginning of the video truly hits me, which reminds me of my birth in a hospital of Jiangsu. I am trying hard to prepare for GRE recently for master application. Language is truly a magical thing to let us see inner and outside world.
literally just moved back to Nigeria from London at 19 and I needed to watch this to feel that twisting of grief and joy be reflected at me through your video, wishing you nothing but peace and thank youuu
I'm Nigerian too! I moved to London at 3, and I've always felt that there's no place for me back there, I feel like an outsider. I hope you enjoy your time there!
@@cyndykethank you, it’s shitty you feel like an outsider but i get it defo give nigerians your age a chance they might surprise you in the community they offer, hoping i can grow as a person and discover more about my roots back home!!
I'm a foreigner but I've been living in China for the past two years, first as a student and now about to start my first job here. I really enjoy living here, it brings me immense peace even though I'm so far away from "home". :)
wow this couldn’t have come at a better time! i recently came back from a 3 week trip to the philippines after not visiting for 6 years. it is my parents’ home country and is also where all of my relatives live. the past few days i’ve been reminiscing the memories i made there and missing my relatives so much. when i got there i made it a priority to actually put in effort to speak to my relatives and form a close bond with them since before this i usually struggled with communication every time i visited due to the language barrier and it made me feel distant from my cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents etc. i was someone who could understand their ethnic language but struggled at speaking it. so prior to this trip, i made sure i improved my speaking skills in tagalog and it ended up being so worth it! i had actual long, full conversations with my cousins for the first time ever, i talked to my grandmothers more often and asked questions back. i made the initiative to be the first one to start conversations and i truly don’t regret it! the trip ended with me crying as i had formed close relationships with my loved ones and learnt more about them. i didn’t want to leave! looking back i felt so full there since i was surrounded with family and just the liveliness of philippines itself: the busy streets, so many kids playing about, the food. i also feel like i’m a different version of me there in a good way. the past few days i’ve also been wondering the same questions you did, “what would life be like if i had grown up there?” but i’ve stopped dwelling on that and started thinking about where do i want my life to be in the future? i think in the near future i would want to move to the philippines even just for a few months to stay in touch with family and explore a version of me that i could’ve potentially been.
Aww that is so beautiful! Thank you for sharing this story with me :’) I think it would so fun to move back even just for a couple months! I have a friend who moved back to ph in the mountains and I can’t wait to visit her one day 🤍
I was born in Toronto and studied in Shenzhen when I was younger. Earlier this year my dad passed away from cancer and a 6 year relationship with my gf ended. I took my dad's ashes back to China and fell in love with the country over again. I haven't been back since 2008. I came back to Toronto after two weeks to a dead end job with nothing else left here in this city. I am making plans to relocate back to Shenzhen in the near future. Job hunting in China with a Canadian passport is near impossible, as the market is even rougher over there with millions of new grads every year, along with lay offs and unemployed locals who can't even find their next paycheque. I don't know what the future will hold or which direction I am facing, but I hope it works out in the end. Thanks for this video
Maybe you could try to find a job in hongkong, where has more opportunities for foreign passport holders. Also, if you still have relatives holding a Chinese passport, it may be possible for you to get a Chinese passport. Alternatively, you could also try to get a hongkong or taiwan passport, which will be easier for you to find a job in mainland. Sorry to hear that, but good luck to you.
As an overseas born Chinese, this resonates very deeply for me as I'm sure it does for many others 😭 the nostalgia, longing, for a place that looks and feels so like home yet never having lived there before . Especially now with increasing coverage and vlogs of people going to China, seeing the people, the food, the cities, buildings, mountains and rivers I somehow feel such a strong sense of home when looking at these scenes. My grandparents immigrated with hopes of a better future for their future generations, but their roots and hearts are always in China. now that China has developed so much I hope I can one day take my parents back home to China with me in the future to see the beauty now of our motherland
Welcome to be back in China with your family, she always greet you with open arms, im sure you will have a great time. Calling for roots can be strong, im amazed by this culture strength.
I have the same nostalgic feeling as an overseas born Chinese !! Especially watching these C dramas make me feel what I missed not been born in China. Also, it’s the first time (2024) that I truly believe that it is now better to be born in China than the west !!!
I cried as soon as I started watching this. I’m 49 and been out of China since 9. Haven’t been back. Planned on it prior to the pandemic but now will probably do a trip in a year or 2. And we too just came back from Tokyo. And will head to Quebec in 2 months. The way you narrate your story is so great. Certainly more wisdom than your 27 years would suggest. Enjoy your journey. I look forward to watching your other videos, of our homeland and other lands. Hello from NYC :)
this made me cry :') i love your storytelling, i hope you continue to share your journeys and thoughts with us for a long time. it is much much more important to us than you think
I never really left a comment under any video on yt but this one just hit me so hard… I went back to China in 2019 to see my family, it wasn’t supposed to be a super long trip but then covid hit, and not long after that my grandpa passed away… I was honestly so grateful that I decided to move back at that specific time because it would’ve been so much more difficult to navigate international travel during covid to be there for my grandpa… I really hope you enjoy your time in China, Leah! It’s such a brave step into a new chapter, and thanks for taking us along your journey.
So moved. You father is a lucky Dad. I am also in China. And my daughters are in Canada just like you. I see them 3 or 4 times a years, and i do wish they will grow up to be happy and save a spot for me in their hearts.
Im from shenzhen and have been living in australia for 24yrs. Worked, married with two young children. Our family is travelling back in shenzhen for a year next yr and i really look forward to reconnecting with this place where i always call home.
This was so immensely beautiful brought tears to my eyes this morning. As an American Born Chinese I never grew up in China but there was a point in my life spending summers in Shenzhen that it felt like another home. It feels in many ways growing older sometimes what we allow to become a home becomes louder, but I'm choosing to listen to that child self still running around the Shenzhen apartment complex greeting the aunties, uncles, kids, and security guards 🥹
the fact that I’m in China rn when u released this video and I always do a lot of thinking after watching ur videos… will forever look forward to all your uploads
I'm a mexican living in Mexico with not a single thing related to China or beign chinese or migrate but this was so touching and amazing to watch, thank you!
I visited for a few weeks in January this year for my cousin’s wedding and I don’t know what switched but now I feel a lot more closer to china and I’ve been missing it so much since returning back to Nz. These videos provide me with a little bit of joy
I recently turned 29 and I’ve been in the US for more than half of my life. As time goes by I feel the disconnect between me and the place I was born and spent part of my childhood at. There’s always the sensation that you have missed out ,so I’ve been feeling the urge to go back and live there for a while even though I don’t have the means to leave my job right now. This video was really heart warming and made me realize I definitely will go back once I have saved enough.
I just saw this video on my fyp. I was born in ‘97 as well but as a Chinese adoptee. I was in an orphanage in Shenzhen for the first 3 yrs of my life. I have no idea if I was born in that city, but I was there and first visited China again only at age 20. I would love to live in China or even Hong Kong but it’s hard getting visas for that kind of things. Now with my own child I want him to be raised in Asia. The title of the video intrigued me and I was even more interested knowing you were born in Shenzhen. I know it’s a really big city now, but I would love to find my birth parents someday. Best of luck in China!
Please do consider the dna match in china to look for your birth parents. More and more lost children have been found and reunited with their birth parents thanks to the database. As for living in china and the visa problem, i heard some people are trying to get taiwanese passport now in order to get a chinese passport eventually. Not sure if it's a good idea but you can definitely look into it since getting a taiwanese /hongkong passport/visa should be easier than getting the mainland one
Hi Leah! Thank you for your beautiful, thoughtful video! I was born in China, but abandoned at an orphanage as a baby and adopted to my family in Alaska. I recently tried to return to China and visit, but unfortunately had to cancel my trip because my visa wasn’t approved. I was so heartbroken but truly hope to be able to visit soon and heal and reconnect with my roots and maybe someday reunite with my biological family! 🥺🥺🥺💖💖💖
This makes me feel at home for some reason, I'm Vietnamese with Hoa ancestry (basically Chinese blood), and my parents always encouraged me to learn Chinese and connect to my culture. Though I always rejected that idea, having no idea why I should do so at all even though my Chinese blood is less than my Vietnamese blood. But I guess with the way I was raised, I would always be a little more Chinese than I am Vietnamese. I'm taking Chinese Mandarin classes currently and hope to take Cantonese (my family's from Guangdong province) classes in the future. Next year I'll be in China alone in the summer, experiencing the authentic way to learn a language. I'm not sure if it's truly my calling but when I graduate highschool, I'll be in China studying abroad. This video made me feel a little closer to my Chinese side, thank you :)
Wow, I’m really happy to hear your story. I’m Chinese, and I welcome you to come to China one day! Chinese can be quite difficult to learn, right? Haha, just like how I find English a bit challenging too. Wishing you all the best!
I like Alipay more than Wechat pay. Ordering food through Alipay is better. I am seriously jealous of you being able to move back to China. I am not Chinese, I am married to a Chinese woman from Changsha. Because of work, the longest time I get to spend in China is 5 or 6 weeks. Everytime a visit a different city in China, I fall in love with it, but I consider Changsha to be my second home, but I wish it were my first home. My wife's home town is Liuyang (very close to Changsha), so somehow I have become emotionally attached to a city. The first few times I was in China, there was some massive culture shock, not to mention the worst jet lag ever, coming from the U.S.. As a father of daughters, and a Buddhist, I know your father must be very happy to have you there.
As a foreigner would you say Ali pay is enough to get around in China with buy food, restaurants and public transport. It's so nerve wrecking how every is digital and cashless.😂
@@littlehomeforest5972 I was able to do everything over 5 weeks in Changsha with Alipay with the exception of buses. For some reason, I never got buses to work, but all other forms of transportation work along with literally everything else. Restaurants are the best because the QR codes are on the menus so you can pay while you are in line and the food gets delivered almost as soon as you sit down. If you don't speak Mandarin, Alipay is particularly useful at convenience stores. In a different city, like Shanghai, Beijing, etc, you would also likely be able to use it for buses. The best way to use Alipay if you are a foreigner is to load it up with rmb before you leave by transferring it via an app I can't type here or it will delete my comment, but there is only one app that swaps dollars for rmb and can transfer them to wechat or alipay.
Your wife hometown is very close to mine. I miss my hometown so much. I am glad you consider changsha as your second home, and enjoy the local culture. Sadly, also because of work, it is hard for me to make long stay back in my hometown.
Omg, I’m turning 27 this year too and I’m also moving to my dad’s country so we can be closer! I’m excited but also terrified to be so far away from my mum and all my friends. This video came at a perfect time, you’ve made me feel super reassured Leah❤️❤️
wow, im a 1.5 generation chinese immigrant born in canada so seeing this video unlocked a lot of nostalgia, sadness and wonder for a culture and world that i never experienced being a part of but someday hope to be able to. i am so proud of you for taking this on. sending you love and support in your adjustment into living in your birth country!
Hi, 3 years ago, I watched the 5 am morning routines video where you tried different routines. It really helped me through my depression at the time that I had for 2 years prior and, because of the calmness, the aesthetics and feeling/mood of the video. It gave me peace, and made me realize why I should try to become better and stop bedrotting. I even tried the routines in the video after a few days of having watched it. It really changed me and how I start viewing my life. Thank you, you don't know how much it meant to me. I just thought after seeing your video on my youtube recommendations again, it made me remember and thought you deserve to know how much your one video helped me to literally turn my life around.
Almost cry when Leah shares her wish and effort to foster the father daughter relationship. It's a common and big topic that I am also facing with. Thanks for sharing your internal journey with us. It really brings me more courage and hope to find my way on it.
i really see myself in you. i recently visited my hometown in china for the first time since leaving and it was so eye opening. i finally saw all of my family, including my dad, and i still think about how much i would've loved growing up around my relatives.
this summer i went back to china for the first time in many years and the first time as an adult, and this video just hits everything i felt while i was there. its so comforting to find a mirror on the internet ♥
Me literally crying since the beginning of this video coz I was born in 1997 and Shenzhen too! Me and mum moved to New Zealand when I was 9 and I spent my teenage years and early adulthood without my dad coz he was working in China and I could only see him once every year or even once every 2/3 years. It’s kinda sad that even though Dad has moved to NZ after retirement but the fact that he missed out on 10+ years of my life… is just sad…
I’m Australian Chinese, and moved from Australia to Shenzhen, China too for a few years for work. Your video really reminds me of a lot of feelings I had while I was there. I loved learning more about my culture, the language, and of course spending time with family as well
leah I have been watching you since covid and your videos only get better. they’re fulfilled with so much wisdom on one hand and fun on the other, I feel like I’m hanging out with close friend. anxiety, stress, fear, you actually helped me a lot with going throughout those things. thank you and wish you luck on your next journey!
It's quite a coincidence that we both came to Shenzhen from Toronto at the same time, and I also live near Luohu. After experiencing a long period of rainy days and reconnecting with my family after leaving home for 8 years, watching your video felt like reliving those initial feelings of sadness and unknown fear. Knowing that someone was at the same place at the same time, experiencing a similar life, brought me some comfort❤
Absolutely feel you. Going back to my parent's home country and particularly learning the language really helped me connect with not only my parents but extended family in a whole new way
Leah, i cried watching this. I grew up in hk and china but lived abroad my entire adult years, i´ve been nomading like you in europe and latin america and call new york my home. For the longest time I felt like i didn´t fit into that society, and i used to have a love and hate relationship with my chinese identity. However, the more im exposed to other cultures, the more i think about my own. At this stage of my life, I came to the point where I don´t have to belong to any nationality and I am who i am, it´s a truly free feeling to be and comfortable with my global citizen identity. maybe the longest time i tried to hard to make my own community and reality abroad and chinese people always say ÿou only come back when you failed abroad. I think that quote stuck with me for the longest time. But i´m more and more excited to go back to china soon ( haven´t seen it for 6 years), i would love to see how my nomad perspective change how i view my own country. Thank you for sharing leah.
ohh that thing they said was hurting, sad to hear it, but home is always somewhere safe and embrace every part of you, it doesn't judge you for what've you have experienced, so welcome to china when you want to, it's always a home to you and maybe the toxic sayings should be ignored, though it's sadly quite familiar to a chinese ear, wishing people around you will be more supportive rather than judgemental
Love from Chinese in Shenzhen😁 Randomly find this video on my RUclips front page, it supprises me to know a new 0.9 Million subcriber Chinese RUclipsr. Very enjoy to watch your video. I also very enjoy traditional Chinese culture like medicine and meditaion. Hope you enjoy your day back in Shenzhen.
i hope this journey is healing you and brings you the answers Leah, i wish the best for you. take care of yourself. we will always cherish you. 🌟 我爱你 💓🎀🫂
This is such a sensual vlog😢 i recently lost my mom and i find this vlog particularly touching and reminiscent. I appreciate that sentence: “we always wish that things were different, but at the end of the day it’s you who can change”. Best of luck to adjusting to China and you’re so brave❤
I actually relate so much to this ..... I basically spent more time abroad than in china and not being able to keep up with the digital advances like WeChat pay and stuff actually makes me so foreign. It is so comforting to know that I am not the only one who struggles with this and its not alienating
Hey Leah, I’m so excited for your new chapter of life! I’m also from SZ and moved to Australia during my teens. I’ve been following your channel for a few years now, your wholesomeness always grounds me ❤❤❤ all the best with everything!!!
I love this video! I also left Toronto to reconnect with my home country, where I never felt truly myself. It’s not been easy but this video makes me want to find a purpose of why I am here and heal💛
Immediately this video brought me to tears. I too know what it’s like to be torn away from my birthplace at a young age. I know what it’s like not having many family members around and that makes me sad. Thank you for making this.
I began crying seeing you with your dad, talking about him, how much he adores you. There are people who don't have an option to be like that with a blood relative. But I know I'll experience that with special people
I was born and grown up in China, but somehow I was moved by your video ( the soft back ground music plays a great role:) )The time in China is deep into the humid soil and people get drowned into it. That’s what I felt, especially after I moved out of China myself for years. and every time i felt hurt badly when I departed from home. I cannot imagine the feeling for the you guys who grownup overseas and it’s apparently a huge number of people. You bonded them together in a tender way that really meaningful. ❤I don’t know if you can read Chinese or not so I wrote in English.
im a laowai but my fiance is born and raised in Wenzhou, he came here at 21 & has not been home for 11 years, but we will finally go to see ma and ba next year and they can meet our son finally! this is so nice to watch. I also was excited by your dads business, as a vegan of 20 years im glad to know there are places like this in china :) im excited to follow you and watch your journey in your homeland. wishing you the best of luck :)
I am 53 and I have the same thoughts of what life would have been like if I grew up in the places that my DNA testing shows that my origins are from. I then become angry and feel as if I was robbed of my culture which I was. I am sure that I would be different in some ways. Thank you for sharing and when you and your dad smile while sitting next to each other, you look so much like him!
I dont usually leave comments on your videos, but ive never felt so incredibly healed from a video before. Ive always felt curious and disconnected from my Chinese heritage as well. I dont know how to put it in words, but watching you feels like being guided by a mentor ❤ Love, a fellow Chinese Torontarian
i went to vietnam for a month in june for the first time since birth and though i’ve been following you since 2019 i think this video may stick with me the longest. finding something grand in the mundane is something i never expected even with the anticipation of finally being surrounded by family (especially with the expectations on us with living in the west) but i found myself wondering if moving there would be a dream achieved in my lifetime….. you make me feel like it may just be.
Thank you for sharing snippets of your journey. A quick glimpse from all the other comments goes to show how impactful we can be when we share our story. I've been in adjacent circles as you, knowing you from a distance, since elementary school. Though life hasn't laid out the paths for us to become good friends, I look in your direction with admiration, warmth, and faith in you. I don't keep up with your channel consistently, but whenever I find a video of yours, I find it right when I need to. Thank you for reminding me to be more gentle with myself, and too, to continue nurturing the curious and open-minded parts of me. My parents also separated when I was a kid. I can't speak for you, but I've often felt like people who were born with happy &/or close families (that also stay that way without much effort) take those things for granted. It's tough to have to fight to have & keep those things, if we can even have them with our blood relatives. But I admire your perseverance and courage to pursue building/strengthening your relationship with your father. You made a big decision, a both literal and figurative leap. Maybe it was not just for him, but I hope he feels the tenderness that went into the initial gesture of coming, but also the tenderness in staying and trying. I am cheering you on!
This video has made me emotional. Such beautiful stroytelling, visuals and vulnerability! It makes me even more interested to learn more about different cultures and travel more! I wish you all the best being back in your home country Leah! and that your connection with your family there grows stronger every day
I cried, I've left home almost 4 years and lived in a totally different world that shaped who I am. Grew up in Huhhot and then moved to London, I felt identity crisis for so long, but at the end of the day I feel so grateful for my parents' support, without them, I would never achieved my dream, but also I feel sad for the moments that I could not be with them. I miss them every day, Asking time for mercy sounds hilarious but I do hope I can have more time to be with them. 爸爸妈妈， 我很快就回家。
I’ve cried a lot with this video. i have divorced parents as you. Me and my mom we moved to another country when i was 7 years old, so i understand your desire to discover this kind of simultaneous dimension where you never left home, where you grew up with your dad, where you never left your family and your roots. About the end of the video i really feel that words, my granpha pass away and i really think about how much time i lost living so far away from him. Time is so short we have to spend it really well and with the ones that we love. Lots of love ❤️
I've been born and raised in Germany and just graduated there. I've always felt that longing and curiosity about my other version, whenever I've been back in Vietnam I've asked myself the same questions you did of who would I have been if I would have grown up in my parents home country? I also booked a one way ticket back to Vietnam for the end of this year to find out, so this video came just in time to give me hope and take away some of my anxiety, thanks Leah!
Im so happy for you and that you get to do this! This was my dream since I moved to Canada, to eventually visit my dad and rebuild that relationship. I didn't get to see him once in 13 years and he passed away 4 years ago which made me feel devasted. So seeing this kind of helps me to see what it would've been like if I made it in time. Also those old videos are so so sweet and precious and it blows my mind how similar you look to your dad, wow! (and that's a compliment lol you're really pretty and you have the cutest smile!)
Such a nice, warming vlog. It's so wonderful getting to see you reconnect with your family and your culture. I hope that you show us more of China, but in a way that is respectful to your boundaries. Thank you for your willingness to be so open, your vlogs always give me a sense of peace in this ever conflicted world
Leah this video made me cry 😭 being a third culture child and feeling lost and disconnected - wondering what my life would have been like if i had grown up surrounded by family and a community that has similar values to me - growing into the realisation that my parents won't be there always and my relationships with them will constantly change and evolve - having the courage to find and build the community i am looking for even if it's all over the world - i had indescribable feelings while watching this video and i appreciate so much you sharing your experiences. the world is wide and we're just little specks of dust in it. i'm so proud of you 🥹🥹
Over the period of time I have seen you growing up. And now that the decision you took of spending more time with your Family hits on a personal level. I lost my Mom 4 years back, I always knew I had to spend more time but for several reasons I could not. Now all I have left with is regret and limited memories. As someone of your same age, it’s really good to see you getting into doing the right things taking the right steps. Much love and support to you Leah.
Thank you Leah for sending out this video. I've been going thru some really hard time and recently I've decided to put myself together. listening to you talking about taking on courage to face whatever is in front of you is such a huge relief and I'm grateful that you'd love to share your sentiments with us. I feel so lucky to see this video at this moment and I feel like the universe is probably telling me I'm also doing well. thank you thank you thank you. enjoy your stay in china!!
the background music is soft and peaceful combined with the narrative of leah i just felt a little sad. life is so limited. all of us have finite time to share good time with our loved people.
Oh Leah, as a Chinese girlie living in Canada, watching your childhood and your family felt so nostalgic - as if I were watching memories of my own family. Even the music of Teresa teng and other oldies were songs I grew up on and still sing with my own dad. 🥹 Thank you for the reminder to cherish the single most important thing that we take for granted - time with our ancestry and loved ones.
Thank you for sharing. This is my first time watching your channel. I am a vegan too and, although I am much older than you, I am learning a lot from your positivity, open-mindedness, etc. I am also ethnic Chinese and from Toronto. Hence, many of things you mentioned in the video resonates with me. Thank you.
Thank you for this video, every time I sit down to watch feels like such a breath of clarity. I’ve been thinking a lot about abundance vs. scarcity mindsets, although less related to financial than the discussions I often see online. I recently graduated high school and I’m currently traveling the world on a gap year before university. It’s been amazing, and I’m so grateful to go out and see the abundance of possibilities in the world. However, I’m realizing that throughout high school I really ingrained the mindset that people who I can form meaningful connections and friendships with is a scarce resource. It’s been more challenging than I expected to attempt to unlearn this but, y’know, I’m slowly but surely trying! I would love to hear anyone’s thoughts and experience on approaching this “abundance/scarcity mindset” topic, because it’s such a helpful framework but so much of the internet is focused on just one aspect. I feel like Leah, and the type of people in this community, would have some really insightful thoughts to add.
Having just found your channel recently, Leah, I must thank you for inspiring my own sense of possibilities, openness, and sense of adventure. You have earned such wisdom in your travels. At age 53, I am retiring early to give myself what I didn't have in my teens, 20s and 30s, which was exploration. Now, I'm moving from California to a new state and a new lifestyle and your courage to experience totally new things reminds me to be open and brave too. 谢谢
I've always loved your videos, and this one in particular made me cried! So happy to see you move to China as a place that's so close to you and wishing you all the good things in life in your next life venture!
I've been watching your videos since uni and I always love them, thank your for sharing your journey and peace with the world. As a Chinese audience, i get to take a glimpse of your life living in other countries, seeing the way you bond with your family from both sides often brings me tears, i know it can be hard to find the balance when you have connections from both sides of the world, culturally and personally, and watching you explore Chinese culture brings new perspective for me to look at my culture and the treasures in a different way. Happy to see you back in China and spend time here with your family. Hope you had a great time~I highly recommend to travel to other cities in China if you have time, and hopefully there will be small gatherings too if you feel like it cause so many of us like you in China! Im in Xi'an and i can't wait to show you around the beautiful city lots of loveeee!
Watching this made me cry. We uprooted our children when they were 2 and 4 and moved them to France and then to Australia. They are adult children now, I am sure they will relate to this video.
have been waiting for thiiis ❤ i am so happy and healed that you're back and i was 100% that you’ll be giving us something special when you do, and you did but you always did !!! and you are already special to us ❤ i am so proud of you Leah and thank you for being an inspiration 🥹
Awwww you’re such a strong girl Leah… you’ve come so far and I love watching all your journey… your videos give me a peace of mind and I just love how you show us the true meaning of life. I’m sure this decision oh yours to go back to your roots will definitely be so much valuable. You’ll be creating amazing memories with your dad and his family… I wish you so much love and strength Leah… ❤
Today is my first day in Macau University. It's 2AM now and I finally settled down, randomly clicked in this video and just play it as a BGM for relaxing. And suddenly I heard "Macau University Campus". I believe that is what Chinese people call "缘分“.
Moved overseas with my family when I was 5 and don’t go back enough. Even though I’m fluent in mandarin, I always feel uncomfortable in China - can go there to shop and eat but feel out of place there. I’m glad you’re having an easier time adjusting!
I could watch this video forever. so nice of you wanting to connect with your birth country, culture and dad again, that's so beautiful. watching this video I felt like home. i hope you enjoy the time with your family.
This video is wonderful! I truly loved it. It made me realize how much I miss my family and life in China. Your father must be so happy that you were able to stay for such a long time.
Wow the moments your young dad holding you in his arms and smiling…it brought memories back of my father’s love for me. My biggest regret in my life is not returning to China and spend more time with him before he passed.
This video resonated with me so much...I was also born in SZ and having to grow up with very few of my family members near me was and still is very hard. U did what I've always dreamed of since I was small. I'm so happy for u it almost feels like I'm joining on this journey!!
Hi Leah! It's so nice that you are able to get a hold of all these footages! I'm a few years older than you, my parents didn't own a video camera back then so I almost never saw any motion pictures from the early 90s. One day in my late 20s, a family friend shared some picnic videos she took for my family when I was 4 or 5. It really struck me to see my younger parents and me as a happy toddler from a third person's angle for the first time. So precious. I adore what you did with this video!
I only lived in my birth country for a short time, too. I've always always had those same questions, too. It's bittersweet because I love my new home, but there's always a hole in my heart for my homeland. I wish you all the love and healing during your time at home. ❤
Thank you for sharing your life and thoughts. I cried when I watched your video. I'm a girl the same age as you, born in Shenzhen. I was separated from my parents in middle school, and now I'm in the U.S. I miss my family very much, but I know that staying in the US is the best choice for me right now. I hope that in five years, I can return to my hometown. Lately, I've been feeling lost because I'm about to graduate, and I don't know what I should do. I'm also trying hard to adapt to life in the US, learning to communicate with the locals, and practicing my English. Although we don't know what the future holds, I believe that everything will turn out well. I love your video!
Take a break and explore: ruclips.net/video/M8S7og-bxCM/видео.html ☝️👌🤔compared to most developed countries, China's low cost of living, physical safety, and lifestyle convenience, attract many young foreign people, especially females, to work and live in China, as they can still save up substantial amount of their income without sacrificing quality of living. This year, and next year, unemployment rates will likely reach record levels all over the world, China, included. However, IMF/World Bank still expect China's GDP growth to hit +5%. The Chinese coastal (tier1) cities are experiencing slower growth now; but the lower tier cities, especially in the inland provinces, have many economic activities and job opportunities. And, they're all very well served by high-speed transport infrastructure.😊
I was born in China and went to Germany when I was 7 with my mom. My parents are divorced as well and my dad stayed in China. I have always wondered the same thing: How would my life be if I stayed in China? How would my personality be? Would I be different or the same?
This year, after my graduation, I finally had the time to visit China and reconnect with my dad and grandma. It is difficult to build and maintain a relationship when you are on different continents. It broke my heart when I left the airport to go back to Germany. My dad and grandma were waiting and looking after me until they couldn't see me at the gate anymore. I think the worst part is that I don't know when I will be able to visit them again and if my grandma will still be on this earth until then.
Thank you for sharing your personal story and how you try to reconnect with your dad. I can say from my own experience that it takes a lot of courage and can be heavy for your mental health since you're dealing with childhood trauma. Thank you also for saying that it counts when you show up and try your best since that is the only thing we can control. I wish you the best and will be rooting for you!
www.youtube.com/@SimingLan/videos
I looked your comment.I want to tell you something in my opinion.The first is that no matter where are you,no matter what personality will you be，you are always the best child for your grandma .you are always the person that your grandma is concerning and missing.Maybe your dad don't have enough miss to you,but your grandma always love's you in her heart.If you have some vacation,I hope you can back to China to company your grandma,because your grandma may not have the more time living in this world.All things will be losed if you quit before you do it
East or west, home is the best. No matter where, motherland is your real home. You are always the foreigner outside of your own motherland. The conclusion from me, a successful Canadian Chinese.
A person character may change anytime b4 30 years old. After that, the change would be much slower, except physically. I am now 52 years old. Character wise,my drive to do things is not as strong as before.
Your grandmother will miss you a lot. Elderly people's time is short, so if you can, please go back and visit her more often.😭
thank you for sharing this video made me cry but also give me hope. Your storytelling is the best part of the internet.
DOOBY!!
my favorite RUclipsrs know each other thatssss so cool lol
you suck
awww thanks Tina you’re the best 😭🫂🤍
my fav 2 youtuberssss
Im Chinese living in Australia, I’m crying watching this while eating some rice balls. My heart aches knowing that I can never be in both worlds at the same time😢 so much grief, loss and nostalgia.
Me too! But also realising the privilege in knowing two worlds! It gave me so much depth and insight as a person
@@jesslu1966 It’s a beautifully empowering and heartbreaking experience💚💚
I feel you, sometimes I feel as if there is a hole in me, a deep sense of sadness wanting to be more Chinese, but can't. In Australia if we act too Chinese, it will make life really hard for our self.
@@twood2032What will it be if you be more Chinese?😮
@@twood2032 种族不同，文化有异，白皮排华是基因作祟，导致人在屋檐下的纠结
Thanks Leah
Sending you my love 🤍🥺 and thank you for the important reminder
I am sorry for your loss but I want to share that I understand as I just lost my dad at 27 and I still cannot believe I only got 27 yrs with him. I’m the youngest of my family so I’m the one w the least amount of time with him and it’s interesting to navigate life without him! But I hope you are kind to yourself during grief & life - which seem to become one. Healing isn’t linear, I hope you take care❤
when you were singing karaoke with your dad and he kept smiling at you and laughing :,-) that was such a precious moment
Living in China has amazing experience despite not many people realizing it. I'm Canadian Chinese born in China and has moved back since 2023.
Hi from Beth in California, 32. With the risk of sounding dumb, I want to share… my mother was visiting my house today. She is great, but she worries too much and talks about her problems - even small ones. Lol. When I put your video on TV, she was so interested in watching and listening. She is 63. When the video ended she talked about how pretty and interesting you are. It was a nice moment🙂 New subscriber! …I don’t know what you believe about yourself and your channel, friend. But please know that you are amazing and important ❤️ Beth
Those moments are beautiful. Thanks for sharing! It’s these glimpses into how others view and face the world, glimpses of how life could be different if you show up to it differently yourself, sparking introspection, that are valuable. It seemed to have touched your mum :) All the best!
This made me cry.. in a good way though! Thank you for sharing!
Awwww Beth 😭🤍 Thank you so much for sharing, I’m so honoured! Moments where we almost discover a new moment w our parents is so special 🥹
As a Chinese the beginning of the video truly hits me, which reminds me of my birth in a hospital of Jiangsu. I am trying hard to prepare for GRE recently for master application. Language is truly a magical thing to let us see inner and outside world.
中国人为啥老是 as a Chinese 开头呀，直接说中文就好了，现在都有翻译的，人家可能更喜欢看外语呢，别总想着迎合人家😅😅没有必要
literally just moved back to Nigeria from London at 19 and I needed to watch this to feel that twisting of grief and joy be reflected at me through your video, wishing you nothing but peace and thank youuu
I'm Nigerian too! I moved to London at 3, and I've always felt that there's no place for me back there, I feel like an outsider. I hope you enjoy your time there!
@@cyndykethank you, it’s shitty you feel like an outsider but i get it defo give nigerians your age a chance they might surprise you in the community they offer, hoping i can grow as a person and discover more about my roots back home!!
I'm a foreigner but I've been living in China for the past two years, first as a student and now about to start my first job here. I really enjoy living here, it brings me immense peace even though I'm so far away from "home". :)
wow this couldn’t have come at a better time! i recently came back from a 3 week trip to the philippines after not visiting for 6 years. it is my parents’ home country and is also where all of my relatives live. the past few days i’ve been reminiscing the memories i made there and missing my relatives so much.
when i got there i made it a priority to actually put in effort to speak to my relatives and form a close bond with them since before this i usually struggled with communication every time i visited due to the language barrier and it made me feel distant from my cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents etc. i was someone who could understand their ethnic language but struggled at speaking it. so prior to this trip, i made sure i improved my speaking skills in tagalog and it ended up being so worth it!
i had actual long, full conversations with my cousins for the first time ever, i talked to my grandmothers more often and asked questions back. i made the initiative to be the first one to start conversations and i truly don’t regret it! the trip ended with me crying as i had formed close relationships with my loved ones and learnt more about them. i didn’t want to leave! looking back i felt so full there since i was surrounded with family and just the liveliness of philippines itself: the busy streets, so many kids playing about, the food. i also feel like i’m a different version of me there in a good way.
the past few days i’ve also been wondering the same questions you did, “what would life be like if i had grown up there?” but i’ve stopped dwelling on that and started thinking about where do i want my life to be in the future? i think in the near future i would want to move to the philippines even just for a few months to stay in touch with family and explore a version of me that i could’ve potentially been.
Aww that is so beautiful! Thank you for sharing this story with me :’) I think it would so fun to move back even just for a couple months! I have a friend who moved back to ph in the mountains and I can’t wait to visit her one day 🤍
@@leahsfieldnotes looking forward to meeting u here in ph leah
@@leahsfieldnotes thank youu and that’s soo cooll! yes you should defo visit ph :)
I was born in Toronto and studied in Shenzhen when I was younger. Earlier this year my dad passed away from cancer and a 6 year relationship with my gf ended. I took my dad's ashes back to China and fell in love with the country over again. I haven't been back since 2008. I came back to Toronto after two weeks to a dead end job with nothing else left here in this city. I am making plans to relocate back to Shenzhen in the near future. Job hunting in China with a Canadian passport is near impossible, as the market is even rougher over there with millions of new grads every year, along with lay offs and unemployed locals who can't even find their next paycheque. I don't know what the future will hold or which direction I am facing, but I hope it works out in the end. Thanks for this video
Am sorry to hear that but I hope things get better for u ,I’ll pray for y 💕
I hope things work out
Maybe you could try to find a job in hongkong, where has more opportunities for foreign passport holders. Also, if you still have relatives holding a Chinese passport, it may be possible for you to get a Chinese passport. Alternatively, you could also try to get a hongkong or taiwan passport, which will be easier for you to find a job in mainland. Sorry to hear that, but good luck to you.
you can always find a Chinese wife!
welcome back to shenzhen!
As an overseas born Chinese, this resonates very deeply for me as I'm sure it does for many others 😭 the nostalgia, longing, for a place that looks and feels so like home yet never having lived there before . Especially now with increasing coverage and vlogs of people going to China, seeing the people, the food, the cities, buildings, mountains and rivers I somehow feel such a strong sense of home when looking at these scenes. My grandparents immigrated with hopes of a better future for their future generations, but their roots and hearts are always in China. now that China has developed so much I hope I can one day take my parents back home to China with me in the future to see the beauty now of our motherland
That's a wonderful statement. Your sharing resonates with me. Thanks for sharing.
Welcome to be back in China with your family, she always greet you with open arms, im sure you will have a great time. Calling for roots can be strong, im amazed by this culture strength.
I have the same nostalgic feeling as an overseas born Chinese !! Especially watching these C dramas make me feel what I missed not been born in China. Also, it’s the first time (2024) that I truly believe that it is now better to be born in China than the west !!!
I cried as soon as I started watching this. I’m 49 and been out of China since 9. Haven’t been back. Planned on it prior to the pandemic but now will probably do a trip in a year or 2.
And we too just came back from Tokyo. And will head to Quebec in 2 months.
The way you narrate your story is so great. Certainly more wisdom than your 27 years would suggest.
Enjoy your journey. I look forward to watching your other videos, of our homeland and other lands.
Hello from NYC :)
what took you so long brobro...that's a long time...
@@dunzhen career, kids, saving money for early retirement. Now able to travel. So we are planning our trip back to the motherland :)
欢迎回家
this made me cry :') i love your storytelling, i hope you continue to share your journeys and thoughts with us for a long time. it is much much more important to us than you think
Aww thank you so much 😭🫂 that means a lot to me 🤍
this one hit close to home. Thanks for being open and sharing Leah
aww thanks for watching!🤍
I never really left a comment under any video on yt but this one just hit me so hard… I went back to China in 2019 to see my family, it wasn’t supposed to be a super long trip but then covid hit, and not long after that my grandpa passed away… I was honestly so grateful that I decided to move back at that specific time because it would’ve been so much more difficult to navigate international travel during covid to be there for my grandpa… I really hope you enjoy your time in China, Leah! It’s such a brave step into a new chapter, and thanks for taking us along your journey.
So moved. You father is a lucky Dad. I am also in China. And my daughters are in Canada just like you. I see them 3 or 4 times a years, and i do wish they will grow up to be happy and save a spot for me in their hearts.
having that footage from when you were a baby is so special
Im from shenzhen and have been living in australia for 24yrs. Worked, married with two young children. Our family is travelling back in shenzhen for a year next yr and i really look forward to reconnecting with this place where i always call home.
This was so immensely beautiful brought tears to my eyes this morning. As an American Born Chinese I never grew up in China but there was a point in my life spending summers in Shenzhen that it felt like another home. It feels in many ways growing older sometimes what we allow to become a home becomes louder, but I'm choosing to listen to that child self still running around the Shenzhen apartment complex greeting the aunties, uncles, kids, and security guards 🥹
the fact that I’m in China rn when u released this video and I always do a lot of thinking after watching ur videos… will forever look forward to all your uploads
I'm a mexican living in Mexico with not a single thing related to China or beign chinese or migrate but this was so touching and amazing to watch, thank you!
Visiting the motherland is a constant urge in my soul
your openness is such an eclipsing gift
that’s the most poetic compliment I’ve ever received 😭🙏 if you release a poetry book I will be the first in line
I visited for a few weeks in January this year for my cousin’s wedding and I don’t know what switched but now I feel a lot more closer to china and I’ve been missing it so much since returning back to Nz. These videos provide me with a little bit of joy
I recently turned 29 and I’ve been in the US for more than half of my life. As time goes by I feel the disconnect between me and the place I was born and spent part of my childhood at. There’s always the sensation that you have missed out ,so I’ve been feeling the urge to go back and live there for a while even though I don’t have the means to leave my job right now. This video was really heart warming and made me realize I definitely will go back once I have saved enough.
I just saw this video on my fyp. I was born in ‘97 as well but as a Chinese adoptee. I was in an orphanage in Shenzhen for the first 3 yrs of my life. I have no idea if I was born in that city, but I was there and first visited China again only at age 20. I would love to live in China or even Hong Kong but it’s hard getting visas for that kind of things. Now with my own child I want him to be raised in Asia. The title of the video intrigued me and I was even more interested knowing you were born in Shenzhen. I know it’s a really big city now, but I would love to find my birth parents someday. Best of luck in China!
China offers two weeks visa free to many countries now. Good luck with you. Hope you find your lost relatives.
You will find your birth parents 😊
You can go to China for DNA matching, maybe your parents are also looking for you.
去中国找警察做一个DNA。如果你的父母在找你，那么立刻就能找到。
Please do consider the dna match in china to look for your birth parents. More and more lost children have been found and reunited with their birth parents thanks to the database. As for living in china and the visa problem, i heard some people are trying to get taiwanese passport now in order to get a chinese passport eventually. Not sure if it's a good idea but you can definitely look into it since getting a taiwanese /hongkong passport/visa should be easier than getting the mainland one
Hi Leah! Thank you for your beautiful, thoughtful video! I was born in China, but abandoned at an orphanage as a baby and adopted to my family in Alaska. I recently tried to return to China and visit, but unfortunately had to cancel my trip because my visa wasn’t approved. I was so heartbroken but truly hope to be able to visit soon and heal and reconnect with my roots and maybe someday reunite with my biological family! 🥺🥺🥺💖💖💖
15 days stay no visa now... welcome to China anytime
This makes me feel at home for some reason, I'm Vietnamese with Hoa ancestry (basically Chinese blood), and my parents always encouraged me to learn Chinese and connect to my culture. Though I always rejected that idea, having no idea why I should do so at all even though my Chinese blood is less than my Vietnamese blood. But I guess with the way I was raised, I would always be a little more Chinese than I am Vietnamese. I'm taking Chinese Mandarin classes currently and hope to take Cantonese (my family's from Guangdong province) classes in the future. Next year I'll be in China alone in the summer, experiencing the authentic way to learn a language. I'm not sure if it's truly my calling but when I graduate highschool, I'll be in China studying abroad. This video made me feel a little closer to my Chinese side, thank you :)
Wow, I’m really happy to hear your story. I’m Chinese, and I welcome you to come to China one day! Chinese can be quite difficult to learn, right? Haha, just like how I find English a bit challenging too. Wishing you all the best!
@@laviedeling_71 他是越南人，只是有中国血统，而且父母有一方不是中国人
I think you are Chinese. Welcome home.
@@Vive-o7i 狗屁中国人，外国人养大的，能养得出中国人吗？
I like Alipay more than Wechat pay. Ordering food through Alipay is better. I am seriously jealous of you being able to move back to China. I am not Chinese, I am married to a Chinese woman from Changsha. Because of work, the longest time I get to spend in China is 5 or 6 weeks. Everytime a visit a different city in China, I fall in love with it, but I consider Changsha to be my second home, but I wish it were my first home. My wife's home town is Liuyang (very close to Changsha), so somehow I have become emotionally attached to a city. The first few times I was in China, there was some massive culture shock, not to mention the worst jet lag ever, coming from the U.S.. As a father of daughters, and a Buddhist, I know your father must be very happy to have you there.
As a foreigner would you say Ali pay is enough to get around in China with buy food, restaurants and public transport. It's so nerve wrecking how every is digital and cashless.😂
@@littlehomeforest5972 I was able to do everything over 5 weeks in Changsha with Alipay with the exception of buses. For some reason, I never got buses to work, but all other forms of transportation work along with literally everything else. Restaurants are the best because the QR codes are on the menus so you can pay while you are in line and the food gets delivered almost as soon as you sit down. If you don't speak Mandarin, Alipay is particularly useful at convenience stores. In a different city, like Shanghai, Beijing, etc, you would also likely be able to use it for buses. The best way to use Alipay if you are a foreigner is to load it up with rmb before you leave by transferring it via an app I can't type here or it will delete my comment, but there is only one app that swaps dollars for rmb and can transfer them to wechat or alipay.
@@littlehomeforest5972 Alipay is the BEST! Without a Chinese bank account Alipay is literally a lifesaver, so easy omg.
@@littlehomeforest5972 people's choice
Your wife hometown is very close to mine. I miss my hometown so much. I am glad you consider changsha as your second home, and enjoy the local culture. Sadly, also because of work, it is hard for me to make long stay back in my hometown.
Omg, I’m turning 27 this year too and I’m also moving to my dad’s country so we can be closer! I’m excited but also terrified to be so far away from my mum and all my friends. This video came at a perfect time, you’ve made me feel super reassured Leah❤️❤️
Awwww sending u love on our parallel journeys!!!
wow, im a 1.5 generation chinese immigrant born in canada so seeing this video unlocked a lot of nostalgia, sadness and wonder for a culture and world that i never experienced being a part of but someday hope to be able to. i am so proud of you for taking this on. sending you love and support in your adjustment into living in your birth country!
literally I’m crying while reading thru these comments :(
what is 1.5 generation?
Hi, 3 years ago, I watched the 5 am morning routines video where you tried different routines. It really helped me through my depression at the time that I had for 2 years prior and, because of the calmness, the aesthetics and feeling/mood of the video. It gave me peace, and made me realize why I should try to become better and stop bedrotting. I even tried the routines in the video after a few days of having watched it. It really changed me and how I start viewing my life. Thank you, you don't know how much it meant to me. I just thought after seeing your video on my youtube recommendations again, it made me remember and thought you deserve to know how much your one video helped me to literally turn my life around.
you’re like a big sister to my soul. i love you so so much
😭 sending u the biggest hugs!
Almost cry when Leah shares her wish and effort to foster the father daughter relationship. It's a common and big topic that I am also facing with. Thanks for sharing your internal journey with us. It really brings me more courage and hope to find my way on it.
i really see myself in you. i recently visited my hometown in china for the first time since leaving and it was so eye opening. i finally saw all of my family, including my dad, and i still think about how much i would've loved growing up around my relatives.
this summer i went back to china for the first time in many years and the first time as an adult, and this video just hits everything i felt while i was there. its so comforting to find a mirror on the internet ♥
Me literally crying since the beginning of this video coz I was born in 1997 and Shenzhen too! Me and mum moved to New Zealand when I was 9 and I spent my teenage years and early adulthood without my dad coz he was working in China and I could only see him once every year or even once every 2/3 years. It’s kinda sad that even though Dad has moved to NZ after retirement but the fact that he missed out on 10+ years of my life… is just sad…
I’m Australian Chinese, and moved from Australia to Shenzhen, China too for a few years for work. Your video really reminds me of a lot of feelings I had while I was there. I loved learning more about my culture, the language, and of course spending time with family as well
Aren't you angry against the constant antiChina rethoric by white anglosaxons supremacists ?
leah I have been watching you since covid and your videos only get better. they’re fulfilled with so much wisdom on one hand and fun on the other, I feel like I’m hanging out with close friend. anxiety, stress, fear, you actually helped me a lot with going throughout those things. thank you and wish you luck on your next journey!
Wow I’m so honoured thank you for joining me on this journey🙏🤍🫂
@@leahsfieldnotes you replied 🥹❤️
Your story-telling, your creativity and your positive energy never ceases to amaze me, Leah.
Thank you for sharing such a heartfelt video with us.
It's quite a coincidence that we both came to Shenzhen from Toronto at the same time, and I also live near Luohu. After experiencing a long period of rainy days and reconnecting with my family after leaving home for 8 years, watching your video felt like reliving those initial feelings of sadness and unknown fear. Knowing that someone was at the same place at the same time, experiencing a similar life, brought me some comfort❤
Absolutely feel you. Going back to my parent's home country and particularly learning the language really helped me connect with not only my parents but extended family in a whole new way
Leah, i cried watching this. I grew up in hk and china but lived abroad my entire adult years, i´ve been nomading like you in europe and latin america and call new york my home. For the longest time I felt like i didn´t fit into that society, and i used to have a love and hate relationship with my chinese identity. However, the more im exposed to other cultures, the more i think about my own.
At this stage of my life, I came to the point where I don´t have to belong to any nationality and I am who i am, it´s a truly free feeling to be and comfortable with my global citizen identity. maybe the longest time i tried to hard to make my own community and reality abroad and chinese people always say ÿou only come back when you failed abroad. I think that quote stuck with me for the longest time.
But i´m more and more excited to go back to china soon ( haven´t seen it for 6 years), i would love to see how my nomad perspective change how i view my own country. Thank you for sharing leah.
ohh that thing they said was hurting, sad to hear it, but home is always somewhere safe and embrace every part of you, it doesn't judge you for what've you have experienced, so welcome to china when you want to, it's always a home to you and maybe the toxic sayings should be ignored, though it's sadly quite familiar to a chinese ear, wishing people around you will be more supportive rather than judgemental
心怀感恩世界都随你而友善！心怀敌意世界与你为敌！愿你三冬暖
Love from Chinese in Shenzhen😁 Randomly find this video on my RUclips front page, it supprises me to know a new 0.9 Million subcriber Chinese RUclipsr. Very enjoy to watch your video. I also very enjoy traditional Chinese culture like medicine and meditaion. Hope you enjoy your day back in Shenzhen.
such a wholesome video! i havent seen my family for 6 months already and this made me miss them even more 🫶🏻 thank you ❤
i hope this journey is healing you and brings you the answers Leah, i wish the best for you. take care of yourself. we will always cherish you. 🌟
我爱你 💓🎀🫂
This is such a sensual vlog😢 i recently lost my mom and i find this vlog particularly touching and reminiscent. I appreciate that sentence: “we always wish that things were different, but at the end of the day it’s you who can change”. Best of luck to adjusting to China and you’re so brave❤
I’m so sorry to hear that🫂 I’m sending you all my love 💗 thank you !
I actually relate so much to this ..... I basically spent more time abroad than in china and not being able to keep up with the digital advances like WeChat pay and stuff actually makes me so foreign. It is so comforting to know that I am not the only one who struggles with this and its not alienating
Hey Leah, I’m so excited for your new chapter of life! I’m also from SZ and moved to Australia during my teens. I’ve been following your channel for a few years now, your wholesomeness always grounds me ❤❤❤ all the best with everything!!!
I love this video! I also left Toronto to reconnect with my home country, where I never felt truly myself. It’s not been easy but this video makes me want to find a purpose of why I am here and heal💛
Immediately this video brought me to tears. I too know what it’s like to be torn away from my birthplace at a young age. I know what it’s like not having many family members around and that makes me sad. Thank you for making this.
I began crying seeing you with your dad, talking about him, how much he adores you. There are people who don't have an option to be like that with a blood relative. But I know I'll experience that with special people
Leah你太棒了！搬回自己的故乡 需要很大的勇气 很为你开心
I was born and grown up in China, but somehow I was moved by your video ( the soft back ground music plays a great role:) )The time in China is deep into the humid soil and people get drowned into it. That’s what I felt, especially after I moved out of China myself for years. and every time i felt hurt badly when I departed from home. I cannot imagine the feeling for the you guys who grownup overseas and it’s apparently a huge number of people. You bonded them together in a tender way that really meaningful. ❤I don’t know if you can read Chinese or not so I wrote in English.
这个视频真的从开头哭到尾，亲情是这个世界上最美好动人的关系，真的很喜欢看Leah的视频，每次在我低谷的时候都可以给我带来重新开启人生的勇气，希望Leah天天开心！
im a laowai but my fiance is born and raised in Wenzhou, he came here at 21 & has not been home for 11 years, but we will finally go to see ma and ba next year and they can meet our son finally! this is so nice to watch. I also was excited by your dads business, as a vegan of 20 years im glad to know there are places like this in china :)
im excited to follow you and watch your journey in your homeland. wishing you the best of luck :)
I am 53 and I have the same thoughts of what life would have been like if I grew up in the places that my DNA testing shows that my origins are from. I then become angry and feel as if I was robbed of my culture which I was. I am sure that I would be different in some ways.
Thank you for sharing and when you and your dad smile while sitting next to each other, you look so much like him!
I dont usually leave comments on your videos, but ive never felt so incredibly healed from a video before. Ive always felt curious and disconnected from my Chinese heritage as well. I dont know how to put it in words, but watching you feels like being guided by a mentor ❤ Love, a fellow Chinese Torontarian
i went to vietnam for a month in june for the first time since birth and though i’ve been following you since 2019 i think this video may stick with me the longest. finding something grand in the mundane is something i never expected even with the anticipation of finally being surrounded by family (especially with the expectations on us with living in the west) but i found myself wondering if moving there would be a dream achieved in my lifetime….. you make me feel like it may just be.
Thank you for sharing snippets of your journey. A quick glimpse from all the other comments goes to show how impactful we can be when we share our story.
I've been in adjacent circles as you, knowing you from a distance, since elementary school. Though life hasn't laid out the paths for us to become good friends, I look in your direction with admiration, warmth, and faith in you. I don't keep up with your channel consistently, but whenever I find a video of yours, I find it right when I need to. Thank you for reminding me to be more gentle with myself, and too, to continue nurturing the curious and open-minded parts of me.
My parents also separated when I was a kid. I can't speak for you, but I've often felt like people who were born with happy &/or close families (that also stay that way without much effort) take those things for granted. It's tough to have to fight to have & keep those things, if we can even have them with our blood relatives. But I admire your perseverance and courage to pursue building/strengthening your relationship with your father. You made a big decision, a both literal and figurative leap. Maybe it was not just for him, but I hope he feels the tenderness that went into the initial gesture of coming, but also the tenderness in staying and trying. I am cheering you on!
This video has made me emotional. Such beautiful stroytelling, visuals and vulnerability! It makes me even more interested to learn more about different cultures and travel more! I wish you all the best being back in your home country Leah! and that your connection with your family there grows stronger every day
I cried, I've left home almost 4 years and lived in a totally different world that shaped who I am. Grew up in Huhhot and then moved to London, I felt identity crisis for so long, but at the end of the day I feel so grateful for my parents' support, without them, I would never achieved my dream, but also I feel sad for the moments that I could not be with them. I miss them every day, Asking time for mercy sounds hilarious but I do hope I can have more time to be with them. 爸爸妈妈， 我很快就回家。
抱抱姐妹
watching you and your father eat together made me emotional for some reason. thanks for sharing Leah
This vlog was so healing for me. I started reconnecting with my father in the last few years and it certainly has been a journey.
you are such a gift to the world~ thank you for making the internet + planet a more beautiful place leah!!
Awwww you’re so sweet thank you 🥹🤍
I’ve cried a lot with this video. i have divorced parents as you. Me and my mom we moved to another country when i was 7 years old, so i understand your desire to discover this kind of simultaneous dimension where you never left home, where you grew up with your dad, where you never left your family and your roots. About the end of the video i really feel that words, my granpha pass away and i really think about how much time i lost living so far away from him. Time is so short we have to spend it really well and with the ones that we love.
Lots of love ❤️
I've been born and raised in Germany and just graduated there. I've always felt that longing and curiosity about my other version, whenever I've been back in Vietnam I've asked myself the same questions you did of who would I have been if I would have grown up in my parents home country? I also booked a one way ticket back to Vietnam for the end of this year to find out, so this video came just in time to give me hope and take away some of my anxiety, thanks Leah!
I hope you find your happiness. I’ve only started reconnecting properly with my dad, and now realizing time is so precious.
Im so happy for you and that you get to do this! This was my dream since I moved to Canada, to eventually visit my dad and rebuild that relationship. I didn't get to see him once in 13 years and he passed away 4 years ago which made me feel devasted. So seeing this kind of helps me to see what it would've been like if I made it in time.
Also those old videos are so so sweet and precious and it blows my mind how similar you look to your dad, wow! (and that's a compliment lol you're really pretty and you have the cutest smile!)
Such a nice, warming vlog. It's so wonderful getting to see you reconnect with your family and your culture. I hope that you show us more of China, but in a way that is respectful to your boundaries. Thank you for your willingness to be so open, your vlogs always give me a sense of peace in this ever conflicted world
Leah this video made me cry 😭 being a third culture child and feeling lost and disconnected - wondering what my life would have been like if i had grown up surrounded by family and a community that has similar values to me - growing into the realisation that my parents won't be there always and my relationships with them will constantly change and evolve - having the courage to find and build the community i am looking for even if it's all over the world - i had indescribable feelings while watching this video and i appreciate so much you sharing your experiences. the world is wide and we're just little specks of dust in it. i'm so proud of you 🥹🥹
Over the period of time I have seen you growing up. And now that the decision you took of spending more time with your Family hits on a personal level. I lost my Mom 4 years back, I always knew I had to spend more time but for several reasons I could not. Now all I have left with is regret and limited memories. As someone of your same age, it’s really good to see you getting into doing the right things taking the right steps. Much love and support to you Leah.
Thank you Leah for sending out this video. I've been going thru some really hard time and recently I've decided to put myself together. listening to you talking about taking on courage to face whatever is in front of you is such a huge relief and I'm grateful that you'd love to share your sentiments with us. I feel so lucky to see this video at this moment and I feel like the universe is probably telling me I'm also doing well. thank you thank you thank you. enjoy your stay in china!!
the background music is soft and peaceful combined with the narrative of leah i just felt a little sad. life is so limited. all of us have finite time to share good time with our loved people.
Oh Leah, as a Chinese girlie living in Canada, watching your childhood and your family felt so nostalgic - as if I were watching memories of my own family. Even the music of Teresa teng and other oldies were songs I grew up on and still sing with my own dad. 🥹 Thank you for the reminder to cherish the single most important thing that we take for granted - time with our ancestry and loved ones.
Leah you made me cry in the middle of my work. U deserve all the love girl
You are one of the best storytellers on the platform, Leah!! I absolutely loved this video, I hope the move is still going well xx
One thing I always love about your videos (there are so many things) is how you capture color and light in different shots, so exquisite and peaceful
Thank you for sharing. This is my first time watching your channel. I am a vegan too and, although I am much older than you, I am learning a lot from your positivity, open-mindedness, etc. I am also ethnic Chinese and from Toronto. Hence, many of things you mentioned in the video resonates with me. Thank you.
Your aunt and uncle seem so sweet and lovely to be around. This video gave me so many feelings❤
Thank you for this video, every time I sit down to watch feels like such a breath of clarity.
I’ve been thinking a lot about abundance vs. scarcity mindsets, although less related to financial than the discussions I often see online. I recently graduated high school and I’m currently traveling the world on a gap year before university. It’s been amazing, and I’m so grateful to go out and see the abundance of possibilities in the world. However, I’m realizing that throughout high school I really ingrained the mindset that people who I can form meaningful connections and friendships with is a scarce resource. It’s been more challenging than I expected to attempt to unlearn this but, y’know, I’m slowly but surely trying!
I would love to hear anyone’s thoughts and experience on approaching this “abundance/scarcity mindset” topic, because it’s such a helpful framework but so much of the internet is focused on just one aspect. I feel like Leah, and the type of people in this community, would have some really insightful thoughts to add.
Having just found your channel recently, Leah, I must thank you for inspiring my own sense of possibilities, openness, and sense of adventure. You have earned such wisdom in your travels. At age 53, I am retiring early to give myself what I didn't have in my teens, 20s and 30s, which was exploration. Now, I'm moving from California to a new state and a new lifestyle and your courage to experience totally new things reminds me to be open and brave too. 谢谢
I've always loved your videos, and this one in particular made me cried! So happy to see you move to China as a place that's so close to you and wishing you all the good things in life in your next life venture!
I've been watching your videos since uni and I always love them, thank your for sharing your journey and peace with the world. As a Chinese audience, i get to take a glimpse of your life living in other countries, seeing the way you bond with your family from both sides often brings me tears, i know it can be hard to find the balance when you have connections from both sides of the world, culturally and personally, and watching you explore Chinese culture brings new perspective for me to look at my culture and the treasures in a different way. Happy to see you back in China and spend time here with your family. Hope you had a great time~I highly recommend to travel to other cities in China if you have time, and hopefully there will be small gatherings too if you feel like it cause so many of us like you in China! Im in Xi'an and i can't wait to show you around the beautiful city lots of loveeee!
Watching this made me cry. We uprooted our children when they were 2 and 4 and moved them to France and then to Australia. They are adult children now, I am sure they will relate to this video.
have been waiting for thiiis ❤ i am so happy and healed that you're back and i was 100% that you’ll be giving us something special when you do, and you did but you always did !!! and you are already special to us ❤ i am so proud of you Leah and thank you for being an inspiration 🥹
Awww thank you so much 🤧🤍
Awwww you’re such a strong girl Leah… you’ve come so far and I love watching all your journey… your videos give me a peace of mind and I just love how you show us the true meaning of life. I’m sure this decision oh yours to go back to your roots will definitely be so much valuable. You’ll be creating amazing memories with your dad and his family… I wish you so much love and strength Leah… ❤
Today is my first day in Macau University. It's 2AM now and I finally settled down, randomly clicked in this video and just play it as a BGM for relaxing. And suddenly I heard "Macau University Campus". I believe that is what Chinese people call "缘分“.
I'm also study in Macau
Moved overseas with my family when I was 5 and don’t go back enough. Even though I’m fluent in mandarin, I always feel uncomfortable in China - can go there to shop and eat but feel out of place there. I’m glad you’re having an easier time adjusting!
I could watch this video forever. so nice of you wanting to connect with your birth country, culture and dad again, that's so beautiful. watching this video I felt like home. i hope you enjoy the time with your family.
This video is wonderful! I truly loved it. It made me realize how much I miss my family and life in China. Your father must be so happy that you were able to stay for such a long time.
Wow the moments your young dad holding you in his arms and smiling…it brought memories back of my father’s love for me. My biggest regret in my life is not returning to China and spend more time with him before he passed.
This video resonated with me so much...I was also born in SZ and having to grow up with very few of my family members near me was and still is very hard. U did what I've always dreamed of since I was small. I'm so happy for u it almost feels like I'm joining on this journey!!
Hi Leah! It's so nice that you are able to get a hold of all these footages! I'm a few years older than you, my parents didn't own a video camera back then so I almost never saw any motion pictures from the early 90s. One day in my late 20s, a family friend shared some picnic videos she took for my family when I was 4 or 5. It really struck me to see my younger parents and me as a happy toddler from a third person's angle for the first time. So precious. I adore what you did with this video!
I love the storytelling in this video and how you told it in such a personal and vulnerable way. I could also relate to many things in this video ❤
Your videos are just so healing, leah. This particular video just hit the spot, brb crying.
I only lived in my birth country for a short time, too. I've always always had those same questions, too. It's bittersweet because I love my new home, but there's always a hole in my heart for my homeland. I wish you all the love and healing during your time at home. ❤
Where did you move from and where do u live now? :0
Thank you for sharing your life and thoughts. I cried when I watched your video. I'm a girl the same age as you, born in Shenzhen. I was separated from my parents in middle school, and now I'm in the U.S. I miss my family very much, but I know that staying in the US is the best choice for me right now. I hope that in five years, I can return to my hometown. Lately, I've been feeling lost because I'm about to graduate, and I don't know what I should do. I'm also trying hard to adapt to life in the US, learning to communicate with the locals, and practicing my English. Although we don't know what the future holds, I believe that everything will turn out well. I love your video!
Take a break and explore:
ruclips.net/video/M8S7og-bxCM/видео.html
☝️👌🤔compared to most developed countries, China's low cost of living, physical safety, and lifestyle convenience, attract many young foreign people, especially females, to work and live in China, as they can still save up substantial amount of their income without sacrificing quality of living.
This year, and next year, unemployment rates will likely reach record levels all over the world, China, included.
However, IMF/World Bank still expect China's GDP growth to hit +5%.
The Chinese coastal (tier1) cities are experiencing slower growth now; but the lower tier cities, especially in the inland provinces, have many economic activities and job opportunities. And, they're all very well served by high-speed transport infrastructure.😊