Ill-Treated Expat

It's like the saying 'You can take the girl out of the city but you can't take the city out of the girl. Except that in my case it's more like 'You can take the girl out of China but you can't take the Chinese out of the girl'.... okay it doesn't quite make sense. I don't even come from China.

Anyways, my point is, I feel rather cheated as an expat working out here. Having never been an expat before, getting the big salary, relocation expenses and the yearly ticket 'back' to the UK seemed like a good deal. Until I found out about the package my mate was offered for pretty much the same job, except on the construction rather than the commercial side.

I was put up in a hotel for 2 weeks when I first moved here and pretty much had to beg for an extra week when I couldn't move into my apartment. My mate gets 4 weeks in a hotel AND daily living expenses. Not to mention the the 2 weeks extra pay for 'settling allowance'. Where the hell was my settling allowance???

Back in the UK, my wage was a good 50% more than his for the jobs that we do. OK, my position was more senior than his. But now that he's moved here, and we're doing virtually the same jobs as we did in the UK and the pay gap has closed in too much for my own comfort.

I guess there is only one explanation for all this - he is a white male and I am a chinese female. No matter how 'expat' I am, the colour of my skin still gives me a slight disadvantage.

But then again, the definition of an expatriate is .... to banish (a person) from his or her native country. I guess I was never banished from my native country, I have actually come back closer to my native country.... and reaped the benefits he he he :)