Yanqun Wang

About My Work

Before I came to New York, I worked in the Financial Department of the PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs. With more than 200 staff members, it was a very large department.

The office that I worked in was in charge of the expenditures for all the Chinese Embassies and Consulates throughout the world. Of these, I was responsible for our 33 units in Europe. In the beginning of the year, I distributed each unit's budget , and at the end of the year, I collected each unit`s annual accounting report and made sure that their expenditures matched their budget. Most of my normal daily work involved answering questions that the embassies had and dealing with financial requests and
events that concerned the embassies.

Now I am working in the Chinese Mission to the United Nations as an accountant. I prepare our Mission's budget and apply to the PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its approval. After our annual budget is approved , I make plans for all kinds of spending based on the approved budget. Later , I complete the annual accounting records and prepare a final report.

Compared to my previous job, my current workload is much smaller, so I feel that my work is rather easy. This gives me more time to study English and to do other things.

Ahmed Gebreel

Lanping Fu

My first job was in 1975. A classmate and I worked on a large collective farm in northeastern China, and I was very happy.

In my memory, I can still see fields with many different crops, and other fields with many cows and sheep grazing. It looked perfect When I first arrived from Beijing, a city girl, I was amazed by it all. An old farmer told me,“This is the place where you will work”.

I got up very early every morning because I had a lot of work to do. Yet, it was enjoyable because the old farmers were friendly. They taught us how to plant many kinds of vegetables and grains such as corn, wheat, beans, tomatoes and potatoes. We also leaned how to build houses. Everyone worked very hard, but we also laughed a lot.

After three years, I came back to Beijing, where I began a very different job; I worked in an office as a secretary.

I now work in the Chinese text processing section of the United Nations. I am very glad that I have such a good job.

My office is on the 23rd floor of the secretary building. It is a large office, where more than twenty staff members work to produce Chinese documents. Most staff in our office come form China, and we all speak Chinese, which is my working language. We have a lot of work to do very day, and this work includes typing, editing documents, making tables and charts, and proofreading.

The only thing that I don’t like about my job is that we sometimes have to work on the nightshift. Working all night makes me feel very tired.

In order for us all to communicate better with the rest of the Organization, the supervisor of our section wants us to learn English. By knowing English, we will be able to help each other better, especially when someone has a problem at work.

Xiuqin Wang

About My Work

I was born in Heilong jiang Province in northern China, the eldest of my parents’ four children, all daughters. However, I don’t have much education. When I was at an age to attend school, the Cultural Revolution was happening in China and this greatly restricted how much I could study.

I started my first job in Beijing in July 1972, when I was twenty years old. I was a clerk for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I liked my job and worked very hard.

Then, in 1978, I married Gary, and we soon had a baby girl. I love my family very much.

In 1988, I came to the United States of America and got a job with the United Nations, a job that I still have today. I’m a typist in the Chinese Text Processing Unit.

When I first came here, everything was very strange and new for me. I needed to learn many things. For example, I had to learn how to find housing and rent an apartment. I had to learn how to take the subway and the bus. Everything was new to me. Everything was a challenge.

Now, I feel more comfortable here, but I still don't speak English very well. Because of this, I feel very limited in what I can do. Therefore, I have to study English since it will definitely enhance my quality of life.

Maria Eugenia Suarez

My Work: Then & Now

I come from Santiago, Chile and I work for the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For this job, I often have to live in other countries for several years at a time.

My first international assignment was for the Chilean Embassy to Switzerland in Geneva from 1986 to 1987.

When that assignment finished, I returned to Chile and worked in Santiago for several years. For my next assignment, I was told I would work for the Chilean Embassy in Mexico.

However, these plans changed. In February 2004, my boss told me that they needed an accountant in New York and they decided to send me to work for the Mission to the United Nations.

I was not very happy about this. The change was terrible for me because I didn't - and I still don't - know English very well. For other reasons, too, I like the original plan - to go to Mexico - much better.

Now I am working in New York and I recently started to study English. I live in a little apartment in Manhattan very near to both the United Nations and Chile's Mission to the UN. I work very hard and for very long hours because I have a lot of work to do.

In general, life here is especially difficult if you don't speak English. There are many people who speak Spanish, but, for the most important things I have to do, English is necessary. For example, I needed to speak English when I rented my apartment. Also, I need to use English when I go to the doctor, read a contract, or ask my landlord for something. In such situtions, nobody understands when I speak Spanish.

Thus, my work here in New York is especially challenging. Yet, my time here also gives me the opportunity to learn English.