Frank: From studying Chinese language to residing in China

Frank’s life in China is a result of taking bold, unconventional steps at a time when most people his age couldn’t see why he made such choices.

Upon completing his Form 6, out of all the courses he could have taken at the University of Dodoma, he chose to study the Chinese language at the Confucius Institute. Formerly under the College of Humanities and Social Science. The Confucius Institute does not operate as an independent academic unit.

Since 2020, this institute has offered a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese Language (Oriental Chinese), a three‑year undergraduate degree.

Like most young people in Tanzania, the decision of which degree to take as they decide to join the university is largely influenced by the availability of jobs upon completion.

Frank was weighing what to study until one day as he was visiting the Geita region. The region is awash with gold mines, and Chinese have heavily invested in the area, so the demand for interpreters is high. “I saw a guy who only had a secondary school-level education but could speak various foreign languages, including Chinese, and he had a high-paying job,” he recalls.

That’s when he realised that communication is in high demand. He wanted to see which language he could learn. Russian, Japanese, and Chinese were among the languages he wanted to master, but after analysing the situation in Tanzania, he decided learning Chinese would be in his best interest, and the job market would need his services when he is looking for a job after university. His prediction was correct; no sooner had he wrapped up his study than he got a job at Huawei Tanzania, the country branch of the Chinese technology company.

“I didn’t even stay at home; immediately after graduating, I got a job,” he said. The job was excellent for Mr Frank, and he didn’t regret learning the language. Frank advises young Tanzanians to start embracing China and grab the opportunity of interacting and doing business with Chinese people, whose population is more than 1.5 billion.

Mr Frank said China is increasingly investing in Africa, and more Africans, including Tanzanians, are travelling to China to buy products; it only makes sense that we learn their language for ease in doing business effectively.

He said learning the language goes beyond mere communication, but you also get to learn the culture of the native speakers, it becomes easier to understand people you are trading with, and it gives you an upper hand during negotiations instead of relying on foreign language interpretation apps or tools.

“These tools do not take into consideration the cultural aspect,” he said. “When you understand the culture of the people, let’s say Tanzanians, it makes it easier to interact with such people,” he added.

For the Tanzanian business community, he urges them to study the language and the culture of the Chinese people with whom they do business so that Tanzanians will be able to maximise the business opportunities between these two nations.

Job opportunities in Tanzania for the young people who have mastered the Chinese language are many; all his peers at the University of Dodoma who took the same bachelor’s degree in Chinese language as him were immediately employed.

 As many graduates hit the road and knock on doors trying to secure a job in the corporate world, the case is different for graduates like Frank; it’s to the contrary—employers are looking for people with his language skill set. “Instead of staying at home after graduation, you can work as a translator and support your family, after they have invested a lot of money in you to get a degree,” he reasoned.

Working among Chinese people at Huawei was an easy transition; he had interacted with many Chinese lecturers at the University of Dodoma, and he had learnt their culture, making living and working with them easy for him. It is different for his friends who went to work with the Chinese after they had their engineering degrees but have never lived with Chinese nationals.

They had a lot of adjustments to do. “There was a culture clash as expected. I have lived with them for three years; other graduates had never lived with them,” he explained. Among the things he learnt is that time management is taken very seriously by Chinese citizens. Coping at work was easy for Frank.

He understood that the Chinese culture of hard work often involves working way past the normal working hours. The sacrifice he knew he had to make, because he had seen them do it at the Confucius Institute.

The cultural understanding has made his life in China a smooth one. The Chinese have a saying, yī nuò qiān jīn, ‘one promise is worth a thousand gold pieces,’ emphasising the importance of honouring one’s word and doing what one promises. Mr. Rwiza has learnt to stay true to his word. In China, your word must be kept.

Doing business in China, Frank said you have to understand that in China a relationship between a customer and the seller is very important; it’s normal for a businessmanto even take their client out and have dinner, just to try to understand them. It’s part of their business culture to know their clients so that they can serve them better.

“You have to entertain your customer; your customer comes first,” he insisted. He said, Business in China knows one fundamental truth. The customer is the main reason a company exists; hence, if you do not respect your customers, your company will not grow.

He urges Tanzanians to adopt that part of Chinese culture. He said, When you learn the Chinese language, you get to learn more than just the language but a lot more that is beneficial to your professional life growth. Frank has been in China for two years since 2023, living in Shenyang, the capital city of Liaoning Province, Northeast China.

He is adjusting to the cold weather, and the winter is getting increasingly cold, something that he is not used to. The Chinese cuisine is unlike what he is used to eating back home, but he moved to the country with his wife and young son, and together they embrace the change as a family, appreciating every moment and learning from their Chinese neighbours and teaching them their Tanzanian culture as well.

His wife also speaks fluent Chinese, having studied at the Confucius Institute at the University of Dodoma just like him, which helps with the communications with the locals. He is currently doing research for which he will get his master’s degree and go back to work at the University of Dodoma.