Expats, listen up. New Year's resolution time is upon us. After the gift giving splendor of Christmas and the post-party hangover of New Year's Eve wear off, we're all going to be left in the cold light of January 1st wondering, "What the heck am I going to do in China for the rest of the year?" Well, that's what New Year's Day is for: figuring these questions out! American humorist Mark Twain offered this advice over a hundred years ago and it still holds true, "New Year's is a harmless annual institution, of no particular use to anybody save as a scapegoat for promiscuous drunks, and friendly calls and humbug resolutions." Yet, as an expat in China, perhaps as an effect of living between two very different cultures (which can open some pretty broad areas for introspection), we may be more likely than back-at-home-ers to actually act on our new year's resolutions. Still not sure what your 2012 New Year's resolution should be? Here's a handy selection of some useful (and a few silly) resolutions for expats in China.

1) Improve your 中文, and the rest will follow
Unless you're already following in the footsteps of Da Shan, the famous Canadian wunderkind of Chinese language, high on the list of expat resolutions for 2012 should be to improve your language fluency.  Of all these resolutions, this one's the easiest to cheat at. Turning on the TV and watching a period drama for two minutes before the next football game airs or flipping idly through a dual-language phrase book while you wait for the bus isn't really sticking to your resolution. To keep things interesting, consider seeking out some "real-world" lessons instead.  Resolve to take a taxi the "long-way" home once a week just to chat to the driver. In many cities it will still be cheaper than any Chinese language class. Resolve to keep a diary – just a few minutes of writing per day – of your progress in Chinese. Resolve to "return" any questions fired at you. If they ask where you're from, ask them where they're from back, and don't just take "China" for an answer. Resolve that next time you buy something you don't actually want at a supermarket, that you'll take it back instead of just giving it to a friend, so that you can get the language experience of returning it. Resolve to find these kinds of "teaching moments" in every day life instead of just asking ni hui shuo yingwen ma?

Even if you've already got your master's degree, use the opportunity of living abroad to continue your education in other areas. Websites like emagister.com and expertvillage.com have all kinds of things you can learn for free or for a small fee.  Paid courses are also available online from many universities worldwide. Take a look at the options available from City University of Hong Kong at (www.cityu.edu.hk), or visit www.onlineuniversities.com for a longer list. Resolve that 2012 is the year that you finally earn that mail-order divinity degree that you've always wanted (you'll be a hit at shotgun weddings).

2) Embrace China
You're here, and it's near. Get out and enjoy China. Resolve to spend less time watching four-year-old pirated movies and more time checking out your area's local flavour. Resolve to get on a bus you don't know the destination of. Resolve to take a camera with you when you go out and take five pictures every day. Resolve to try a new kind of Chinese cuisine. Resolve to go into the local wet market and buy one of the live animals as a pet instead of your dinner (who doesn't want a pet frog?). Resolve to travel off the beaten path if you live in a big city, or plan on visiting the big cities if you live too far off the beaten path.

For many expats, the holiday season is a time when the cultural differences between China and your homeland are drawn in sharper relief. This can swing you two ways – either into appreciating the good things or dwelling on the bad.  Resolve to look at the good things. Resolve to tell your friends and family five things you enjoy about China every week. Resolve not to complain too much unless you think your complaint will help you move toward solving a problem. And if things really are that bad, resolve to change your situation this year. Move to Bali, change your job, or go home for a visit.

3) Reconnect with family and friends back home
Living abroad is an amazing, revitalizing experience. It changes your life, and you as a person, more than we realise from day to day. But it can also drive the wedge of distance between you and your family and friends. Resolve not to let long-held relationships fall apart just because you're overseas. Resolve to buy a VPN so you can update your Facebook status and, yes, see who's playing Bejeweled Words with Farmville Friends.  Resolve to start a blog, even if you only update it once a month. Resolve to tweet your photos of funny English translations. Resolve to top off your Skype credit and call home more often. Resolve to actually send one of those postcards you bought on vacation this year. Resolve to remind your friends and family back home that they are still invited to come visit you in China. Maybe this time, they'll get on the plane. Resolve not to miss people's birthdays back home just because of the time difference – that's what they invented e-cards and online shopping for.

4) You're sexy and you know it
One of the most-resolved (and later broken) resolutions is to lose weight. American comedian Jay Leno (who's probably made this resolution a time or two himself) famously quipped, "Now there are more overweight people in America than average-weight people. So overweight people are now average. Which means you've met your New Year's resolution." Even though a lot of your Chinese colleagues may be as thin as their chopsticks, it doesn't mean that eating Chinese food will help you get as skinny as they are (genes are genes after all). For 2012, resolve to have a thicker skin when colleagues come up and tell you you've gained weight. Resolve not to fling a muttered "go to hell" at the sales clerk when she gives you a meiyou answer to your XXL query. Resolve that you will eat more healthy foods – yes it does matter if the jiaozi are fried, not steamed.  Resolve that, while of course you'd never eat at McDonald's in your own country, maybe you should lay off the burgers and fries here too.

Smoking and drinking are two more vices often mentioned in New Year's resolution goal-setting.  With cheap beer and even cheaper cigarettes in China, resolutions to cut down on your consumption of Pandas and Snow might not last through January 2nd.  But, if this is truly your goal, resolve not to be tempted by peer-pressuring colleagues and skeptical friends. Resolve to give the money you'd otherwise spend on smokes and drinks to an orphanage. That way, every time you slip, you're taking food from the mouths of babes (how's that for guilt-tripping?). If that doesn't work, resolve to buy the cheapest kind of tobacco or alcohol. After inevitably becoming ill, perhaps you'll find you don't have such a taste for it after all. this date I will only smoke this many cigarettes, works for some people. The important thing is, if you really want to change yourself, don't give up the first time you slip up. Keep going, because a year is a long time and there's room for mistakes.

Finally, if none of these resolutions seem right for you, resolve not to worry too much. As someone anonymous once said: "A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other."

Happy 2012, China.
 

Related links
Got a Light? The Status of Smoking in China
5 Ways to Behave Like a Local and Save Money
Alternative Holidays: Vary Your Vacations this Chinese New Year

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