Photo Provided to China Daily

It's difficult to separate the "technical" part of his life from the social part, he says, adding that he has many friends among his local colleagues.

They often invite him for leisure activities, such as mountain climbing and boating, and on trips to many tourist attractions in Fujian on weekends.

As one of the few Westerns in Ningde, Galyen, who is nearly 2 meters tall, often finds himself receiving a lot of attention from the local people.

"I've literally seen some guys almost wreck their motorcycles," he says.

Language remains the biggest barrier for him.

But some people he meets try to speak to him in the little English they know.

Galyen often takes walks in Ningde to exercise and relax, and usually goes to a nearby mall to enjoy the local cuisine and watch movies in his spare time.

He also spends his limited free time exploring Ningde and is surprised to find the city has many Catholic churches.

According to Galyen, living in Fujian has enticed him to swap coffee for tea.

He drinks almost daily three or four cups of Pu'er tea and tries to learn about local culture through its tea tradition.

Galyen says he has noticed the disparity in development between big Chinese cities and smaller ones, such as Ningde.

While he feels uncomfortable seeing how some local residents just cross the streets without paying heed to traffic rules or that some litter, Galyen is hopeful things will change.