My Sister wants to go too!

Ever since my sister heard that I was coming to Singapore to work, she wants to come to. My sister is 5 years younger than I but she is a lot more adventurous and "gung-ho" too. Unlike me, she makes up her mind really fast and when she does so, it will be very difficult to change her mind.

My sister and I are very close since young. Since I started work at 17, I've always bought her little things that she wants. She's always look up to me as "big sister" and I kind of enjoy the "honor" as well. She's a lot more bubbly than I am and now she's grown up to be a beautiful girl. Isn't she lovely?

Currently, my sister works in the beauty line. She specializes in doing facials and currently works in a beauty center in Shenyang. Beauty centers has sprung up by the hundreds all over China as we progress. More and more ladies find it a necessity to want to look good at work, especially office workers. Working hours in this part of the world are long (10-12 hours day) and many work 6-7 days a week. Most workers are only given 7 vacation days each year and as such, many of them don;t have the time to look after themselves. These beauty parlor are perfect places for them to relax and let someone pamper them. Well, the competitiveness of this business is good for the clients but for the business owners and employees of the beauty parlors, life is tough. Margins are low and charges are very competitive, driving many smaller ones out of business.

My sister has an ambition to come to Singapore to familiarize herself with the trade and when she has saved enough, to finally start a small business here. It's just too competitive here.

However, I told her that I will go suss out the situation and working conditions in Singapore before asking her to come over. The truth is, I know she does not have the money  to come over and like me, she probably has to take a loan from someone to pay the agent's fee. I'm not sure it is a good idea for both of us to get into such a high debt at this time, so I am using this as an excuse to discourage her from coming. I promised her that when things are moving well, I will look for a job for her so that we do not have to pay the hefty agent's fee. Or in the event that things does not work out for me, then she should not even think about coming. However, deep down inside me, I wanted her to be beside me on this long journey. Outwardly, I tried to show her that I am "cool" but inside me, I'm just a complete nervous wreck... not unlike a cool looking swan that is paddling like crazy under water!