On July 28th, 2008, Fernando Munoz was invited to deliver a speech on the launching ceremony of “Dongguan Today” website. With a definite American accent, he could have been taken for an official from the U.S. Consulate. Coming from Columbia, Fernando was actually a language consultant for the government in Dongguan and is an English teacher and owner of a language training center based in Dongguan.

A scuba diving picture of Fernando Munoz from Thailand in 2004

The second day after Fernando first came to China in 2000, he received his Chinese name—Gao Fei, from his first boss in China. Gao Fei, which means fly high in Chinese, is his exact pursuit in life. Rooted here, Dongguan provides him with a springboard for his career, just as the blue sky for him to fly with freedom and excitement.

"I had never thought of working for any local government when I first came to China.” Fernando recalled.

Back in the mid and late of 1990s, Columbia slid into an economic depression which caused great impact on Fernando’s language training center, eventually forcing him to close it down and leaving huge debt dragging the young businessman. Having a language degree from the University of Texas, Fernando ended up taking a job as an English teacher at a local university to get back in the black. After three years hardworking, he cleared up everything and made up his mind to come to China. “I like adventures and I am always looking for something new.” Fernando smiled.

In 2000, Fernando started his journey in China, following a hard time of "fighting his passport”, as he puts it. He went through places like Ha’erbin, Beijing, Xi’an, and Shenzhen. "No one would ever believe a Columbian can speak English well, let alone teach the language.” Fernando continued, “But it also inspired me to work harder than others and use my talent and experience in teaching.”

The summer of 2001 was a turning point for Fernando. He came to Dongguan for a summer camp organized by the Dongguan Municipal Translation Service Center. “They did not refuse me because of my passport, while they said I was the person that they need.” Fernando’s eyes lit up all of a sudden. It was the passion for teaching and the experiences he’s been through that contributed him to be an excellent teacher and finally had the door open for his career to take off in Dongguan.