"Don't worry; you will make friends. You could make friends with a rock!" I am sure almost every expat has heard some sentiment like this when they told friends and family they would be moving to China. I am not saying that every expat is the same. I am just saying that it takes a certain kind of person to pack up and move across the world where you don't know anyone.

Back home, I was the "leader of the pack." I was the one who usually got all of my friends together, planned fun things and got everyone excited about upcoming events. Raging extroverts like me tend to like being the center of attention and don't shy away from speaking up or being the life of the party.

But back home, the group was rounded out. You would have some more introverted and shy friends, some intellectuals, some party animals - a group that had a little of everything. Here, things are not quite the same.

The first thing I noticed about expats, at least the ones I was around when I arrived, was that they were all really outgoing and social. Most of the expats I met loved going out, drinking, dancing and making the most of the night.

The more people I met and the more I hung out, the more I realized there was something different in the social atmosphere - everyone is an extrovert! Everyone is loud, talks over each other and impatiently waits for their turn to chime in.

At first I was energized by this, but then it became tiring and relentless. The weird thing was that I began seeing my own personality traits in other people, and they really annoyed me! I would look at someone puffing up telling exhausting stories and jokes, someone else trying to rule the group and get them to follow their directions or just people who would never shut up - all things I have personally been guilty of.

I started taking a back seat and examined what it was like to be in the subgroup of onlookers. It was really nice. I have started to notice things I used to do that may have worn or grated on people. I think being an extrovert helps in a country like China. However I am grateful to the enormous expat population in China for helping me grow as a person and see that it's okay to share the spotlight sometimes.

This article was published on the Global Times Metropolitan section Two Cents page, a space for reader submissions, including opinion, humor and satire. The ideas expressed are those of the author alone, and do not represent the position of the Global Times.