你好 (Ni hao!)!I’m Shaun and I will be studying International Business at the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in Nanjing, China for the next year.
I’ve been in China for just over a week now and I am finally feeling somewhat settled in. After meeting my friend in Toronto for our 14-hour flight over Northern Canada, the Arctic Ocean and then south over Siberia and Mongolia, we arrived in Shanghai where we stayed for the night.
We left early the next morning so that we would have time to figure out living arrangements upon our arrival and took the bullet train to Nanjing. At the train station, we shrugged off the illegal cab drivers trying to charge us outrageous prices (with a bit of help from a local who had just come back from studying in Maryland) and got in a legitimate taxi that took us to school.
I decided to live in residence and spent the rest of the next couple days choosing courses, filling out information forms and getting set up with different divisions of the school. There were also a few longer processes to follow, such as applying for a permanent residence permit and paying for my accommodations. This had to be done in cash and in one lump sum payment. Setting up the internet was a multi-day process in itself, as it required DOWNLOADING software to access!
In Nanjing, a smaller city with fewer foreigners, very few people speak English. Therefore, while everyone is willing to try and help out, language can often be a barrier. Also, while there are theoretically processes in place to get things accomplished, it is often much simpler and more effective to find out the person to talk to and work things out face-to-face. While this can also be frustrating, it makes simple tasks feel like much more of an achievement.
I bought a used bicycle last week to make exploring the surroundings easier and less dependent on walking and being able to communicate with taxi drivers. That has proven extremely useful, although I must admit that I had never before seen a traffic jam in a bike lane! Traffic rules also seem to be treated more like guidelines, so you need to make sure you’re always paying attention to your surroundings.
The food in China is great, as well as extremely inexpensive – I have caught myself complaining on a couple of occasions that a $2 meal is too pricey! Sometimes though, you may be better off not asking what it contains. While the food at the cafeteria is decent and very convenient, finding tiny local “restaurants” is much more fun and genuine.
There is so much to see and do here! Biking around the city at night is a great way to sightsee and explore at the same time. The weather at that time is also not too hot, making it easier to go out than during the day when it can reach 40 degrees Celsius with the humidex at this time of year. Many shops even close between noon and 2 p.m. to avoid the heat, much like a Spanish siesta.
I’ve been enjoying my time here so far and look forward to the many adventures that I will have on this trip!