Patience and deodorant

Madness in such a big city, time flies twice as fast and yet you need a lot of patience and deodorant :)

Public transport, waiting in line for food, navigating the streets, everything takes time.... and yet everyone is in a hurry. The way Chinese people move around and behave in public is really hard for a European to understand. To stand out a little less, however, you should follow some basic rules: when it's red, cross the street; when subway doors open, everyone rushes in and out at the same time; and if an old lady gets on the bus, you must not offer her your seat. Also, you should stare at your phone all day and not pay attention to your surroundings or fellow human beings. Spitting, spitting, and talking loudly on the phone are welcome.... So everything is a bit different from us, but I'm adapting :)

Slowly but surely, I am conquering the city. I walk a lot or take the bus to get oriented in the city. There are countless streets that are spelled completely differently in the 'western' language than in Chinese. Google maps is my best friend here! However, in order to use my phone unrestrictedly, I had to download a VPN client that tells my phone I'm still in Germany. Everything we know from the internet is blocked here in China. That means no Facebook, no Google, no maps, no 'western' websites....

Unfortunately, the apartment search turned out to be not as easy as planned. There are countless websites, agencies, posts, and offers. As soon as an apartment is posted online, utmost urgency is required. Twice I arrived on time as agreed at the apartment only to be told that the room was already rented. In addition, you need luck that the apartment looks exactly like the pictures on the internet. Since Mrs. Heis wants everything at once (good location, nice roommates, nice apartment, bright room), the whole thing is a bit more complicated. And so far, I have looked at 9 apartments until last night. The same game over and over again. Saw room online. Contacted agency. Made an appointment. Rushed through Shanghai, briefly inspected the apartment (without getting to know any of the roommates), said 'Thank you' and 'I'll get back to you' and then moved on to the next apartment. That goes on until you can no longer distinguish the apartments and find yourself completely overwhelmed sitting on the wrong bus....

However, I had a very good feeling about two apartments. Apartment 1 is located at Panyu lu 222 (for those who want to look it up). A shared apartment with 8 young people. The apartment is on the 18th floor, very large, and the roommates I had the chance to meet were really nice. The catch was that the room I wanted to inspect was unfortunately locked and the current tenant was at work. Nevertheless, the pictures looked great and I immediately felt comfortable in the apartment. Unfortunately, there were other applicants and the shared apartment was not ready to make a decision yet.

Last night, I visited favorite apartment No. 2. Currently inhabited by Florian from Münster, who will be heading home on October 1st. The apartment is on Zhenning road 123 (a very popular and beautiful area). It is on the 12th floor, a shared apartment with 5 people (unfortunately, I couldn't meet any of the others). However, the room and the apartment were super bright and had a great view. In addition, the room has a private access to a balcony from which the Shanghai skyline shines. I immediately received an acceptance for the apartment.

So what to do now. Nice people vs good location. Room I haven't seen yet vs room with balcony.... I can't decide of course, but I will drive to the shared apartment with 8 people again after work today and see what my gut feeling says then. I just want to know slowly where my place will be for the next period of time....

Now to Stepping Stones. My first day was very nice. I was warmly welcomed. The office is very informal and open. There are also countless volunteers and interns from all over the world working together here. However, since I am the only one working here for the full 4 days, I was assigned to the boss of the organization, Corinne. She was very busy yesterday, but I have a meeting with her today and will find out what I can get involved in. But I'm very much looking forward to the work.

All in all, I am slowly but surely settling in, have found many nice people, and am establishing a daily routine in the metropolis. Next week is the golden week, a week of vacation :) I will go to the countryside in Chengdu, an old temple city in the mountains. So I can look forward to fresh air, temples, nature, and pandas!