China, nchi ya wale wanaosubiri

My second day in China was Sunday, September 11th. Fortunately, the Chinese are hardworking creatures and do not advocate for a day off in the week so much.

A little note: I actually see people at the university who work every day, at least 10 hours. In Germany, that is unthinkable. However, as I understand it, financial security is the only security they can really obtain.

Back to the second day. So, I went with assistant Sophie to open a bank account and buy a SIM card. I know that you have to identify yourself to open a bank account. But between knowing and the resulting actions in everyday life, there are often worlds apart. In short, he was at my apartment and we had to go back to the bank to get him. This made everything take even longer. In China, this is the normal case. So, it was even more annoying that I contributed to it. So we went out for the second time - to get the SIM card and open the bank account. Getting the SIM card was a huge relief for me. So I finally had internet, only on my phone but better than nothing. But with the internet came the next obstacle. This Chinese internet censorship is a complete puzzle for me. Not because I don't see the purpose of maintaining power, but because I'm still looking for the logic in the government's actions. A few small examples: Telegram is blocked. The much larger provider WhatsApp is not. GMX can be used without any problems, but not Web. Google is blocked, but Bing is not. Android is not supported but Apple's operating system is. I could list a few more examples but I'll spare you. Just annoy the foreigners. It seems to have that effect. :D

When we wanted to open the bank account, the kind man at the counter tested my patience just like the internet. Luckily, I don't speak Chinese yet. So I had no choice but to stay quiet and nod politely. I had to fill out the application for opening a bank account three times. In the first form, a line was missing the phone number. But it had already been written twice on the form. So, I had to fill out a new one and wait again. In the second attempt, the same bank employee noticed that I write the numbers one and seven incorrectly. In China, the number one is written like the capital letter 'i' in German and the number seven is written without the middle dash. Like the number seven on a phone or laptop keyboard. You can imagine how it went on. Yes, I had to fill out a new form again and stand in line again and wait again. After the first day was so terrible, I could take everything with a lot of humor. That was the only way to not feel totally crushed in bed again in the evening. With a little head shaking and laughing, the seemingly impossible happened on the third try. The bank account was actually opened. It was around 3:00 p.m. when it happened. I had met with Sophie at 10:00 a.m. In this country, I am learning to be patient. Whether I want to or not.

In the evening, my deputy boss and Mrs. Luo visited me in my apartment. Mrs. Luo was my Chinese contact person while I was in Germany. After that, I fell into bed hungry but much happier than 24 hours before.

Days three and four were mostly filled with organizational matters. There were meetings with teachers from my program and many things had to be taken care of for my apartment. That's where my super cool neighbor Sisi helped me. She is Scottish and has been living in Hangzhou for several years since she was offered a position as an English teacher here after her studies. When I introduced myself to her on the second day, she immediately offered me her help. So we went out to buy the things I still needed for the apartment. It is really very nice, but unfortunately empty except for furniture. So we bought utensils for the kitchen and bathroom as well as a pillow. Since the rest of the bedding was so expensive, I wanted to look for something suitable at IKEA the next day. Yes, that's right, there is an IKEA in Hangzhou. It is even one of the largest in the world. I went there with a group of German students. It was an extremely exhausting trip. From Thursday to Saturday, it was the Moon Festival in China and many Chinese had the day off. Apparently, they like to spend these free days at IKEA and on the way there. It was crowded with small but loud people who squeezed through the aisles. The trip took seven hours. We needed at least four hours for the trip there and back. That was a total of only 40 km. Nevertheless, it was worth it. The vegetarian food there is very delicious and the cinnamon rolls are amazing! :) This bit of the West did us all good in the midst of the China chaos that surrounds us.

The first report ended rather unhappily. That is different now. The days were all exhausting, with many impressions, things that annoyed and frustrated me. But I can say that I have arrived much better in this country now. Even though I still don't feel at home, I have digested the initial culture shock. I'm starting to get to know my way around better and I'm making friends. China is fascinating, without a doubt. For us "Germans," maybe a little difficult to understand. So many contradictions and opposing forces collide in a short time. It is difficult to categorize the new environment and become familiar with it. You never really know where you stand. That's what probably triggered the intense culture shock in the first two days. But now it's a beautiful adventure that I have to settle into.