Sol d’Oriente – inizia il mio stage in Cina!

Qual è la tua prima impressione della Cina? E’ la domanda più frequente tra occidentali ed tenterò di darvi una breve risposta!

Ho iniziato ad “osservare” i cinesi sin da quando mi sono imbarcata sul volo Zurigo- Pechino, o meglio dalla fila che si è creata per l’utilizzo della toilette prima dell’imbarco. La questione era questa, le donne avevano i servizi sullo stesso piano mentre gli uomini dovevano raggiungerli attraverso una doppia rampa di scale. C’era un gran chiasso e le donne ridevano di gusto!! Bene, non capivo cosa dicessero ma di sicuro prendevano in giro i loro mariti che controvoglia si accingeva a salir le scale!

Mi son subito sentita parte di loro ed anche io ho iniziato a sorridere !

Vivian è stata la mia compagna di volo, ha vissuto per 16 anni in Atlanta (USA) ed era in viaggio per raggiungere la sua citta nativa, situata nella profonda Cina orientale, Harbin!!!

E’ stata molto carina, mi ha insegnato le prime parole in cinese, mi ha accompagnato al ritiro bagagli, mi ha lasciato i suoi contatti e mi ha invitata a visitare la sua città!!!

Insieme abbiamo assistito al primo grande spettacolo che questa terra ci ha offerto: l’alba del mio primo “Sol d’Oriente”!

Per cui qual è mia prima impressione della Cina??

Gente meravigliosa, disponibile, pronta ad aiutarti prima ancora che tu possa chiederle aiuto, e con cui è sufficiente un sorriso per poter comunicare.

Camilla

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#4: Bae-jing

With another week of work under our belt and the internship almost halfway completed, we decided to head out to Beijing to get the experience of China that we always imagined.

At first glance, Beijing was much more chaotic than Shenzhen. We noticed the buzz of people as they whisked past us to get along with their business. But once we got to the hotel, we noticed how laid back the life really was here. Beijing was a pleasant mix of modernity and culture – something I had been expecting Shenzhen to be.

Our second day, we rented a bus and headed to the Great Wall. We ended up picking the Mutianyu section after hearing that it was more beautiful and less crowded than the others; and beautiful it was, albeit, I was not expecting to be climbing 2,340,234 steps up to the top. It was a hard hike, but worth every step as we looked out into the horizon and saw the length of the wonder of the world.

On our way down, we took the toboggan, which is sort of like a slide that curves its way around the wall to the exit.

The remainder of the day was spent exploring the old streets of Beijing as we tried to find our way back to our hotel.

The next couple of days were chaotic and filled with rushed activity. We visited the Summer Palace, Mao’s Mausoleum, Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, Houhai Street, and the Silk Market. Each of these places provided us with a different beauty that we were both awed and amazed by.

In the end, Beijing was a place that we all enjoyed. It mixed the China that we wanted to see as well as the comfort that we desired and gave us the result of a perfect city filled with rich history and culture.

10/10 would recommend!

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One month In, One month Out

I have reached the halfway mark for my time here in Shenzhen, China. I have been reflecting on my time and experiences here more than I normally do. The combination of the differences in culture, food, atmosphere, and location all combine wonderfully to make a great opportunity for meditation on a daily basis. I don’t believe that one needs to be sitting in a quiet room with the perfect amount of sunlight and ambient music and “mood” to meditate; one can simply meditate while walking in a park, walking down the street or standing on a busy street corner. It just takes a little focus and a lot of being in the moment.

This past weekend was the Dragon Boat Festival and while this is a Public Holiday, I did not partake in any special activities. I did some exploring locally and found some new shops, foods, and places I didn’t know existed. Ill have to admit, if I have not already done so, I am always surprised how the city of Shenzhen is in fact so modern and so green. Simply walking down the street will afford you views of lush greenery and streets and highways lined with vibrant green plant life and trees. I simply never thought it would be this way in a city that has grown by leaps and bounds in recent decades. While this city is wonderful, I have been itching to explore places outside the city or to find out some historical places or roots for the city of Shenzhen. For next week, I will tell you all about the history and location of the walled city of Dapeng and its Fortress and temples. It’s one of the most historic buildings in Shenzhen and also its historic symbol.

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Prime partenze e nuovi arrivi

Con questo blog si conclude il mio primo mese qui a Pechino con CRCC Asia. È stata una settimana molto intensa per le tante attività svolte, ma anche triste perché abbiamo già dovuto salutare molti degli stagisti arrivati con noi.

Le lezioni di cinese sono finite e ci godiamo questi giorni di “vacanza” prima di cominciare lo stage.

Relax e esplorazione della città sono all’ordine del giorno. Pechino, però, ci sta regalando anche tra le giornate più inquinate che abbia visto finora. Il sole è ormai da tre giorni coperto da nuvole naturali e da una fitta nube di smog. È il momento ideale per visitare qualche museo, almeno al chiuso si respira un po’ di aria, anche se quella dei condizionatori. Speriamo in giornate migliori per poter visitare i meravigliosi parchi e templi, testimoni di una cultura unica che, nonostante i periodi di buio, resta ancora viva e perpetrata nel tempo dal suo popolo.

Il grigio di questi giorni, però, calza a pennello il nostro stato d’animo: siamo tutti dispiaciuti per la partenza di molti degli stagisti che hanno iniziato quest’esperienza con noi. I primi giorni, appena arrivati, si è tutti un po’ timidi, ma allo stesso tempo elettrizzati di conoscerci e vivere il più possibile Pechino insieme. Così nascono le amicizie, chi si lega a una persona, chi è più legato ad un’altra, ma in generale si crea una grande famiglia. Anche noi siamo diventati una famiglia. Difficilmente riuscivamo a vederci durante la settimana, ma nel week-end ci riunivamo tutti insieme attorno al tavolo del divertimento dopo intensi giorni di studio o di lavoro. Anche martedì ci siamo riuniti tutti e, purtroppo, è stata l’ultima volta. Tutti insieme siamo andati al KTV, il luogo del divertimento serale più amato dai cinesi. Cantando ci siamo salutati e ci siamo promessi di rincontrarci.

Anche se con un po’ di tristezza per coloro che sono andati via, ci prepariamo ad accogliere il prossimo gruppo e vivere una nuova esperienza con loro. Descriverei questa avventura come una matriosca infinita, tanti piccoli pezzi di esperienze contenuti in quella più grande che è quella di essere qui a Pechino. Dopo il corso di cinese e i giri turistici, nella mia matriosca metto quella dello stage. Saranno settimane intense, ma finalmente è arrivato il momento di dimostrare le nostre capacità lavorative, speriamo nel migliore dei modi. Intanto la mia matriosca diventa sempre più grande.

 

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A long yet overwhelmingly good week

Thursday was agonizingly slow for me as it was results day. The week at work involved a lot of induction activities that happen every 3 months here at the British Council for new employees so I participated in order to learn more about my role and the charity. On Thursday, however, I was not concentrating very much in anticipation for my 5pm result release. Fortunately my results were what I had been hoping for and I was able to celebrate with my friends at the Chinese acrobatics show. There were 8 motorbikes whizzing around inside a sphere at one point and this was a real high for me this week. Following the show, we went for a celebratory meal and my friend bought me a cake to say congratulations for my results. It was so lovely to realize that I have made such good, lifelong friends here. To continue celebrations, on Friday the HR team and I went for lunch followed by drinks after work in order to greet the Recruitment Agent for Asia as he was visiting Beijing from Singapore. This was a nice opportunity to get to know work colleagues within my department better outside of work and we went for pizza for dinner.

 
The weekend was a public holiday called ‘Dragon Boat Festival’. Although there were not many boat races in Beijing to watch, it still meant there was no work on Monday. For this reason we decided to have a relaxing day to unwind from the week of work and do some sunbathing in Chayong Park as there was an extra day and we didn’t feel as though we had to jam pack events in. When we arrived there Saturday morning, we were not expecting so much action! There was a theme park, Ocean Beach festival, sports section and flower park to see and do. This was a really enjoyable day and everyone was feeling positive and refreshed. We decided to travel to the Pearl market to buy some souvenirs. I managed to buy fake Converse for 45 RMB (roughly £4.50) and an Urban Decay palette (eye shadow) for 40 RMB! Pleased and content with my buys, we decided to stay in on Saturday with an Italian takeaway.

 
The intentions for Sunday were to go to the National Museum, Tiananmen Square and then the Olympic Park. Once we had explored the first two, however, the latter was not squeezed into the agenda and we have rescheduled this for next weekend. I managed to find some postcards (there is a real gap in the market for postcards in Beijing) in the National Museum as well as coming to grips with some of the history and view some art. As Tiananmen Square is very close by we also went there, although we became the main tourist attraction and I must be in about 20 photos that I will never see again.

 
Sunday night consisted of an Irish bar which provided great entertainment until early Monday morning. When we arose, we decided to stay local and explore the 798 Art District in which the apartments are located in. There were many shops and cool art galleries (which are all free entry) and there were quite a few western restaurants that I shall be returning to in my remaining time here. In the evening we went to a restaurant called Blue Frog in the shopping mall close by as there was an offer on the menu.

 
Although I did not venture far and wide this weekend as some interns chose to do, I feel as though sometimes it is easy to miss what is close to home by trying to tackle big adventures in such a large city all the time.

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Sensazioni e emozioni prima della partenza

Ormai mancano poco più di sette giorni alla mia partenza per Shenzhen, detto così potrebbe sembrare un semplice viaggetto di piacere, invece ormai non faccio che pensare a questa futura esperienza come una vera e propria avventura, dove tutto sarà diverso, ci sarà tanto da imparare, tanto da capire e tantissimo da provare sotto qualsiasi punto di vista.

Devo essere sincero anche nel dire che fino a poco più di due settimane fa è stata davvero molto dura per me: l’attesa per la selezione da parte dell’azienda, siccome alla fin dei conti non è semplice essere selezionati solamente guardando un curriculum, un semplice pezzo di carta che non potrà mai raccontare davvero chi sia e cosa abbia da offrire davvero una persona.

Per non parlare di un mese mezzo fa quando sono stato indaffarato nella ricerca del volo per raggiungere la Cina, nel migliore e ovviamente anche nel più economico dei modi. Il solo pensare che per raggiungere questa destinazione saranno necessarie circa 25 ore, partendo da casa mia fino a raggiungere il mio alloggio a Shenzhen, è davvero incredibile.                                                       Sono del parere che ogni qualvolta si prenda un aereo, dove la destinazione sia l’Europa o una qualsiasi altra meta nel mondo, ognuno di questi luoghi racchiuda dentro di sé tantissime emozioni che quasi nessuno di noi ha ancora avuto modo di vivere.

Sicuramente quest’esperienza accrescerà il mio bagaglio culturale, arricchirà le mie esperienze di vita permettendomi di conoscere non solo la cultura, gli usi e costumi del popolo cinese ma anche quelli di tantissime altre culture; mi riferisco ovviamente ai tantissimi altri ragazzi che come me andranno in Cina per vivere il mio stesso tipo di esperienza; infatti sono settimane ormai che tramite Facebook sto conoscendo ragazzi e ragazze provenienti da qualsiasi parte del mondo, da New York a Canberra da Milano a Londra, da Berlino a Varsavia, che come me stanno per intraprendere quest’esperienza. Ci sarà veramente qualsiasi tipo di cultura, qualsiasi tipo di mentalità all’interno della sistemazione in cui andremo a vivere.

Già sette giorni prima della partenza, sto provando tantissime emozioni, ho tanta voglia di partire, di conoscere una cultura nuova e soprattutto di iniziare quest’esperienza all’interno dell’azienda dove sono stato selezionato: a primo acchito non mi aveva entusiasmato, però poi confrontandomi con il team di Venezia e poi in maniera più specifica con i miei supervisori all’interno dell’azienda a Shenzhen, ho davvero capito il valore non solo dell’azienda in cui andrò a lavorare, ma anche delle mansioni che mi sono state assegnate, davvero molto importanti e di responsabilità.

Mi voglio ritenere anche molto fortunato perché, Andrea, la ragazza che sarà il mio supervisore, è una donna davvero molto in gamba, disponibile, che mi ha dato, senza ancora avermi conosciuto, un sacco di consigli, tanta carica, motivazioni e voglia di arrivare presto in Cina; è una ragazza che ha vissuto in Cina e che vive in Cina già da quattro anni, quindi da lei potrò apprendere tanto, anche dal punto di vista della cultura, per cercare di inserirmi al meglio tra i colleghi cinesi.

Per mia fortuna sono una persona molto socievole con una mentalità molto aperta: sono stato in Germania, in Inghilterra, ho visitato per pochissimo tempo gli Stati Uniti, e ho capito che quello che importa quando si viaggia, è immedesimarsi nella cultura del posto a 360°, perché solo così tu puoi vivere bene e capire a fondo una cultura diversa.

Non vedo l’ora di arrivare in Cina, scendere dall’ultimo aereo che mi porterà da Shanghai a Shenzhen, e di caricare le mie tre valigie sul taxi che mi porterà alla mia sistemazione.

Spero nel mio piccolo, con questo blog, di dare e condividere più informazioni possibili con tutti voi che state pensando di partire!

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La luce e il buio di Pechino

Le settimane qui a Pechino volano e anche l’ultima settimana di lezioni di cinese è finita. Il cinese migliora sempre di più, tanto da riuscire a tenere qualche semplice e divertente conversazione in autobus con un vecchietto o con un ragazzo curioso di sapere perché sei a Pechino.

Più i giorni passano e più la vita qui a Pechino diventa quotidianità, come se ci vivessi da un bel po’ di tempo. Con CRCC Asia, però, questa nuova quotidianità ha sempre un tocco di originalità. Sabato abbiamo visitato la città di Tianjin ed è stato quasi come ritornare in Italia per qualche ora. L’impronta lasciata dagli italiani agli inizi del XX secolo in questa città è molto forte, per un attimo ti sembra di camminare per le vie di Firenze e ti ritrovi a fare la foto sotto la statua di Dante! Ben presto sono ritornata con l’anima e la mente in Cina, e purtroppo anche ad una triste realtà.

La Cina diventa sempre più grande in ogni settore, la sua cultura è fantastica, ma ha ancora tanti problemi da affrontare. La disabilità è uno di questi. Ad oggi è ancora difficile accettare un disabile nella propria famiglia e lo Stato fa ancora molto poco per tirarli fuori dalla condizione di forte emarginazione in cui riversano. Per fortuna esistono associazioni non-profit che si occupano di loro e domenica abbiamo visitato proprio una di questa. La scuola di Huiling si occupa di persone con disabilità mentali; essa cerca di sviluppare al meglio tutte le potenzialità di questi ragazzi. Trascorrere un’ora con loro è stato davvero incredibile, renderli felici semplicemente con un ballo ti fa provare un’emozione indescrivibile. È stata una giornata davvero indimenticabile, che ha lasciato un segno forte in questa esperienza e che ha dato il la per cominciare bene un nuovo lunedì.

Questa settimana è cominciata bene e sta finendo nel migliore dei modi, anche se con inframmezzi di forte stress e di stanchezza. Pechino non si addormenta mai e noi di CRCC Asia teniamo i suoi ritmi: vogliamo goderci questa esperienza in tutto e per tutto, ma ricordandoci anche che non tutti hanno la nostra stessa fortuna. Un pensiero speciale va ai ragazzi della scuola di Huiling.

 

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The Art District, Chinese acrobats and late-night feasts in Beijing

After last week’s adventures at the Great Wall we decided to stay in the city and explore Beihai Park and the Summer Palace, two of Beijing’s most beautiful and scenic parks. There’s nothing better than taking a stroll around the beautiful temples or renting a boat at the Summer Palace’s lake after an intense week of commuting during rush hour and learning almost 40 new Chinese vocabulary words a day.

That night we were all exhausted from traveling, but still had to check out Ghost Street (also known as Guijie) for some traditional Saturday night Chinese experience. Some say that the street used to be haunted and no type of business succeeded there beside restaurants and bars. Nowadays, in order to please the hungry ghosts, the street is home to over a hundred restaurants that serve mostly fresh seafood and other Chinese delicacies. Just by skimming the menu one can find snails, eels, frogs, squid and all kinds of seafood I’ve never heard of / considered edible. We tried some of their specialties (hot and sour soup, fried rice and steamed buns), but the best part about having a Chinese feast there at 2am is that we were the only non-locals around. There were people walking around and serenading the tables, and one of them even sang the Chinese song I learned in class – “yueliang dai biao wo de xin.” The next day we went with all other 40 CRCC Asia interns to a Chinese acrobatics show that surpassed all of our expectations. One acrobat climbed a tower of 10 chairs, another balanced a tower of wine glasses while climbing a ladder, and two guys performed some pretty impressive (and scary) tricks on a huge human hamster wheel.

About a week ago I reconnected with a friend from high school who has lived in China for a while. It’s a completely different experience traveling with someone who can speak the language and can show you around the non-touristic areas and even take you to the coolest KTV (karaoke) bar in town. However, even after traveling all across the city, my favorite place remains 798, which is the art district (and most significant creative cluster in Beijing) all of the current interns live in. The district used to be full of factories that were converted into studios exhibition spaces following Deng Xiaoping’s reforms during the 80’s. Occasionally when I get home from class early we go check out some of the newer exhibitions (they constantly change so there’s always something to see). What I love most about 798 is going around the smaller, less known galleries. Some are quite odd, but others are phenomenal and provide a snapshot of the emerging artistic movement in the city.

We only have two more Mandarin classes followed by a long weekend in which most of us are going to Shanghai, and then we are all off to new adventures and internships. Most of the current interns will be leaving soon, and we are already dreading saying goodbye. It is crazy how close a group of people could get in such a short time. I’ll miss coming back to the apartments and cooking dinner with the other interns, exploring the city and its nightlife, and encouraging one another to embrace the challenges of living out of our comfort zone. We will be receiving a lot of new interns next week and it’ll be up to the few of us who are staying here to show them around Beijing’s hidden gems and make sure they pass the useful knowledge onward.

That’s all for this week. I’m currently packing for our weekend in Shanghai and planning my trip to Hong Kong the following week. Stay tuned for more stories, pictures and travel tips!

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From Beijing to Tianjin

This week I found my Mandarin lesson! To be fair it was very difficult to find so I didn’t feel as silly for getting lost last week, but I did feel sad that I missed last week’s lesson as it was so good! There was a group of about 5 of us which is a perfect number to learn with the opportunity to ask questions and make sure we understood the pronunciation correctly. Along with my Mandarin lesson at work, I learnt a few things this week. Firstly, Chinese characters represent the meaning of words, but can also represent their sound. For example, ‘mum’ (māma) is written with the character for ‘female’, representing the word’s meaning, followed by the character for ‘horse’, which has a similar pronunciation (mǎ). The second thing I had to get my head around was that there cannot be two verbs within the same sentence. To say “I eat a sandwich and chocolate” in the same sentence is fine, but if you wanted to say “I eat a sandwich and drink water” you would have to say “I eat a sandwich. I drink water.”

At work I have been to an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) meeting which has led to me giving a presentation on the subject on the 30th June. This is because I have a hearing impairment so as an intern with a disability I have some thoughts about what the British Council could do to improve EDI in the workplace. Although I am excited about this opportunity, I am incredibly nervous and not a very keen public speaker so I am sure I shall blog about this closer to the time. Aside from this, at work I also organised a call conference with the HR managers in the different China offices in order for us all to share input and thoughts on the documents I have drawn up so far. This call is scheduled for early next week, which will then allow me to move on to the next stage of my task, which is to make an online supporting document that is accessible to all internal British Council staff to assist the Terms and Conditions of Service.

My manager took me to the Jenny Lou store to buy some fruit washing up liquid. It is an international store selling many familiar brands. Fruit liquid is essential to be able to eat fruit without a skin and that might be harmful to eat without washing it in the correct way. In addition to including fruit into my diet, some other interns and myself found a Mexican restaurant this week. Proper burritos! It was so good I went there twice (and Lakers twice as predicted too!) To counteract all this fast food, I have managed to go swimming in the apartment a couple of times when I have had quiet week nights in. I find it really peaceful and gentle exercise which tires me out enough to sleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

 
At the weekend I got the bullet train to Tianjin. This trip allowed a look around the town’s Italian quarter and a tour of Nankai University. Lunch was in the university canteen and after the tour we all went for dinner in a very posh restaurant which had this beautiful chandelier on the ceiling. The day was really good as Tianjin is quieter and calmer than Beijing so there was a nice contrast to the usual hectic and noisy city centre. As dusk fell we crossed the bridge back to the train station and the city behind us lit up, it was so stunning. I had a really insightful day into postgraduate study in China, which I had been considering previously.

On Sunday we went to Beijing Huiling Centre for people with a mental disability where we were given a dance performance by ‘Michael’ (whose chose his English name based on his favourite dancer – Michael Jackson). Then we watched some other talent performances including a magic show by the students. We then proceeded to show them our talents and play games with the students, which was really fun. I really enjoyed learning more about the charity and what they do. I then went to the Temple of Heaven and the surrounding park which is another one of China’s many wonders. The whole park was buzzing with life and activity, from singers to dancers and aerobics, to kite flyers and ribbons on sticks being waved around. The Temple itself was also stunning.

 
Next weekend is a public holiday so I am busy planning how to spend my 3 days off. I cannot believe I have been here for one third of my stay already. I am a bit stressed because there is still so much I want to see!

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From Puppet Shows to Parks & Ar

The days are full, times are fun and flying by! This is the third week for the Interns who started this month and also the last full week for those who are only here for one month. I am still amazed at how fast it is going by but I am so thankful I have another month to spend here in Shenzhen. My boss just moved into a new office as he just opened his own law firm. The first two weeks in the office had the feeling of new beginnings and great possibilities. The office only had the essentials, such as furniture and a couple pieces of art. This week, the office was decorated with plants, and being a nature lover, I walked into the office on Monday morning happily surprised. The office feels much more productive and much more alive when surrounded by life! We also have two new fish! The office is shaping up to be a great place with great people and potential.

A week or so ago, the interns went to the oil art village Dafen and a Chinese Puppet Show. I read on BBC that Dafen is the number 1 source of art for the entire world, and after being there, this is easy to understand. The puppet show was cute and retold classic childhood stories like “don’t cry wolf” and the semblance’s of Little Red Riding Hood. The village, as it is called, reminds me of walking down the streets of a European city and watching magic as it happens. There are easily over 100 shops where you can browse for different art paintings and styles that include just about anything you may be looking for. I saw paintings from historical and popular artists to modern and retro art, to even textured art. The only shame to the whole experience was that I couldn’t fit one of each in my suitcase, and some of them are already framed, making the expense to ship back home more than my budget will allow. It is simply amazing and a must see for anyone in Shenzhen.

I love to explore and I have found a park just a short bike ride away where I can ride my bike, skateboard, or simply walk along the coastal walkway. I was looking for the Shenzhen Mangrove Nature Preserve, but after some research on needing a reservation in advance, I found the Shenzhen Bay Park to be just as wonderful. There is a concrete walkway right along the entire edge of the coast, and along this is another elevated walkway that is much wider and more suitable for all the bikers and walkers. I have been there a few times but it goes for miles so I have not always walked the entire walkway. However, Sunday I discovered you can rent Tandem bikes so I am planning to go back with friends so we can rent a bike and cruise along the coast for the day.

 

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Vivere ad Hong Kong

Un mese dall’inizio di questa esperienza è ormai passato e me ne manca soltanto più un altro. Dico “soltanto” perché veramente qui il tempo vola e a me questa città inizia a piacere sempre di più.

Quando si pensa ad Hong Kong le prime cose che probabilmente vengono in mente sono il suo imponente skyline e la sua importanza nel mondo finanziario. In realtà questa città offre molto di più, compresi degli spazi verdi enormi e stupendi. La scorsa settimana sono stata con alcuni colleghi a visitare alcuni parchi. Siamo andati a “Nan Lian Garden” e “Good Wish Garden”, nei quali ogni collina, roccia, pianta e struttura in legno è stata posta secondo regole e metodi specifici. Lo si può notare dall’attenzione e dalla cura che viene rivolta a questi giardini.

I mezzi di trasporto funzionano alla grande, ed essendo abituata a quelli italiani devo dire che è una cosa che noi non ci possiamo nemmeno sognare lontanamente. La densità di popolazione è elevatissima. Ogni giorno milioni di persone si muovono per questa città, ma non ce ne si rende nemmeno conto perché è tutto molto ben organizzato. Le persone si mettono in coda per fare qualsiasi cosa. Ad esempio si mettono in coda quando sono in attesa di prendere l’autobus o il tram. Sul marciapiede, infatti, è disegnata una riga gialla che indica la direzione della fila. La cosa più assurda: nessuno si lamenta. Diciamo che noi italiani siamo molto ben lontani da tutto questo rigore e da tutta questa pazienza, compresa me.

Vorrei un po’ raccontarvi di com’è la mia vita qui in generale. Se avete intenzione di partire per questa magnifica esperienza, vi consiglio di essere pronti a tutto. Trovo difficile spiegare a parole quello che sto vivendo, ma qui è una realtà completamente diversa.

Ciò che più mi piace di Hong Kong è il suo essere così internazionale. Già dopo solo un mese posso dire di aver conosciuto moltissime persone, al di fuori di CRCC Asia, in quanto eravamo solo in cinque stagisti al mio arrivo. Qui è facile fare nuove conoscenze e si conoscono persone da ogni parte del mondo (stranamente non ci sono molti italiani). Alcuni sono qui solo di passaggio, molti altri invece decidono di rimanere. Solitamente chi prende la decisione di rimanere lo fa perché apprezza lo stile di vita e le mille opportunità che questa città può offrire, compresa la posizione. Da qui si raggiungono facilmente città come Singapore, Bangkok, Bali o Shanghai, e ci si può andare per passare un weekend. Non è poi così male, no?!

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Camping on the Great Wall

Last Saturday I travelled to a beautiful and unrestored section of the Great Wall with ten

other interns. After a two-hour ride, one of which was spent standing still in Beijing’s traffic, we

arrived at a small village right by the trail leading to our campsite. We were invited for lunch at a

local family’s house, which was an interesting experience in and of itself. While we were sitting

outside, the women of the family and two of their little girls were preparing for a Chinese opera

show they were performing later that day. After the little girl finished taking pictures with each

and every one of us foreigners, we found ourselves watching the show with the entire village

(which is about 80 people). Needless to say everyone stopped watching the show and stared at us

for most of the time, as apparently foreigners don’t visit there frequently. They were all

extremely nice and hospitable, and despite the language barrier we could still communicate with

some of them. Just an hour before we were supposed to start hiking a mini-storm began, and it

was not long until we were soaked. Thinking we would need to cancel our trip, we all waited by

one of the houses in the village and started making plans for our rainy weekend in Beijing.

However, 30 minutes later, the sun came out and the sky cleared, reminding us of how

unpredictable things here could sometimes be. Led by a guide named Noodles (he refused to

admit it’s not his real name), we began walking up the trail to our campsite on the Great Wall.

The hike was extremely steep and tiring, and became even harder when our local guide did not

understand my attempts to ask for a short break in Chinese. Nevertheless, after about 40 minutes,

we could already see our destination on one of the mountain peaks. When we finally got there,

the view was absolutely mesmerizing.

We decided to walk to a peak about a mile away from our campsite on the unrestored

section of the wall. Every once in a while we would stop and look around, trying to capture these

moments in pictures, which turned out to be quite impossible. At one point we were all standing

still, realizing we haven’t experienced complete silence since we’ve arrived in Beijing. It was the

first time I could just sort out my thoughts and take a breath of (real) fresh air. We set up our

tents and built a fire while our guide was making dinner and telling us stories about the village

nearby that was assigned to build the section we were visiting, and later watched the sunset from

one of the most breathtaking viewpoints on the wall.

After that weekend, Beijing’s pace seemed even crazier. Our Mandarin class is becoming

more and more challenging, but I feel like I’m starting to understand small talks on the bus and

subway. I’ve managed to speak to a cab driver and even ask for directions (still couldn’t

understand his answer, but it still counts as progress). After class I also got to visit the Lama

Temple (twice), Beijing’s most beautiful Buddhist shrine. Besides the serenity and the eye-

catching ornaments on every one of the five halls, it is worth visiting for the 18m-tall statue of

the Maitreya Buddha. After bumping into a tourist that recognized my Israeli-brand of sandals

and started speaking Hebrew to me, my friend and I decided to keep exploring the various

hutongs in the area (narrow ancient streets). We found an adorable café, and became friends with

the waiter who was extremely eager to practice his English. He told us about his experience

teaching English in Taiwan, and then giggled at out attempts to use our not-so-vast knowledge of

Chinese vocabulary.

I already feel quite at home in Beijing and I can’t wait for this weekend when we will be

visiting the Summer Palace and begin planning our upcoming trip to Shanghai. Till next time,

zhoumo yu kuai!

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Week 2: Exploration!

Welcome back! It is now the second week in Shanghai and I could not be having

more fun! Exploring this beautiful city and learning to master its customs,

transportation, and language has been challenging, to say the least. However, once

you grow accustomed to Shanghai’s way of life, each day becomes an adventure.

From ancient gardens to modern high-tech inventions, Shanghai is a world unlike

any other.

 

Mastering the Metro

One of the primary sources of transportation in Shanghai is the Shanghai Metro. It is

a highly efficient, inexpensive, underground subway system that can take you

practically anywhere in the city. However, be forewarned! Riding the metro during

peak hours can be a very stressful experience!

The trains are so full that people nearly spill out of the subway car each time the

doors open. There is a lot of shoving and at times you are tightly packed, rendering

any movement impossible. After a week or two, however, I have become familiar

with the process. The pushing no longer bothers me as I’ve realized that it’s “nothing

personal” as my Chinese friends say. Now, riding the metro has actually become

quite easy.

 

Intensive Mandarin Class

I love taking Mandarin classes! Surprisingly, learning to speak Mandarin is not as

difficult as I have imagined. After about 1 week, we are now able to tell the time, talk

about our families, give directions, and more! As a result of taking this class,

exploring the city has become more enjoyable and I feel much closer to the locals.

 

Yuyuan Garden

We visited the beautiful Yuyuan Garden! This extensive Chinese Garden is near the

City God Temple in the center of Shanghai’s Old City. It is a stark contrast from the

surrounding modern, busy Shanghai life with its peaceful rivers, artistry and

greenery. As I strolled through the garden, I felt transported 400 years in the past to

the Ming Dynasty. I imagined myself walking among ancient poets and musicians,

speaking classical Chinese. If you want to clear your mind, relax, and get away from

daily Shanghai life, the Yuyuan Garden is the place to visit!

 

Riding the Maglev!

This week we decided to ride the Shanghai Maglev Train! The Maglev, short for

magnetic levitation, was designed and patented by German inventors and scientists.

The Maglev can travel at a mind-boggling speed of 430 km/hour (about 267 mi/hr)!

However, you must check the Maglev schedule before visiting as the train only runs

at max speed during certain time intervals.

Since we arrived a bit early, to pass the time we visited the Maglev Museum located

in the basement of the station. We learned how the train works, when it was built,

and all the testing and prototypes required in making the Maglev come to life. The

technology and engineering behind this train is magnificent!

Well, that’s all for this week. Until next time!

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Beijing, Thirst & The Foreigner

I have been in Beijing for close to a month now and am still adjusting to this mammoth city. It’s unlike anywhere I have ever been before. It’s the biggest of concrete jungles and is a fast-paced world of dust and traffic. Skyscraper after skyscraper, Beijing is nothing like Belfast, but one month on and I am starting to get to grips with this China land.

I am living in Beijing for two months to do an internship with an NGO organisation here, organised through CRCC Asia and funded by the British Council. CRCC Asia identify themselves as a global recruitment consultancy firm who offer internships for university students or recent graduates. When applying for an internship with CRCC Asia you are required to choose an industry of your preference – of which I chose NGO, charities & non-profits – and then they will find you a suitable placement in a company within that industry where you should gain valuable skills and experience which you can put to use after your placement. CRCC are great because they do a lot of the work for you in the organisation of the placement, and once here they support interns by holding social and business events so you can make the most of your time in China.

The view from my bedroom window

Through CRCC Asia I have found myself working in the best of companies, which I will describe briefly now but which warrants a full blog post later on. Thirst is an environmental charity based in Beijing which is working hard to educate the next generation of kids in China about the growing water scarcity crisis. They go to schools and different events around China to spread the word about the water crisis and to encourage more people to save water. 783 million people do not currently have access to clean usable water, and by 2025 2 in 3 people will be suffering from water shortages. I am learning a lot about water while I am working here and I am really starting to see the terrifying future which is ahead of us if we don’t start looking after the small amount of water we have left. Many people do not know about this crisis, but Thirst want to change this. Thirst is a young company, started only in 2011, but already are supported by several big names. They are partnered with the World Economic Forum, National Geographic and UNESCO (to name a few), and are educating thousands of school children every month about water. I am loving every minute of my time with Thirst and I truly feel like I am part of a great and meaningful movement as the company prepares to go global.

I have learnt a lot already during my time here and I’m sure I will learn even more in the month ahead. Though this has been one of the busiest times of my life, I have had some time to think about the greater experience of how it has been to be a foreigner in someone else’s country. Of all the places I have been to, I think I feel like more of an outsider here in China than I have in any other country. Communication is one of the biggest challenges and certain everyday processes are done differently. In a restaurant you will order while not knowing what you will get because you can’t read the menu, and business dinners feel like a mountain to climb when you are armed with two chopsticks. There are so many new experiences here that you need to force yourself to dive in if you want to thrive in this new environment.

Being in a city like Beijing and having that outsider complex is a humbling experience. In China there is a population of 1.357 billion people, which is a number I can’t physically comprehend. When I compare this to little Northern Ireland, with its population of 1.8 million, it makes me think of my home as a tiny speck in this big wide world. This feeling of being a dot and an outsider became the inspiration for the quote at the top of this page. “There are no foreign lands, it is the traveller only who is foreign”. Said by Robert Louis Stevenson, it makes me think of the notion of the “foreigner” and how it has seemed to take on a negative meaning back home. To be a “foreigner” is not really seen as a good thing, it implies something so different and hence so dangerous. This is a notion that has become engrained in the mind sets of people and has even been solidified in law. But when you become the foreigner and the outsider yourself, and become vastly outnumbered like a Northern Irish man in China, it makes you think about your own place in the world and it broadens your mind even more. We are all foreigners somewhere.

As always, I’m still travelling, still learning, I’m getting “thirsty” and sometimes hungry too (chopsticks). Beijing is another great experience and I can feel myself changing yet again. I have another month ahead with many more experiences to be had. I’m not sure how I’ve been so lucky!

This blog post first appeared on Jamie’s personal blog: http://ift.tt/1TgdlzX

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Le grandezze di Pechino!

“Non sei un vero eroe se non sali sulla Grande Muraglia” disse Mao, quando durante la Lunga Marcia raggiunse uno dei monti attraversati dalla Muraglia Cinese.
Questa espressione descrive al meglio una nuova settimana qui a Pechino. Le lezioni di cinese diventano sempre più intense e così anche lo studio pomeridiano. Siamo molto entusiaste di ciò che stiamo imparando e non vediamo l’ora di metterlo in pratica con lo stage. Uscire da quell’aula della Mandarin House con il bagaglio sempre più pieno di nuove parole e nuove espressioni cinesi appaga l’ora di viaggio in autobus che facciamo ogni mattina per raggiungere la scuola. Vivere Pechino significa anche affrontare la sua maestosità: luoghi molto distanti e il traffico che non diminuisce mai, nemmeno di notte.
Ritornando alla Grande Muraglia, questo week-end è stato all’insegna della scoperta dei luoghi simbolo di Pechino e di tutta la Cina in generale. Quando abbiamo deciso di andare al Palazzo d’Estate tutti ci aspettavamo un palazzo con qualche giardinetto, invece appena varchi la porta d’ingresso ti ricordi di quanto è grande questo Paese, la sua capitale e tutta la sua storia. La sorpresa è stata forte! Una reggia enorme, con residenze, templi, vialetti, giardinetti, un corridoio lunghissimo interamente dipinto, un laghetto e un isolotto con un ponte bianco marmoreo che lo collega alla terra ferma. Un posto idilliaco, dai colori quasi surreali e dall’atmosfera così quieta e rilassante che vorresti restare sempre lì. Con un po’ di dispiacere siamo dovuti andare via, inconsapevoli che il giorno seguente ci avrebbe aspettato un’avventura ancora più grande: la Grande Muraglia!
Della Grande Muraglia abbiamo visitato la sezione di Mutianyu, la seconda più famosa dopo Bandaling con più di 14000 scalini. Arrampicarsi sugli scalini, camminare tra quelle mura che hanno difeso l’Impero per migliaia e migliaia di anni è stato a dir poco fantastico. Lo scenario che si apre davanti agli occhi è mozzafiato. Per di più, quella scalata è stato anche un momento per noi i ragazzi di CRCC Asia per conoscerci meglio. È stato un week-end incredibile!
Un’altra settimana intensa di studio sta per terminare e ci prepariamo a vivere un altro fine settimana. Siamo carichi per assaporare tutte le altre bellezze che Pechino ha da offrirci!

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#3: “Carefully Slippery”

This week resumed to the normal chaos of a huge metropolitan city. Work from 9-6 takes up much of my time during the week. I had been working on rebuilding my company’s website from scratch to give them a better image with their clients, and although it was a tedious task, it was enjoyable to be able to utilize the skills I’ve learned at University. After work, I wandered around Shenzhen to explore the city.

I found myself in Sihai Park. About two blocks from where we live, the park is much bigger than what the name reveals. There was greenery, statues, tables, and groups of elderly people everywhere. Walking around, I easily got lost in the various paths that would lead you to a different nook or cranny that you had left undiscovered before. Groups of elderly people would be sitting around playing their instruments or exercising. It was a great atmosphere!

I also went to Nantou Ancient Town. Known to have had a community existing since the fourth century, Nantou Ancient Town is where Hong Kong and Shenzhen both started. From all the pictures of China that I had googled before coming here, this town was the most relatable. There were endless streets of shops selling whole ducks, pigs and reptiles. The streets had trash all over them, which was a surprisingly stark contrast to the part of Shenzhen I’m used to. The people seemed to be living a simple lifestyle, and most of the children were out in the alleyways playing and running around.

On the weekend, we made a trip to Hong Kong (HK). One of the other interns had a family member there, and we ended up staying at their place. We toured Times Square and the famous shopping streets that HK is so well known for. Later in the night, we visited Victoria’s Peak, which was one of the most beautiful sights that I have seen since coming to China. From the peak, you could see the entire bustling city. Lights splattered the earth on all sides, and it effectively reduced your own presence to that of a tiny speck in comparison.

In the upcoming weeks, the UT Austin students and other interns are planning to go to Beijing/Shanghai.

–Zahra

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Legal Life Balance

Work as a legal intern in China comes with its challenges and its rewards. The language barrier is tough in general and when it comes to a profession like the law, the barrier seems to become even more rigid. I knew that working as an intern in the law profession in a country different from the US would be difficult because the laws and customs are different, but the challenge to learn about those differences between the two countries is also a great opportunity to step outside one’s comfort zone and gain life experience in the field of domestic and even international norms, laws, and customs.

I am a rising 2L in the US, so aside from my legal studies, I have not had much exposure to any sort of real legal work, until now. For the past week, I have been reviewing contracts for my boss. The extent of my exposure to contracts has mostly been of those I have signed before or read about in my casebook. But lets be honest, unless you’re an aspiring lawyer or a practicing one, reading the entire contract before signing one is not something most lay people get excited about, and I was no exception to this before law school. But now, contracts are the center of my life, and they can be arduous, complicated, and tedious. I have spent days drafting, reviewing, and making corrections on just one single document. It’s simply amazing how complex a document can be when it represents the complete protection for a client and their business, as well as the lawyer, third parties, the environment, and even government and its officials. Nonetheless, in this short amount of time, I have learned so much about the difficulties of contract formation and have had the wonderful opportunity to walk a few days in the office life of a lawyer.

However, traveling and meeting clients is so much more fun! This week, I had the opportunity to travel to XinXing to meet some new clients. The drive was three hours but the views were wonderful and having the chance to leave Shenzhen and explore was priceless. The area was a county and is smaller than a city, differing from the US terminology. We met and attended meetings over formal business meals, which had a wonderful display of dishes including stewed chicken, steamed taro root, pumpkin and corn, baked fish, escargot, wok fried noodles, and bean soup. I had the chance to meet with the chief of the court in the county as well as the judge who was in charge of the case. We then attended a dinner meeting, but beforehand, one of the clients brought us to a 6th generation Buddhist Temple that was more than 1,000 years old. It was rather late and so no Monks were present for us to enter the Temple but the building was awe inspiring and the grounds were surrounded by a Bodhi tree & Lotus plants in bloom. Absolutely wonderful!

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Say Nihao to Shanghai!

Nihao (Hello)

Some of you may or may not know that I have secured a marketing internship in China from June 25^th to July 22^nd. This means I will be living and working in Shanghai for a whole month! Over the next month I will be posting a few blog posts about my time in China. It will be a place for me to reflect on my time here and also a place to share the exciting experiences I am about to undertake.

It’s hard to believe that I’m leaving in 16 days! Part of me is super excited because it’s so close but I am also really nervous!

Going to a new country where I won’t know anyone is a massive adventure but can also be kind of scary, as I won’t know anyone or the language. Thinking about what I will achieve by going and the unforgettable experiences I will have while I’m there is what is keeping me going.

Of course there are things, which I will miss back here. The hardest thing for me to leave behind is my cat, named Phoenix. He is my special boy! He’s a 14-month-old ginger cat and I spend as much of my free time with him as possible. I swear I’m not a crazy cat lady! (haha). I mean look at that face? How can you resist?

There are a few things running through my mind about the trip:

• I need to learn as much Chinese as possible
• I have absolutely no idea what to pack
• I have no idea what to expect from my host company
• Will I get to travel and see parts of China during me trip

I have been reading through previous interns blogs and safe to say they are all having an amazing time. One account said that one month wasn’t long enough and she felt as though she was still a tourist rather than living and working in China. I’m not sure if I will feel the same way but I know I am excited to try and cram as many experiences into this month as I can. I know I’m certainly ready to gain valuable work experience and contacts in my chosen field as well as making some life long friendships with other interns!

Zai jian

(see you again)

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My First Week in Beijing

The first week of my two month internship with the British Council is coming to an end and I am feeling really positive for the next week of work. My internship has already been very interesting and I have settled in really quickly, with my supervisor and department manager within the human resources department both being very approachable and easy to talk to. My work this week started with mandatory training including health and safety, child protection and information sharing tutorials amongst others; upon completion of which I received certificates for. After the first couple of days I was given my task for the majority of the internship, consisting of comparing the Terms and Conditions of Service (TACOS) for the British Council with the guide for Mainland China specifically. This means I find discrepancies between the two documents and make the Mainland China guide coincide and support the TACOS. Having a legal background this has been engaging as there is an overlap with my developed skills of policy analysis and there is a big input from Chinese Labour Law, which has been a great insight and introduction into the Chinese culture for me in relation to my degree. I am extremely happy with my placement and I have even made friends from the education department already that I go to lunch with.

As I have a hearing disability I feel that my first week has challenged me more than some of the other interns, as it does generally with whatever I do. For example, learning Mandarin is near impossible for me as I have never been able to learn another language apart from British sign language. I find it hard to hear the words and having not studied any Mandarin previously, as most of the American interns here have, I find the prospect of learning another language quite intimidating. However, that being said I have extra lessons from the British Council twice weekly as well as the class with the other interns weekly. What is more, because these additional lessons are one-on-one, my teacher really pays attention to my abilities and repeats herself as many times as needed, as well as spelling out the sounds on paper. In my first lesson I learnt how to order a bottle of water, probably the most useful out here with the hot temperature.

 
Another observation is that when Chinese people are wearing the pollution masks over their lips I cannot lip read them and the sound gets blocked so I struggle a lot to communicate, even with my hearing aids. Luckily there have not been high pollution levels so this has not been a major problem for me so far, but I have just managed to be honest with the other interns that I am communicating with, and the response is overwhelmingly positive. I have made more friends here in a week from across the globe than I did from across the country with 3 years at university I feel included with all the activities and the cultural language barrier actually works in my favour as everyone has different accents so nobody minds repeating themselves.

 
The highs this week have been going to the Summer Palace and finding Lakers (a Western restaurant). The Summer Palace was absolutely incredible. I turned up in hiking boots and a raincoat whilst the other interns were wearing shorts and vest tops, but my choice of attire actually paid off with the intermittent rainstorms. Regardless to the lack of sunshine, this was without a doubt the best day I have had here so far. The palace is just stunning and Kunming Lake which you can walk around is the most scenic picturesque image. The range of temples and bridges comprising the Summer Palace was created by Emperor Qianlong to extend the royal gardens. I have attached a photo and also one of the dinner which after the amount of walking and steps was much needed. The food pictured is chicken, rice and broccoli. It really felt like you were so far from the busy roads and traffic of Beijing and just relaxing at the Summer Palace was the perfect way to spend my Saturday.

 
I do not, however, actually like Chinese food. Therefore another highlight for me was finding Lakers which is a restaurant that makes pizza, steaks and burgers. I have been there twice in one week, and I can foresee this being a regular occurrence. The best thing is that all the portions are oversized too! Even though Western food here is more expensive, I don’t mind paying it as I was just so relieved to find my favourite food as finding some simple things as a self-proclaimed fussy eater such as semi-skimmed fresh milk and wholemeal bread have already proved difficult.
The lows have been getting completely lost trying to find my Mandarin class. This is not as bad as it sounds, but I did genuinely have no idea I was at one point. Each time I approached a corner when trying to retrace my steps and I thought I knew what was around it, it was completely different. Although I did not make it to my Mandarin lesson, I found my way home relatively easily in the end because I came across a big plaza which had a tourist information section that ordered me a taxi home, after finally admitting defeat. Beijing is reasonably safe as well. Although I get stared at by everyone everywhere that I go, I feel safer than I do back in some areas of London.

The other negative was the bus ride home. From my work there is one direct bus but the traffic is absolutely diabolical. On one particular day the bus driver, after not moving for over 15 minutes in the same spot gave in and opened the doors to the people on the bus and let them off which he was not supposed to do. I was unable to get off the bus with the rest of the commuters as I was not familiar enough with my route home to walk, so I stayed on the bus. Rush hour took what could have been a 20 minute bus journey 1 hour 25. It is really frustrating but I am analysing the directions each day so in a few weeks I should be able to walk it if this happens again. What is more, I have finally put my Chinese SIM card into my phone as my phone is unlocked after having to wait 10 days. This has given me much more confidence to travel on my own.

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First impressions of Beijing, overdose of noodles and intensive Mandarin classes

My name is Shaked, and I am a rising junior at Georgetown University in Washington DC (but originally from Israel). I’m majoring in Science, Technology and International Affairs at the Walsh School of Foreign Service, and am planning on minoring in Business and Computer Science.

It’s been a week since I first arrived in Beijing, but time moves differently in this city. Adapting to the insanely fast pace of the city while trying to keep up with the pace of my intensive Mandarin class makes it seem like it has been at least a month. On the other hand, there’s so much more to see and do, so many things I still haven’t completely figured out (reading maps in Chinese to use public transportation is still the main struggle). You need to be prepared to change your mentality in a way that will allow you to absorb large amounts of information quickly, while learning how to accept the conditions of a country that might be out of your comfort zone. The first and most crucial thing we had to do is learn how to cross the roads here, because red lights are merely a recommendation for drivers. Even when you’ve finally reached the pavement on the other side, it is not the end as it is very common to see bikes (or anything with two wheels and an engine) driving and honking at pedestrians on the sidewalk. You need to master your chopsticks eating skills, or else you will probably stay hungry by the time everyone else finishes eating. You need to learn some basic phrases and make sure you hit the right tone, or else you will get confused stares or a dish you did not mean to order. If you don’t speak Chinese, you should definitely learn some of the more common characters on menus, or at least look for a menu with pictures, which will save you a lot of time and frustration. This might seem like a lot at first, but as soon as you allow yourself to experience rather than criticize or compare, you learn to embrace some of the aspects that make this city so incredibly unique.

I’ve been taking Mandarin classes for a week now, which might sound like very little but is actually quite intensive as we get three hours of class and around 50 new vocabulary words a day. If we keep this pace, I might even be able to hold a (very) short conversation by the end of the month. After class we have time to travel and practice our vocabulary by haggling with vendors or getting around the city in Chinese. I’ve managed to master the subway, which is extremely convenient and fast and can get you anywhere in town for less than 6 yuan (which is around $1). The highlights so far were a Confucian temple and the hutong neighborhoods by Nanluoguxiang, which are narrow ancient alleys with traditional courtyard houses. After a hectic week in which I was commuting to the city center everyday during rush hour, and after visiting some of the more touristic parts of the city, it was nice to just walk around without a plan and see what Beijing used to be like. There is something about this city that makes you reassess everything you’ve considered “normal” or “modern” before arriving. Even though KFC and McDonalds are everywhere, Beijing managed to maintain its historical and cultural charm intact. It managed to remain hectic yet remarkably organized, modern yet extremely traditional, big and industrial yet strangely pleasant. I must say that locals here are extremely kind, and every single time I stopped to ask someone for directions, he/she would go as far as drawing me a map and walking with me to the nearest junction to make sure I get it right.

Even after a very short time here, I could already sense that understanding and immersing in this culture will take more than I could ever do in just two months. One piece of advice to those of you who are preparing to come here for the first time: forget everything you thought you knew about this place. Come with an open mind, and embrace all that you encounter. Remember that you are here to experience it as it is. Also, leave yourself some time to travel after your internship, as there is so much to see and too little time. Tomorrow I’ll be camping on the Great Wall with the other interns, more photos and updates to come!

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Finalmente a Pechino!

Giovedi 28 maggio all’International Peking Airport è atterrato un volo proveniente da Milano. In quel volo c’ero io, Roberta, laureata da solo qualche mese in Mediazione Linguistica e Culturale. La lingua e la cultura cinese, che ho studiato per 3 intensi anni, finalmente si concretizzano davanti ai miei occhi qui a Pechino grazie all’esperienza con CRCC Asia.
Pechino è una metropoli enorme che ha in comune con quelle occidentali solo i grattacieli e i marchi più famosi di abbigliamento e di veicoli. Pechino è un mix di modernità e tradizione. Salendo sulla collina sopra la città proibita, dimora di tanti imperatori, questo mix è servito. Dal terrazzo si vede la città che si modernizza e che continua a trasformarsi, intravedendo nel mezzo di un grattacielo un antico tempio. Ma il vero miscuglio modernità-tradizione lo vedi nelle strade: accanto ad una porsche vedi sfrecciare un vecchio motociclo o un tre ruote tremolante i cui conduttori non hanno mai visto un casco, se non quello di banane. Qui il casco non lo porta nessuno, anzi, sarebbe meglio che lo portassero i pedoni perché quando si attraversano gli enormi incroci non importa se il semaforo è rosso o verde, se è per i pedoni o per gli automobilisti, semplicemente si attraversa e speri che le auto ti lascino passare.
Questa è una delle caratteristiche della vita pechinese.
Durante la giornata introduttiva abbiamo avuto una panoramica generale su come si vive in Cina e, più in generale, dei suoi aspetti basilari. Lo staff di CRCC Asia ci ha aiutati ad orientarci nella città facendoci vedere quale pullman o metro prendere per recarci alla scuola di cinese o sul posto di lavoro. La Cina è anche cucina. Per quanto noi italiani siamo orgogliosi del nostro cibo, le prime cene cinesi sono state molto buone. Scordatevi della frutta o della nutella fritta che i ristoranti cinesi in Italia ci spacciano per tradizionali, qui i veri piatti tradizionali prevedono maiale e pollo con verdure, bambù o riso. La cena di benvenuto, inoltre, è stata anche un’occasione per noi stagisti di CRCC Asia per iniziare a conoscerci e a stringere le prime amicizie.
La prima settimana di lezioni di cinese alla Mandarin House volge ormai al termine. Nonostante la dura vita da pendolare (ben un’ora di autobus per raggiungere la scuola), l’entusiasmo di essere qui e di fare tante esperienze aumenta sempre di più. Let’s go for Beijing!

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Touchdown, Shanghai!

Week 1: Touchdown, Shanghai!

Nihao from Shanghai!

My name is Brent Lewis and I am studying computer engineering at the University of Florida (Go Gators!). With one more year to go before graduation, I made the decision to embark on an adventure that few people get to experience. I decided to travel to the distant, unknown lands of China!

First Impressions

The moment I boarded the plane destined for Shanghai, I immediately realized the cultural differences between Chinese passengers and myself. I was standing in the aisle loading my luggage into the overhead compartment before taking a seat. As I stood there, I felt Chinese passengers nudge, push, and squeeze passed me without saying ‘excuse me’ first! I would later learn that this behavior is common in China and should not be interpreted as a sign of impoliteness.

Traffic

After my arrival, I found the CRCC Asia staff waiting for me just as they promised. I met with a few CRCC Asia interns, received my Welcome Pack, and we were loaded into a shuttle. The drive from the airport was relatively smooth…until we entered the city, that is. The traffic suddenly turned into what seemed like pure chaos. Large buses entered our lane without warning, drivers cut each other off at every opportunity, and locals on scooters weaved fearlessly in between speeding vehicles!

Accommodations

The living accommodations are incredible. A friendly reception desk greeted us and an enthusiastic local named Lei guided me to my apartment. The interior design is gorgeous and the view of Shanghai is incredible! I felt immediately comfortable in my new home. After unpacking my bags, I decided to relax and prepare for tomorrow’s big day.

Induction Day

Induction Day was a whirlwind of activity. We finally had the opportunity to meet the other interns and program staff. I’ve never been in the company of such a diverse group of people! I met interns from countries all over the world including Russia, Italy, Singapore, the UK, and Angola!

The CRCC Asia staff gave extremely helpful presentations. We learned the importance of Guanxi (‘relationships’), its many forms, and how establishing Guanxi with our Chinese colleagues can positively impact our internships. We were also given practical tips for living in Shanghai such as traveling in groups, avoiding suspicious vendors, and spotting fake alcohol!

That night, we had our first Chinese dinner at a local restaurant. The glass stand in the center of the table was lined with different dishes like black noodles, dumplings, squash, and many others I could not identify!

[Insert Dinner.jpg]

The Weekend

The weekend had finally arrived and we were determined to explore the treasures of Shanghai. We took a bus down to the financial center and traveled to the Jin Mao Tower, the Shanghai World Financial Center, and the Oriental Pearl Tower. At night, we ate at the popular “Hot Pot” restaurant where we had interesting cuisines that we had to cook ourselves. I chose BBQ sauce to go with my entrée and it tasted nothing like the BBQ sauce I’m used to in the US!

Mandarin Class

The first day of Mandarin class was a blast! We were taught Pinyin, which is the standard phonetic system used to pronounce Chinese characters. During our break, we met more foreigners and I ran into another student from my school, the University of Florida! He had been here already for three weeks so he showed us where some of the best street food was located and gave us tips on how to behave around street peddlers.

Overall, I have enjoyed my first week in Shanghai. Though the language, the food, and many of the customs are different from mine, I have not experienced the intense culture shock that I expected. Shanghai is quite the developed city so many aspects of life here are similar to life in the US, like navigating the Metro lines, and shopping at super markets.

I am excited to see what other surprises reveal themselves while I’m here!

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Trinity squad take on China

End of week 1 (May 26)

Well, the first week is done! And honestly, it flew by way too fast but it was definitely jam packed with many activities and sightseeing experiences. Needless to say, my feet are beat up with blisters and my legs are heavy and sore, but the pain was worth seeing all Shanghai has to offer. China not only exceeded my expectations, but it was completely different than what I expected. The crazy, busy streets, the constant honking and the mannerisms of people are what shocked me the most. China almost has this type of “do what we want” attitude and I absolutely love it. If you are crossing the street and don’t get out of the way quickly enough, that’s your fault. If you aren’t aggressive enough on the metro and miss your exit, that’s your fault. It doesn’t mean that Chinese people are being “rude” on purpose, it’s just how the culture is. I think that we (as Americans and Texans) are so used to this “southern hospitality” that exists by saying thank you, or holding doors, and if we don’t do that, then we come off as rude and stand-offish. But the thing is, if you take the time to talk to the Chinese, they are the sweetest, most genuine people you will ever meet, despite them almost running you over on their mopeds or pushing you on the subway.

Shanghai is literally a concrete jungle. If you think New York is huge, it’s not even close. There are buildings among buildings and they seem never ending. My favorite part so far was when Trinity University alumni, Brendan Kelly, took us out to a beautiful Japanese restaurant right on the Huang Pu River, where we had amounts of sushi, shrimp, beef and rice (so delicious) and chocolate cake for desert. Once we were finished, some of us decided to walk along the Bund before making the trek back to the hotel, and we really got to see Pu Dong all lit up. It was beautiful. It was like Vegas on steroids. All of the boats on the river were lit up, the Pearl Communication Tower was changing colors and it was almost breathtaking, that we forgot about how bad our legs and blisters hurt. I wish I could put it into words, but the city looked like a perfect postcard.
I never really pictured myself living in the city, but Shanghai is my one exception. I’m already falling in love and it’s only been a week! I can’t wait to see what lies ahead as we start our internships and continue to explore this beautiful place.

End of week 2 (May 31)

Although my classes may be over (I am part of the Trinity University program, coordinated by CRCC Asia), the work doesn’t stop. It is now June and we all jumped straight into our internships. But before I get there, week 2 of this adventure is done. Thinking back, it flew by (once again) but it was filled with a non-stop schedule of finishing up classes and many adventures. I think I learned more in these two weeks of class than I would have in a whole semester (Okay, I’m exaggerating) but seriously! I came to China knowing absolutely NOTHING about its history, culture and government and I feel like I gained so much from hearing all of the Chinese professors as well as Dr. Clark’s lectures. My favorite part of my university class was doing the debate on the very last day. We were given the topic of “USA vs. China” in the aspects of which government we believed was more well off than the other. Everyone took a side, picked a topic and the debate started. We had a range of different subjects that often got heated at times; like economic growth, the federalist and socialist systems, the legal defense systems, human rights, efficiency and quality of life.

I took USA’s side and talked about our legal defense system, and how the USA handles these situations in more fair ways than China. Some topics had more debating than others, but I learned so much more about China as well as about the United States. In some ways, China has figured it out much better than the US, and I think we can definitely learn from them as a country. But it gets even cooler – all of us are writing research papers about the topic we discussed in the debate (8-12 pages) and once we send them to Dr. Clark (our professor), he will combine them into a formal paper, have a copy of it in Chinese, and then have it PUBLISHED for Chinese college students to access to learn from American college student’s perspectives. How cool is that?!

We were escorted to work on our first day, excited and nervous about what to expect. I was one of the last students to be dropped off, so the anticipation was killer. But it turns out that I absolutely love my internship. I am working with a marketing consulting company who works with big-time clients like Lamborghini, Samsung, Tesla, MetLife, a number of banks and retail companies. On my first day, my supervisor showed me his current project, which he is doing market research for the Parson’s Arts and Design school based out of New York. He wants me to conduct a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis of their school, and he said he would take part of my presentation and incorporate it into his work. It’s a small office, and I only work with about 3 people a day, and I don’t have to be at work till 10:30 am… :)

It will be weird not being with the Trinity University squad 24/7, but I am excited for this opportunity to be working right next to People’s Square with such an amazing company.
‘Til next time!

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Dajia Hao, Wo hen xihuan zheli!

I finally arrived! My name is Stephanie & I am originally from New Jersey but I moved to San Francisco to attend law school. I am so very excited to begin my legal internship through CRCC with a law firm in Shenzhen.

Travel from San Francisco to Hong Kong to Shenzhen to my apartment is just the beginning of this adventure I am living for the next 2 months. I knew that the weather would be hot but this kind of heat and humidity hit me in the face like a rock as soon as I stepped off the Ferry in Shenzhen. I am very much used to the cool and collected weather of San Francisco; I have been spoiled thus far. My apartment is beautiful, the grounds are beautiful, and I am conveniently located near a shopping center as well as a few blocks from the Metro trains that connect to all the different parts of the city my touristy heart could want to experience. Induction Day food introduced the interns to real Chinese food and my body is having its own experience in its adjustment to all the tiny differences of food from home.

Similar to San Francisco, NYC, and other major cities around the world, Shenzhen has a bike share system and I was more than thrilled to buy a key card to unlock this treasure. I did some exploring of the local area but the 1st day I got the card was midday and the heat was too much for me to bear so I headed home only after about 20 minutes of riding. The bike racks are everywhere and its extremely cheap to ride one, at only 1 yuan, its a great choice for easy and fun transportation. I even use a bike to get to and from my internship being that its only about a mile away. I explored Link City and have come to the conclusion that malls are everywhere, which is a good thing because they are air conditioned and a great place to grab a snack or bubble tea and cool off or do some window shopping.

Huitou jian!

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#2: “An Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.” – Randy Pausch

After a relatively busy week, all of us interns gradually fell into place at work. Initially, there was reluctance on my part to initiate conversations with my coworkers as no one really spoke English; however, once I did, I was pleasantly surprised. It was awkward at first, but I eased it by questioning everything and let them do the rest.

Throughout the week, I was able to make a trip to Dongmen market, which is great for shopping and eating. One of my peers decided it would be a spectacular idea to try turtle since we were in China, and why not?! I didn’t end up eating it, as I couldn’t stand it once I saw the hands and head, but both my peers claimed it was delicious.

For the weekend, a group of four of us spontaneously decided to make a trip to Hainan Island, which is known as the Chinese Hawaii. Though I have never been to Hawaii before, I reckon that Hainan – and specifically the beaches of Sanya – are as, if not more beautiful, than those of Hawaii. Upon first glance, there was clear water and great weather.

Throughout the weekend, we ate great food, met amazing people, and found ourselves sleeping in the airport. The highlight of the trip was when we missed the last train back to Haikou Island and had to hire a cab to make the 3-hour journey. It cost a lot, but in the end, we did not end up missing our flight, and made unforgettable memories that I know will stay with me for the rest of my life.

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深圳你好！

After spending almost an entire semester anticipating my trip to Shenzhen, China, the moment finally came on May 19^th to pack up and head out. Stuffing six weeks worth of stuff into one huge suitcase was no easy task!

I flew from Bush International Airport to Seoul with a 16-hour delay and then to Hong Kong. In Korea, if you have a long layover, you can go for a free tour that lasts anywhere from 1-5 hours, depending on which one you choose. Unfortunately, in my excited craze I forgot to check the times for the tours, and didn’t realize until it was too late that I landed when the last tour ended. Woe is me.

That didn’t stop me from exploring, however! I ended up going to Dongdameun in Seoul, which was filled with cheap goods and amazing food.

Once I arrived in Hong Kong, I had to take the ferry to Shenzhen. Although there was some difficulty getting my luggage and torrential rain, I arrived to Shenzhen on May 21^st.

The next day was Induction Day, where I was able to meet the rest of the participants from my university, UT Austin. From the get go I could tell we were a quirky bunch!

The next weekend, some of us decided to climb Wongta Mountain (no one thought to check the weather forecast, despite Shenzhen being in the midst of its rainy season).

Unfortunately once got to Wongta Mountain, the rain started. Instead of starting the climb, we found ourselves in a cozy coffee shop in the village right beneath the mountain. Some of us drank, while others flinched at the thunder. We were essentially stranded, but in light of being optimistic of this new adventure, we bonded, sang, and took selfies.

The owner of the coffee shop recommended a good Sichuan restaurant a few steps ahead, and we ended up having lunch there. When the rain died down, we decided to give the climb a try.

As we went farther up, the rain got worse. We met a kind lady who was willing to take us to the entrance of the climb. As we got closer she told us not to go on, and we decided to turn back. Most of us were already drenched and the rain was only getting heavier.

Surprisingly, the next day was sunny and there was no indication that the day before had been thundering. We decided to go to the Window of the World and it was a great experience!

Until next time!

–Zahra

 

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