7 DAYS LEFT

The title says it all: one week left and I’ll be flying home. The other interns keep saying how time has gone by so fast and how they can’t believe that a month has already passed since our arrival. I, on the other hand, don’t  know what to say about it: to me it seems like I spent an eternity here, and at the same time it all seems like I dreamt; apparently I still need to process the fact that I spent a month interning in the biggest city in the world.

My last weekend in China was pretty intense, which was to be expected since I don’t have a lot of time left and want to make the most of time here in China.
On Saturday the weather was rainy, and rain on free days means of course… Museums. Museum in our case, since we only visited one, namely the Shanghai Museum in People’s Square.

After standing in a line for a good half an hour (which went by fast to be honest, notwithstanding the rain and the wind) we managed to enter the building, which on the interior looks more like a 3-stars hotel from the 1980s (no offense meant, of course). The museum is not massive by any means- on the contrary, we found it quite small, but not all disappointing: being massive fans of Chinese civilization we thoroughly enjoyed the sight of antique, beautifully painted porcelain vases, ancient paintings and fascinating scrolls.
After that, it was the turn for some shopping at People’s Square metro station, where I learned the following lesson: don’t get attached to any item in particular, because chances are that the shop next to the one you’re in (and the next one, and the next one…and the next one) will sell the exact same things, maybe at a more affordable price. Shopping in China takes time and patience, and a hasty person like me learned that the hard way.
The weather was much better on Sunday (and by “much better” I mean completely cloudy and humid but with no rain in sight) so my flatmate and I excitedly hopped on a train to Suzhou in the late morning, eager to see some of the old China. We met a Spanish girl at the railway station travelling on her own so our team ended to be made up of a grand total of 3 people.

After a pleasant 25-minute ride (Chinese trains seem to have the largest leg space ever) and a good 20 minutes spent at the Suzhou railway station trying to figure out our way to the historical part of the city, we finally arrived at the Beisi Ta- or North Temple Pagoda, one of the main attractions of the city. It was then the turn of the Humble Administrator’s Garden, which is probably the main attraction of Suzhou. It was my first time in a proper Chinese garden and I was delighted at the sight of pavilion’s and small lakes. Had there been less people to push their way around and call each other loudly I would have experienced a more peaceful and authentic state of mind, but one can’t have everything.

And it was precisely at the Humble Administrator’s Garden that it happened: a Chinese girl asked to take a picture with me. I had been told by other Westerners that it was likely to happen sooner or later, and it did.

It was after the visit to the garden that thigs started to derail. We booked a boat tour which turned out to be nothing that special, and the fact that the guide spoke exclusively in Chinese the whole time (we were the only Westerners) didn’t help. The whole group was then taken to an exhibition hall pretty far from the city centre where we were actually encouraged to buy silk; since we hadn’t been informed of that activity and we had paid money for something different I tried to speak to the guide but she didn’t look much interested in us. No one looked that much interested in us and I, being the only one in the group who could speak a little Chinese, started to feel a bit helpless because of this situation. That’s another lesson that I learned here: if you’re a foreign tourist, on your own and you can’t speak Chinese, you might get in big trouble.

Being fed up with the situation the three of us decided to exit the exhibition hall and luckily found a taxi driver willing to take us to the railway station (after dodging the abusive ones which were of course waiting outside for potential customers). In fact, we wanted to sightsee a little bit more but didn’t know where to go and how to get there; I still regret deeply not having prepared a better plan before our departure from Shanghai (in my defence, there was supposed to be seven of us on this daily trip, but the others bailed on us on Sunday morning).

However, our tribulation didn’t end there: since we hadn’t bought the return tickets in advance and the seats were all already booked we had to wait at the station for over 2 hours for the first available train, almost missing the last metro in Shanghai.

Once arrived at the hotel, I felt drained and not completely satisfied of the trip. And yet I realized how the huge Shanghai felt like home to me, and how pleasant it was.

 

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TWENTY CITIES IN ONE

Another week has passed and Shanghai is slowly starting to become my home. The first impact with this metropolis was harsh, however, those negative feelings are gradually fading away, and I couldn’t be gladder about it.

I realized that the easiest way to overcome the initial difficulties is to explore the city as much as possible. After all, Shanghai is the biggest city in the world, hence it’s bound to be full of contrasts. It might look like a city from the future in certain areas, like a European capital in others, and a rural Chinese town in others more (just to name a few categories). And no, you don’t have to be in Lujiazui in front of the Pearl Tower to fully appreciate what this city has to offer, and to capture its beauty. Personally, my favourite district in Shanghai is Jing’an (I talk so much about it that I guess people around me just want to punch me in the face), thanks to its perfect blend of local and foreign elements, its clean, modern architecture surrounded by well-kept parks, its tiny bars where stylish youths (both Westerners and Chinese) gather for a coffee or the happy hour. Too often in Shanghai, I felt that the two communities were separated (which, in all fairness, was a big disappointment for me), however, that doesn’t exactly happen in Jing’an.

My second weekend in Shanghai started with a rainy Saturday spent at one of the (in) famous fake markets: great for buying souvenirs, chinoiseries and (maybe) a pair of Onitsuka Tiger, but that’s pretty much it. Also, it could be quite a painful process if you’re like me and don’t like to bargain over items. Didn’t like it in Istanbul, didn’t like it in Morocco. But hey, what needs to be done, needs to be done.

The next Sunday graced us with spring-like weather (which might be a rare occasion in China, albeit the fact that it is Spring technically) so we visited the Jing’an Temple, as we had planned (talking again about Jing’an…). For me, it was the first time visiting a proper Buddhist temple, and the chants of the monks gave me Goosebumps (I had to film them- couldn’t resist). We then made our way to People’s Square, and I only have one word for that place: impressive. The metro station alone looks more like an airport- plus is a great place, as we’ve discovered, to go shopping if you want to avoid the most touristy markets and buy what also the stylish locals wear (platform sneakers, here we come).

As far as the job in the agency goes, I can say I’m pretty satisfied: most of my tasks are marketing-related so I get to be creative, design ads and landing pages, which means writing- which is always good for me.

On Thursday, we had team building, and considering that these activities are organized only 3 or 4 times per year (at least in our company) the other intern and I were quite lucky to take part in it. Team building means essentially to get to know your colleagues better but for me it was also something more since I got to do things I had never tried before: ever heard of the Mr.X Venue for example? It would take me too much time to explain this (and I’m sure the explanation would be rather sloppy as well) so why not check it out on the internet? All I can say is that it’s great fun, trust me and that I already know I’ll miss it when I go back to my home country.

After a great lunch where I got to taste the typical Yunnan cuisine (delicious, by the way- as everything I’ve tried in China thus far) we went to… Yeah, you guessed it. KTV. And what else?!

In all honesty, I was rather sceptical about it. I’ve always known what KTV represents for people here in China (as well as in Japan) but it has never exactly been my cup of it. That was, until I tried it, and realized that staying in nice, comfortable, cosy room with your friends, eating snacks, having drinks and singing (or screaming…) your favourite songs is actually not that bad. No, it’s not bad- it can be awesome if you’re with the right people. I’m actually afraid I might have caught a case of KTV fever.

Another work week is (finally!) coming to an end but since my time in China is rather limited I want to make the most of it. So no, no sleeping till 11 a.m. for me, neither on weekends: this Saturday I’m planning to visit the Shanghai Museum (and maybe do some *cough* shopping*cough* at People’s square metro station and in *cough* Nanjing Road *cough*) and on Sunday we have scheduled our first trip outside of Shanghai: Suzhou.

So stay tuned for more! And keep your fingers crossed for me- I’ve never tried to buy tickets at Chinese railways stations and I hope it won’t end with me messing things up.

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STEPPING OUT OF THE IVORY TOWER

I remember when, back in high school, we used to organize trips abroad and school exchanges. I remember how I would pride myself with being able to adapt to almost every situation, every kind of food, and every kind of weather. Now I got the feeling that those times are long gone.

China really pushed my limits. For a Westerner who has grew up in a small European town, and who has travelled exclusively in Europe and North Africa, coming here was some sort of punch in the stomach- but it is one of those punches that you absolutely need in your life in order to grow as a person.

Shanghai (and China in general) is one of those places that you have to see in order to fully comprehend. I had of course read blogs and testimonials of other interns, so I liked to think that in theory I was more or less prepared. Prepared to face the crazy traffic, the spitting of the locals, the curious faces staring at you, the slow internet, and the frenetic life. In practice, it was a whole different story. More than a week has passed since my arrival and, albeit I’m managing to slowly adapt to the city (slowly, and partially), I’m still feeling all over the place.

Physically, the first few days have been though, to say the least. I was excited and happy to be here- my stomach apparently wasn’t. Nevertheless, after the first sickness and the constant migraines, I found a new energy in this enormous challenge. As a matter of fact, here everything is a challenge, at least if you don’t know Chinese fairly well (and no, my two semesters of learning Mandarin at the Confucius Institute weren’t enough, just like I had expected after all), with buying supplies at the supermarket being no exception. Imagine being the only non-Chinese in one of the most crowded, largest metro lines in the world: you have 23 million people around you, most of them don’t speak English, and you’re likely to represent an exotic attraction to their eyes. From whichever angle you look at it, it can be intimidating and tiring. But God is it rewarding.

After the pickup at the airport (which went smoothly), the first day spent in Pudong (which felt pretty much surreal due to a combination of jet lag and my uneasiness in front of some of the most modern buildings in the world) and the induction day (which was held at a lovely tea house), the first Saturday I decided to attend the Community Outreach Activity, so we visited a school for adults with special needs. I will always remember their smiling faces when we first entered their classroom and how excited they were to play table tennis with us. Activities like this happen rarely when traveling abroad and I’m extremely thankful for it.

As far as the sightseeing goes… Well, doing it in Shanghai on a Sunday it’s not exactly the best idea since the city is packed with tourists from other parts of China (and I mean whole family of tourists) but we had no choice. Nevertheless we limited our sightseeing session to the Yuyuan Gardens, the Bund and Nanjing Road for a quick lunch, deciding to leave the Jing’an Temple and all the rest for another day. I also noticed that the words “distance” and “proximity” have a quite different meaning in a metropolis like Shanghai as opposed than in small European towns- of course.

Was I nervous for my first day of work? Quite so. I hadn’t ever worked in a company before therefore I didn’t know what to expect, and neither if I was prepared for the task. But the key word of an internship abroad is challenge, isn’t it? That’s precisely what I wanted: to step out of my comfort zone and see what I was capable of doing.

My supervisor and my colleagues have been professional and encouraging from the moment I stepped into the office, so they really made me and the other girl who is interning with me at ease. Most employees in the company are not Chinese, which on one hand might seem a shame since I won’t see what’s like working in a Chinese company, on the other hand however it’s maybe easier to work in such an international environment. It’s also a quite relaxed environment, meaning that we often have chit-chat and go to lunch together. Baoshan, the district where my office is located, is a nice residential area packed with clean minimarkets, a few grocery’s, small restaurants, a Watsons (the Asian equivalent of Boots- great for buying toiletries and other supplies, which in China might be a problem sometimes), malls and even a Tesco. Too bad I have to commute at least an hour (in one direction) to get there every day.

The two most satisfying things of the first week were being able to speak a little Mandarin with the locals and exposing my ideas to my supervisors when at work: I’m noticing that I’m growing more and more confident and fearless everyday (hopefully I won’t become too cocky though) and that this experience in starting to expose my skills but also my limits.

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