Things got much better this week, but also kind of blurry. The time has passed by faster – life (surprisingly) feels much more routine now.
Life
I should’ve stressed this further in my first post; everything is infinitely easier with other interns here. In a world where you’re constantly drowning in an ocean of incomprehensible information, having English speaking people to lean on has put me much more at ease. If you’re considering doing this and are worried about being lonely: the difficulty of being unable to understand the environment is felt by everyone, and (in my experience anyways) this pushes interns to band together.
I now know how to navigate the Shenzhen Metro and am consistently impressed by how efficient it is. Shenzhen is a huge city but it’s relatively easy to get everywhere. That being said, the amount of time it takes to get from area to area can really add up. In terms of picky eaters I am probably 98th percentile and as such this past week I’ve been surviving mainly on eggs, bread, milk, and Oreos. But if you’re concerned about starving, there’s a Pizza Hut, McDonalds, and KFC all within 5 minutes. At lunch time I venture out and try Chinese food… So I’m definitely making progress.
Work
Experiencing Chinese business culture so far has been extremely interesting. Having worked in offices in the western world, right away I noticed several differences. Not negative, just different norms. People seem to be much more shy, but don’t let that fool you. In my experience people are worried that their English isn’t good enough and so they’re afraid to speak to you, but once you give them some confidence everyone is very nice.
There is one thing though that has surprised me above all else: people taking naps. I’ve never seen this in the Western world but here it’s completely normal. Between 11:30 and 1:00 people generally get their food, eat, and then collectively pass out. Honestly I think it’s a great idea – I want to bring it back to Canada.
Travel
This week we went on a really cool hike up Nanshan Mountain. Saw beautiful Pagodas along with a breathtaking view of the whole city. Great return on investment – barely an hour long hike for a stunning view. Not sure if this counts as travel but we also went to Coco Park which is the go-to place for nightlife here. Finally, we went go-karting which isn’t very Chinese but still a good time.
In terms of actual travel, we (me and 3 other interns) leave for Guilin/Yangshuo in a couple of days. As strange as it might sound it seems like I’m once again leaving “home”. Crazy how quickly our apartments have grown on us.
