Your cart is currently empty!
The Great Chinese Adventure – The Commencement
Haste will not get you anywhere.
#shanghai #china #travel #moveaborad #adventure
Now, after almost a year of blogging, let me finally tell you my travel story most people find extraordinarily interesting. This is a story for which I gained a lot of social momentum, and was suddenly viewed as what I am today – a courageous wanderer. My story does begin in Europe, but does not become overly interesting before moving all the way to one of the oldest civilizations on Earth – which, on the contrary, lives about 50 years in the future – the grand land of China.
I have to start off stating that visiting China, at least up until having moved there, had never been my dream. During high school, I intended to learn Japanese, in order to obtain a scholarship and finish my graduate year in Japan. As most people around me at that time were watching anime, and I was 17-18, you understand I was easily picking up bits and pieces of Japanese culture – and language. As much as this was my intention, you can also realize that the nuclear accident in Fukushima in 2010. (or 2011. – don’t hold me to it, but we are talking about the same incident) burst my bubble completely. In fact, for quite a number of years I believed that it will be impossible to visit Japan in my lifetime.
A couple years went by, not with overly lucky or favorable circumstances. Mentally, I was going through a rough patch at the time. Not sure whether I wanted to go into PhD or not, I started working in environments that were draining my soul and fulfilling absolutely none of my wishes or even needs. I applied for a second MSc degree in France, and all was going great, until my mentoring professor realized that I had already graduated, and there were no second MSc options. Something that could’ve been realized at the initiation of the process, but never mind, I was a sucker for hope of better days to come. All in all, I was devastated. The whole world was falling apart, and I had the feeling I’d never be able to get anywhere away from the Balkans.
In the meantime, I started working directly with customers from China. Little by little, day by day, month by month, I was learning about the marvels of their culture, being more astonished with each finding. Who knew! This was never in the grand scheme of things, and not one bit expected. Suddenly, I get invited to move to Shanghai for a year. What do I say to that? SHANGHAI, HERE I COME! It’s unbelievable, but this is nothing else than an unseen force of destiny. Seeing China was never among my goals. But having moved there, and having lived in that magical ancient civilization of the future, it retroactively became a huge goal, and an incredible milestone in my biography. In fact, (not that it interests me, but) it became the single biggest achievement most people I know have heard of. Now, let me walk you through the story of why I am now open to any unplanned and unexpected opportunities.
So, there I am, flying halfway across the world. For the second time. Alone, of course, because who would ever go that far away. I need to fly to Abu Dhabi and catch a connection flight to Shanghai. Fortunately, it’s not like my first American adventure, where I was flying for the first time ever, but with connections. This time around I knew how the process works. Yet still, both of the airports are unbelievably spacious and hard to find one’s way around. Of course, I don’t see it as an obstacle, but as an adventure. (Yes, I know, we all should read that twice.) To make matters even funnier, it’s my first time in a while to actually be able to sit down and relax for about 13 consecutive hours. I utilized the time to watch a few movies I never had a chance to, due to excessive amounts of work-related and social obligations. The food on the plane was really good, and that helped me experience a nice trip. And for the first time in weeks, I actually get to sleep. About 13 hours of flying later, and a couple of hours spent in airports, I finally arrive to Shanghai Pudong international airport.
I expected no cultural shock, having moved to the US already. However, having grown up in an americanized cultural environment, it was obvious I was up for no shock in the US. China is a completely different end of the road – imagine that! The airport contains barely any signs in any non-Chinese language. And I went there being able to only say “Ni hao” (Hello). You can imagine I was only able to read these two words in Latin script, not in Chinese characters. There’s no slightest clue of where I’m supposed to go. Luckily, the treadmills full of lazy people are directed – looks like a good path to follow. Water dispensers have statements in English (luckily!). They dispense only boiling water, and that’s the only thing one can drink. I still don’t understand what’s going on, but fortunately, after who knows how many tens of minutes of walking, I finally go through the immigration, and reach my hosts, who welcome me with open arms.
What everyone warned me about was the effects of the food of the Far East on a European/American stomach. Anyone, who knows anyone, who’s heard of someone, who’s been to China, told me to bring at least one box of probiotics. And do you know what I forgot? To buy a box of probiotics. Lol! Luckily, Fortune does favor the bold. During my whole stay in China, I was sick (only slightly) from food just once – after eating in a European cuisine restaurant. Oh, the irony of life! As a guest, I was welcomed to the most famous, as well as the most expensive places and experiences of Chinese life and culture – including food, it goes without saying. The Eastern hospitality is known far and wide, and its reputation precedes it. You can say that there is racial distinction (the word “discrimination” is too strong here) in China, but in quite a positive way. Even if you’ve lived there for ages, and your whole family is from China (it also goes for this part of the world, generally speaking), the Chinese will acknowledge the racial difference and always view you as a guest. A friend told me of one of their European-descending friends from Korea – although this person has Korean citizenship, and has lived in the country for tens of years, as they appear to be of European descent, they are still inquired things like “what country are you from”, “when do you go back to your country”, “what’s it like in your country” etc. Seems frustrating for someone who’s accommodated and integrated themselves into the local culture. Unless your goal is to live like a guest, then BINGO!
There’s only one tragedy in this whole story. The journey happened so long ago, way before Cloud was widely dispersed, and even before a common usage of smartphones. Most of the photos I had either look as if shot with a dialer-phone, or got lost along the way. This explains the scarcity of pictures in this one and the following posts, as not much is left to show. However, there are still words to account for this immeasurable pleasure and reconcile in the minds of the readers what my eyes were able to see. And why going back to China, even for a mere few weeks, became a new life goal for me.
In the following posts, I will present to you how great the life in Shanghai was, why Beijing is not a favorite on my list of places visited, and how people in China live in small villages of about 200k denizens. The experience is completely otherworldly, and may run chills (positive or negative) down your spine. As much as one prepares themselves, no Western soul will ever be truly prepared for the cultural shock (or surprise) of China. Yet, it will forever stay an experience worth every single bit of the way.
In the light of ongoing holidays, you will find out how I awaited my birthday trick-or-treating for the first time ever. Don’t miss it, or it’s a trick you pulled on yourself.
Comments
Good day!
I managed to find a fantastic channel on YouTube, focused on the ketogenic diet. The host provides detailed reviews, explaining all aspects of this popular diet. If you’re interested in healthy eating, be sure to check it out!
Ketogenic Diet : https://youtu.be/-cp3Axt8AYUDon’t forget to subscribe and give it a like if you found the content helpful. Take care of your health!
[…] Previous post in the series: The Great Chinese Adventure – the Commencement […]
[…] posts in the series: The Great Chinese Adventure – the Commencement, A Halloween-birthday in Shanghai & The Great Chinese Adventure – […]
[…] posts in the series: The Great Chinese Adventure – the Commencement, A Halloween-birthday in Shanghai & The Great Chinese Adventure – […]
Leave a Reply