Share experiences
One of my main goals for this journey has been to get to know new people. In my semester abroad at UNCW I learned that meeting new people can also have a great impact on my life. I learned new traditions, got an impression what it is like to live in the United States and met many new friends. All these new relationships and the moments I experienced with new friends is really what my semester abroad was about.
So, based on this experience I hoped it would be the same with china. After this trip I can be sure that travelling together was the best part of it all. I would tell everyone to take this trip and visit china in such an amazing group.
Alone in china
After this trip I had two more free days until my flight back to Germany. I experienced china these last two days quite differently than before while I was with the group all the time. Walking through the streets alone, I was much more aware of the things happening around me.
Culture shock
A few things I noticed:
People sit on streets
It is totally normal for people to just sit down on the street. They can sit while waiting for the crosswalk sign to become green. They can sit in line or just randomly on the street while talking.
Spitting
People spit on the streets, too. This is normal for them. Nobody thinks it´s nasty or awkward for someone to spit while standing next to you.
Stuffed trains
The subway, especially during rush hour, is so full of people you can barely get into the train or walk out. One important thing to know: The trains door will close even if you still stand in between. One more thing that´s good to know: People walk out of the train in the middle, you walk into the train from the right- and left-hand side at the same time. This way even boarding a train is really efficient.
Really organized
Security for subway
One more point about the subway. You have to go through security before you can go into the subway. All purses and backpacks have to be scanned and you have to walk through a metal detector. No worries, taking water is no problem. You purchase the subway ticket at the automat. Take the ticket go into the gate where you would like to take the train. Put the ticket in and take it with you on the other side after walking through. The next time when you live and it´s a one way ticket, the ticket will remain at the exit-machine, don´t stop and wait for your ticket to come out people will bump into you from behind.
Cinema in the back
I had one really interesting experience. The last day of my stay I wanted to watch the new Marvel movie with a friend of mine from Shanghai. She purchased our tickets online via wechat. So far so good and we went to find the cinema. I have to say we decided on one of the cheaper options. First of, we walked through the whole shopping center several times looking for the cinema. Someone told us we have to take the elevator, so another 10 minutes to find the elevator. We ended up taking the elevator in at this shopping center up to the highest floor. After that we made our way through several restaurants that were completely empty and the kitchens of those restaurants. We also walked by several places under construction. I thought we would never be on the way to a real movie theater, but after 15 minutes of walking through this strange place out of nothing someone sold popcorn and we directly went into the cinema. Throughout the whole movie it was freezing cold and you could hear the construction going on outside. But the movie was awesome!
Bargaining
This is a whole chapter for itself. Bargaining in china cannot be done everywhere, but in all of the small stores and market places. The thing is if you look European, or American, or at least not Chinese, you don´t really stand a chance to get the best price, but you can bargain the price down to a fair price. You always start lower than what you would pay. The Chinese person is going to tell you that the quality is much better and the price has to be higher. They make another price. You tell them no and give them a price higher than your first one. Now they going to say this is the last offer and give you the final price. We had some good bargainers in our group, they have the ability to bargain a bit more. Normally this is how it goes.
Splashy wantan
Take things with two hands
Business rules
Wepay
Jing and yang feng shui