Cultureshock No. 1: China

Hello hello friends of the sun! Or rather, friends of the snow, as the pictures from Germany looked like. Let's start with the current location: I'm sitting in one of the cutest cafés ever, bookshelves up to the ceiling, good music, small tables and upholstered chairs. Oh yes, the café is in the west of Hanoi, where I'm spending my last day today. But first a few chronological updates before I tell you about Vietnam's anarchic traffic!

The last month in Berlin

So, let's start from the beginning. As most people know, I finished my internship at GIZ in mid-December and started my unemployment very happily. Okay, yes, it was a bit strange to say ‘I'm not doing anything at the moment and I'm going to Asia soon because I don't want to think about my career’ when people asked about my current activities. But hey, I'm enjoying every second of it! In January I was with Nici in Zurich, Emily in Göttingen and Henrike came to visit me in Berlin, which refuelled my soul to the max. But slowly the excitement set in, the last orders for my trip were placed and meetings with friends ended with ‘See you in 6 months’.

Departure

Yes, I was excited on that 6 February. It was a completely different kind of excitement than the one that accompanied me to London and Rotterdam. On the day of my departure, my emotions fluctuated between, oh God, what am I actually doing here, and oh God, I'm about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. When my flight to Shanghai was cancelled, I had my first nervous breakdown. Of course, I was standing in the Edeka when Finnair sent me a text message with the cancelled flight. We love public crises. But half an hour later I was already booked on another flight with Turkish Airlines. Melina was the emotional support at the airport and did me the honour of driving me there. I wouldn't have been able to cope with another public nervous breakdown.

When I opened the passenger door, I lost my composure and spent half of the journey to BER sobbing to myself. All my life decisions were scrutinised in those 27 minutes. But even that passed, and with a tight hug and a quick photo (with half of my hair in my mouth due to the wind), I headed for check-in. As luck would have it, in the queue I met the parents of my best friend, who were on their way to Mauritius.

The flight was actually okay. No, of course I didn't sleep, because why should I make life easier for myself if it's also difficult? There was no food either, because Turkish Airlines didn't even know what vegan meant. But of course I was prepared and handed the flight attendant my cup of instant noodles, which saved my blood sugar level.

Shanghai - Part 1

Entering China was surprisingly quick. Fingerprints, Laurie's address, and a passport stamp later, I was on my way to the exit where Laurie was waiting. God, I was glad I hadn't started this trip with solo time! Laurie is like a little home away from home, which had now simply moved from London to Shanghai. I actually coped quite well with the jet lag too, probably because I just kept going for over 24 hours with 3 power naps. The morning started with fresh bao buns (20 cents each, I loved China prices). We spent the first few days sightseeing, going to gardens and markets, looking at the city of Shanghai from the world's third tallest building and sampling vegan Chinese cuisine.

Beijing

In Shanghai, it was very noticeable how much Laurie and I were stared at. People stopped to take pictures of us, which was extremely disconcerting. But in Beijing it was a completely different level, where we were sometimes besieged because people wanted to take pictures with us. At some point, I felt most comfortable wearing a cap, because then you could hide your obviously non-Chinese face relatively well.

Beijing was an absolute cultural holiday. I'm really not very educated when it comes to the history of the country, but Laurie was like an audio guide and explained the history of Tian'men Square, the Forbidden City, and the Heavenly Palace. We walked through centuries-old temples, made a traditional wish on the ‘Heart of Heaven’ altar and watched the lanterns and lights of the Chinese New Year. On the last day, we took a trip to the Great Wall of China, because what would a trip to Beijing be without a walk on the wall? We had the best weather (and a slight sunburn at the end of the day) and walked up the extremely uneven steps of the wall. After a quick Wikipedia search, we realised that this section of the wall was over 1500 years old. 1500 years!!!! That was pretty cool, but I thought the summer toboggan run that we used to descend was even cooler.

Shanghai - Part 2

When we returned from Beijing, it was already half-time of my visit. I had realised beforehand that the time would pass very quickly, but it was a bit scary to go so fast. We spent the last week with sunny walks, hotpot, an acrobat show and a day trip to the outskirts of the city, where a small traditional village looked like a Chinese Venice.

Conclusion on China: culture shock was immense, food was excellent, prices were a dream, customs were very strange, and the company couldn't have been better. Souvenir: a very pretty dress (I could't resist) and chopsticks with a little golden dragons on top, as my Chinese zodiac is a dragon.

That was the end of my first stop and I boarded the plane to Hanoi (more on this in a separate blog).

Oh well, you can see most of the pictures etc. on Polarsteps! I've linked it here on my website somewhere :). A thousand kisses and hugs to you, miss you all already <3