Day 1 vs Day 100: Expat's Life in China - Do You Agree?
Hi everyone! My name is Evelyn Ou and I'll be taking over today's column as the current study abroad marketing intern from the United States! As a Chinese American who has been in Shanghai for over 100 days it has been incredibly interesting to document this entire experience from Day 1 to Day 100. Here's my journey that you guys can all follow along!
01
Sun Survival
Day 1: When I first landed in Shanghai and was met with the shearing 40C weather, I thought my biggest problem was humidity. Little did I know there was a HUGE reason why every person I saw on the street was holding an umbrella and wearing sun protection sleeves...
Day 100: Gone are my prejudices of wearing more clothes = more hot. The sun here needs an umbrella and as much protection as possible to prevent getting burned. It's not just the Asian stereotype of keeping the skin white, but more literally to survive the heat of the summer.
02
Taxi Technology
Day 1: As someone who needed to become more familiar with the language and culture when I first arrived, I would flail around on the side of the street attempting to haul a taxi manually. This was a practice I still thought was incredibly common until I was later told that now everything has been revolutionized online.
Day 100: Now no matter where I am and if I need a taxi, I immediately open my WeChat to call one. Everything has become so seamless and foreigner-friendly that I can immediately tell how far away the taxi is and when it is arriving at my direct location. Gone are the times of me yelling "Hey Taxi" on a busy street ever again!
03
Cuisine Conquests
Day 1: I will be the first to say it as a Chinese American, some Chinese food took some serious getting used to. It is no surprise that there is a wide variety of food options in China. However popular cultural dishes like frog legs, chicken feet, and rabbit took a lot of getting used to. I remember when eating out with my friends they laughed at my reluctance to try these dishes, stating that it was a "dead giveaway" I was a foreigner.
Day 100: While I cannot say I can eat all of these with ease now, I can attest that I have tried such cuisine and no longer find them a strange commodity. Learning different cultures through food is something I believe every international student should attempt while studying abroad, even if it is very different from my own home culture, I believe it is an interesting learning experience!
04
From Cash to QR Code
Day 1: I feel like every foreigner has experienced the "I always have to carry cash" ideology. Whether it is because the internet isn't loading or you aren't entirely familiar with the currency yet, it's better safe than sorry, right? However, in China, this ideology is completely false as everything has become a seamless touch of a button!
Day 100: Being in China for 100 days has taught me it is unlike other Asian countries that rely more on cash. Everything in China is online, to the point that, in the beginning, I swore my grandparents were more tech-savvy than I was when it came to navigating it. Most things are just a scan, a click, or a button away. My time here has taught me China has truly made it an innovative and efficient buyer experience and taken the "No Contact" payment to another level.
05
Last-mile Commuting
Day 1: As someone from Socal California, the idea of a walkable city is extremely foreign to me. Therefore the ability to walk anywhere is a blessing that I have taken for granted in China.
Day 100: However I have now learned that there are even more efficient ways of travel. Namely, the shared bikes that are scattered throughout the city. On top of that, obtaining a monthly membership card for these makes it virtually free to bike around the city. The true efficiency and accessibility have revolutionized my travel here and are something I now cannot live without!
...
Share Your Own Experience!
These are just a few of my experiences as a study abroad student experiencing Shanghai for the first time! The cultural complexity and innovation in China are truly something I have never experienced before back in the States. Everything is so much more efficient here and there are so many varieties of things to see and explore!
Let me know if I missed anything or if something was interesting about your first 100 days in China! Until next time ~ Evelyn Ou
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