The next days

The lake in Nanjing

I guess you notice the differences to another country the most when you are new to it. So, I'm gonna try and write a little more regularly these first days.

The metro in Nanjing is pretty new and they seem to take a lot of care that it stays that way. There's a lot of security and you don't have the obligatory German-subway-pee-smell. They also have (judging by their uniforms) soldiers that take care you don't get to close to the rails. And when a train comes in, they actually salute to it which really looks kinda strange to me. On the other hand I remember that the soldiers at the passport control had a series of smiley-knobs in front of them with which you could rate their politeness. In German offices you sometimes would really need one of these. Another very often used picture of China is that everything is under construction. The funniest thing about it is that most of the scaffolding is made with bamboo, maybe I'll get to show you a picture of it some time later.

Living-room of the appartment

The strangest differences alltogether you would find in the toilet. For one in many public places you only find those toilets you can't sit on, only crouch. And the water pressure is so low, that in most places you have to throw the used toilet paper in a trah can next to the toilet and not into it.

We are different, too, and people recognise that. I didn't get too much attention yet, except of a few strangers greeting me and a little hidden staring. Christine, the girl in whose appartment I stay until I find my own place, with her very long black hair is quiet openly commented and stared at. 

View out of the window

Now would probably be the time to comment on my current living situation. I stay in an 3-room appartment which is quite close to the University. 

Not only Christine, but also a Chinese architect Xin and a Portuguese, in whose room I live since he went to south China  for a couple of days, are living there. Xin is exceptionally nice and has been extremely helpful in many cases. He helped us with the local food, to get cheap Chinese phone contracts and is now spending a great deal of time trying to find me an appartment.

I'm probably also gonna buy me a new phone fairly quickly since my old one hasn't been working properly for several months now. Tomorrow I hope to get my documents from the local health department.