The first morning in China. Do you know that feeling of waking up in another country, that different view when you open your eyes, the unusual smell? Such an exciting feeling, right? I love that, it gives me some “Oh-my-god-I-am-abroad-and-I-am-having-an-adventure”-Feeling.
It is worth to explore the area a day in advance
Zum Glück hatten wir am Tag zuvor die Ortschaft in Guangzhou ausgekundschaftet. Daher wussten wir sofort, wo es Frühstück gab. Wir betraten das Restaurant und versuchten das Essen in Englisch zu bestellen. Dies stellte sich schwieriger als gedacht dar. Kaum jemand hat uns verstanden. Es scheint so, als würden viele Einwohner kein Englisch verstehen. Deswegen kann ich es nur jedem empfehlen, eine Übersetzungsapp auf dem Handy parat zu haben. So eine App hat die Kommunikation zwischen den Einheimischen und mir enorm erleichtert. Schlussendlich zeigten wir einfach auf die Bilder der Speisekarte und konnten so kommunizieren.
Rice porridge is not sweet in Asia
A fun little culture fact that I wasn't even aware of myself: when you order rice porridge in China, or Asia in general, it's usually a spicy/salty rice porridge. I told my German friends that the dish "rice porridge" is a rice porridge, not realizing that they would all think of a sweet German rice porridge. In fact, after they all ordered the porridge, they were disappointed to discover that it wasn't that sweet. Oops! Being Asian myself, I automatically assumed that rice porridge must taste savory. My fellow team members thought differently. Well, for the next time everyone knew and no one has ever ordered the rice porridge again.
The Guangzhou Yang Cheng Tong Card
Um unsere Partnerschule vom Hotel aus zu erreichen, mussten wir jeden Morgen den „Zhujiang River“ überqueren. Dafür haben wir die „Guangzhou Yang Cheng Tong Card” gekauft, eine Art Prepaidkarte, auf der man Geld darauf laden konnte. Damit konnte man nun die öffentlichen Verkehrsmitteln benutzen, man konnte damit bezahlen und auch Essen kaufen. Zusätzlich gab es einen kleinen Rabatt bei Benutzung der Karte.
So, now there was always this one specific ferry that we could take to school in the morning. But if you ever miss the ferry, luckily there was always the option to walk across the bridge. However, this is much more strenuous with a wheelchair. Because inclines and uneven ground were unavoidable!
The Guangzhou English Training Center
When we arrived at the school, we were warmly welcomed by our exchange partners. They prepared a little program for us, which included showing us the school, a presentation about Guangzhou and the Chinese culture and they even had special Chinese food for us. The school “G(uangzhou)E(nglish)T(raining)C(enter)” is the only one of its kind in China. It is similar to the vocational training center in Germany, where people with a disability can make an apprenticeship. GETCH teaches their students English and helps them find a job. After meeting our partners and everyone else involved in the project, we went back to our hotel and rested before meeting in the evening for dinner.
Three things I learned from this day:
1) Standard Porridge is always savory
2) Always have a translation app on your phone
3) If you are in Guangzhou, then get the “Guangzhou Yang Cheng Tong Card”
