A week of travelling back and forth

Hello.


This past week has been eventful in all sorts of way. We have been going back and forth to downtown Jinan to meet with various authorities to prepare for our residence application at the end of the week. And to finish off the week, we invited two of our Chinese friends to an amusement park at the outskirts of Jinan. I'll leave that part out of this post so that I won't have to think of something to write and post pictures of for the next one.

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So. To apply for the residence permit we have been filling out a bunch of paperwork. And when I say we, I really just mean Yin, a Chinese professor who has been all sorts of helpful with a lot of things since we arrived. Taking care of both paperwork and apartment issues.

One day we ventured downtown Jinan to go through a medical examination. We were greeted by a group of Chinese girls who shoved their faces up against the window as we approached the hospital and unleashed wail-like noises, maybe it was excitement, when we walked through the doors. One of us, Anton, decided the embrace the inner Chinese girl within him and joined them for a photo session and general tomfoolery. You know, your general hospital visit.

With the help of Tiffany and Alvis, we sped through seven different examinations throughout the hospital. They were all weird and did not feel very legitimate. Apparently I have shrunk since I last measured myself. And this time I wore shoes. Accuracy was not the name of the game tonight. But then again, the results of the weight and height examination was not likely to deny anyone the permit.

We left to get some dinner before we moved on to the next item on our agenda. Registration for our HSK Level 1 (Chinese language course) examination. It turns out you physically need to show up at an office and register for the exam, supposedly you might have to take the exam at this same location. I am not quite sure.

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Early morning on campus.

School is in overdrive and we have several projects up and running, including a messy programming project where me and another one of the Swedish students team up with three, maybe four - still unclear, Chinese students. Interviewing the local population about computer software is not easy. Specially when the one Chinese student who had the opportunity to show up has some trouble understanding us. What is actually being said in Chinese and then passed on to us, I have no idea.

It's a good thing the students of Shanghai are still blogging about all the fun stuff they are doing as they have yet to start school.

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The freshmen of every Chinese university has to go through a two week long military training process. In one end of our campus they have occupied six basketball courts and the soccer stadium where they march about, sing, shout and train.

Such march, much discipline.

If there is one place in Jinan where I would have expected a foreigner to be able to walk around somewhat unnoticed, or at the very least, being paid very little attention, it would have been here. But no matter how hard the Chinese work on their discipline it is much too fun to wave and giggle as the foreigner approach. They were very discreet about it though, can't let their commanding officer see it.

Large open areas, perfect for a morning march.

Yi, Er, Yi - One, Two, One

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A couple of documents, plus passport, needed for the residence permit application.

Finally it was time to apply for the residence permit. We met up with Professor Yin who was accompanied by a student of his who will remain nameless for this post. Mr. Yin had to attend a meeting, so he assured us that the student of his would help us instead. He mentioned that his English was lacking, but that he had gone through this several times before and that he would use his body language if needed. It was going to be needed.

Once again we headed somewhere in downtown Jinan. The place is huge. The bus driver and the student ushered us into a very official-looking building. The student spoke to a man, who proceeded to give us our position in the queue.

We sat in the waiting room for just a minute or two before the student hurried away towards the clerk and motioned me to follow. I sat down in a chair as the student and the clerk conversed. The student glued a picture of my face to the application and tore a piece in two before he ran out of the room and got the other students applications and did the same to them.

The clerk said something in Chinese. And as I sat there with a big question-mark over my face he asked me to get my teacher, in perfect English. I brought back the student helping us out. They once again spoke a bit before I was handed my application and was supposedly done.

I join the others in the waiting room as the student continues on with the applications. Eventually he comes out and starts to speak to me. He really tried but it was very difficult to make out actual words. The words: 'Your application is denied because we don't have matching passport numbers for you' are probably ones he doesn't use very often.

His body language did show it all though. He seemed concerned. That, and the fact that the other students did not get their application back, but instead a slip of paper, gave it all away. The student hands me his phone and Mr. Yin is on the other end to confirm what I assumed. He wanted to make sure that I knew what this meant for today and so that was nice.

He asked me whether I ever have changed passports. I have. To apply for the visa I had to create a new one. And in the process my passport numbers had changed. I remember mailing my coordinator in Sweden about this. And I also distinctly remember getting that confirmation email about having received my new passport details. But somewhere along the way someone messed up. Yin apologized time and time again and reassured me that we would fix this but he also mentioned that he had never gone through this specific process before.

If there is one thing the Chinese has showed so far it is a surprising helpfulness.

Two minutes later I am handed the phone again. It is Yin calling me to tell me about a supposed easy fix. All I need to do is sign a paper confirming that I indeed have changed passports recently. He says we will take care of this as soon as the weekend is over.

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The weekend is soon over and hopefully I will be able to apply for my residence permit tomorrow. At least my medical examinations result say my development is Excellent, and they found no abnormal findings. So I have got that going for me, which is nice.

First week of school

Hello!


A week of lectures has passed and we were immediately hit with a lot of differences in comparison to how it usually goes down back home in Sweden. Our teachers have already presented us with our projects and essentially sent us on our merry way to work on them. The lectures have been filled with a lot of discussion, contrary to in Sweden where the teacher speaks most of the time.

Not to mention the materialistic differences.

The local Chinese enjoy her cubicle-styled desk.

It does the job.

Two hours into your school day, that chair is just as comfortable as anything else would be. You will have lost your senses by then. I only jest. It is not that bad.

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And then we have the different good: The following pictures are taken just outside of the International students' building. These are all taken from the same spot, as a result of my laziness or perhaps more accurately, I forgot my camera when we toured another part of campus. I hope it can give you somewhat of an idea of the scope of the campus. If not, I think you will be able to piece it all together as I post more updates and pictures.

Along the lake/river it is common to see a group of 15-20 or so Chinese students practicing their English through just reading out loud all at once. Whatever works, right?

This is just a small part of the campus. In the other end there are a lot of student dormitories and stores. Supermarket, electronics. That sort of jazz. And then there is some construction going on elsewhere on campus. I have got no idea what they are building.

Anyway. It is definitely not something that you would see in Sweden. It doesn't come through in the photos, but the weather was great. Thirty degrees Celsius and I think I recall some sun shining through the thick smog hovering the province. It is certainly an environment one could quickly get used to being around.

Lake outside the International Students' Building.

I think that building houses some sports activities. There's also a boat.

A likely artificially created rock formation.

The mountains in the background are probably the same ones that I have a good view over from my bedroom.

A possible library.

The building in the far back is where our classroom is.  

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Bye!

Shandong, Jinan

Hello!


It has been a few days since I last posted. And the reason behind that is not cause of a lack of things to write about, but rather, our move to Jinan had left us without internet. Now that we have internet I'll catch you up on recent events.

We left Shanghai for a four hour long train ride. The speakers announced the Maglev train was named Harmony, and with that in mind all one could do was look out the window and try to get a feel for the sheer size of the city we were leaving.

Shortly after leaving Shanghai train station

It was difficult to tell when exactly we left Shanghai. The tall buildings kept popping up for a good thirty minutes and they did not relent. After a while I just had to assume that we had left Shanghai and entered a neighboring city.

For a good two or so hours we sped past city after city before we eventually hit farmland. So far China had not only been incredibly populated but also a very flat country. With about 20 minutes left of our journey some mountains began to appear.

Eventually we hit the station and was quickly greeted by our university contact, Mr Johnson. He brought us to a minibus that would carry us an hour or so through and out of Jinan centre and finally to campus. During the ride he shared with us some history of Jinan and other tidbits of information.

When we arrived we were quickly handed keys to our apartments and given fifteen minutes to have a look around and leave our luggage before we headed for our next stop, a rather deserted shopping center of sorts with a supermarket inside. Well inside we tried to find the bare necessities before it was time to leave for our apartments again - and this time for a good nights sleep.

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At the time I am writing this post, our classes has started, and I shall try to bring you up to speed as best I can. Soon enough I believe things will slow down and there won't be too much exciting stuff to report.

Bye!

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Here's a few pictures of the apartment.

Yup. Power outlet to the left, shower to the right.

Merry Christmas!

Fancy cuisine and warm weather

Yo!

Blogging isn't that difficult when all you do is post pictures, but I don't think anyone will feel too offended by that. And if I were to guess, I don't think anyone expected much else... So, as a change of pace, a bit of text! I write this post the night 6th-7th of September, and tomorrow we wake up early to continue our trip towards Jinan. The last two days have been eventful and we have done plenty of sightseeing and some fine (also: not as fine) dining.

5th of September me, my girlfriend Linn and three of our friends, decided to walk down the busy street of Nanjing Road. We set out with no real intent other than to be a part of the bustling street and I think the ladies' best case scenario would involve some actual shopping. But they left empty-handed.

After having walked Nanjing Road for a while we happened to stumble on to a piece of information. The Bund, is a tourist attraction that is describes as a symbol of China and an epitome of Shanghai's modern history, and we were only another 10 minutes or so away, so we pressed on.

The Bund. A horrible shot, but you get the gist.

The Bund at night - as it should be experienced.

Later that day it was time to celebrate a local (no, not really) birthday boy, at a fancy restaurant. Josephine deserves a lot of praise. There are not many of us that can speak passable Chinese... She can, and has been pulling a lot of weight helping out wherever she can. Ordering food, talking with taxi drivers and generally coordinating a lot of what we have been up to, and now most recently, booking a table for close to twenty people.

Teppanyaki is a style of Japanese cuisine where you and your group of friends join a table where a chef will prepare whatever food you order in right in front of you, immediately. So, the stakes (later steaks) for the evening read as follows: 288 Yuan. All you can eat buffet. Free drinks. A quick note on the service. I did not even have to ask a waitress for more cola, they showed up as I was finishing my glass and immediately poured me another one. That is something I can get behind! The language barrier also had one of them leave a bottle of sake in front of me, needless to say, I did not finish it.

I don't actually try to take photos of people, but it would seem that the normal reaction when someone pulls up a camera is to look in to it. Who knew? Anyway, here are a few pictures of how it all went down.

Birthday boy - top left.

I think those are salmon and cod. I found the supposed cod pretty great, and the salmon decent.

Aforementioned and promised - steaks!

Obligatory caption.

A plate of beef. Three different kinds of sauces and some soy.

The chef might have caught on that I heavily preferred meat over fish, so I got a healthy first plate of meat. It was then followed up by chicken, pork (If I recall correctly) and ox tongue. The latter of which was bit chewy, but carried great taste.

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Today we had an early morning appointment with an old Swedish friend, Ikea. Yea, some of our friends that had already been to Jinan reported back that we might want to buy a few things before we leave Shanghai. So we did.

Not much was different. If you do not enjoy walking through Ikea in Sweden, you are not going to like it any more in Shanghai. Although this was a short and not very painful operation. We knew what we wanted, and we left quickly. But not without trying a hotdog (5 Yuan) and a soft ice cream (1 Yuan). Also, turns out Ikea makes a big deal about carrying over the Swedish names of their products which is kind of neat.

If you know what item this is without reading the English translation it is safe to say that you frequent Ikea way too often.

If you really want to try though, this will help you out.

And to put an end to this day we fought our way through the sea of people on Nanjing Road to reach a restaurant serving a tasty hot pot. Beware though, even a licensed chop sticks user like Gustav could face a struggle with rice noodles. I don't think Tommy is pleased with the respect with which Gustav stuffs his face, or as it happened to be, tries to stuff his face.

Nanjing Road

l.t.r Tommy, Gustav

Tomorrow - Jinan

Short and sweet update

Hello!

We landed safely in Shanghai airport yesterday and eventually made our way to Shanghai and our hotel, Radisson Blu New world. I figured I'd upload a few pictures of how we spent our first night out.

The view over Shanghai from our hotel room.

Hungry students traversing Nanjing Road looking for a place to eat.

Our search for food eventually paid off. Plenty of food for the twelve of us.

Plate of beef and pork - Rice arrived shortly after.

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This morning, the 5th of September, me and my girlfriend took a morning stroll through Shanghai, a very small part of it anyway, and found a few sights we did not catch a glimpse of the first night we arrived.

A dumpling shop with complimentary Chinese people.

That's it for now.
Dennis.