"Jenni, you are Chinese now!"

I have been in China for almost 6 months now and though the first couple of months were quite difficult, I feel like my life has gradually - yet drastically - changed for the better during the last few months.

When I first got here in the provincial China the pollution, the concrete filled city, insane traffic, language barrier and none the less the local customs and habits made my head spin! During many days I seriously thought to myself that I simply can't take it anymore. But whenever I had a rough day I decided to give it another chance, another day and see how I felt then - and day by day things got better. I immersed into the Chinese culture bit by bit. Now I can genuinely say that there are very few things in the daily life that surprise me anymore. I am used to squatting in any given drop toilet: the public toilets in parks or on the streets have no doors, no toilet paper, no sinks to wash your hands in, and my brain does not indicate any distress or queerness concerning this. Business as usual.

Sometimes I even surprise myself realising how I've accustomed to most things in this little provincial city. For one, I have started calling my home "a small city", as the locals do, though a 10 million person city sounded massive before I actually got here. Or the crazy traffic: I have friends who live in China and still think the traffic is suicidal, yet I don't even blink when I sit in a car without a seat belt and my driver is negotiating through the traffic with too much speed; or when I cross a big intersection during rush hour and cars, e-bikes, motorbikes and all things on wheels swish past me honking away as they do. My mother would be worried sick if she knew how many times I've nearly been hit by a car/motorbike/e-bike/any motor vehicle.

Spotted in Shanghai

When I first decided to come to China I told my friends about it and had quite a surprised response in general. But one of my oldest, dearest friends told me first hand that he would definitely come visit me. As I had lived abroad for several years in that point and none of my friends had never visited me I didn't think it would happen. But to my great (and happy) surprise, he did book the flights and we planned for an amazing holiday: and what a great excuse it was for me to take a few extra days off from work and head to Shanghai to meet him up before flying him here to get to know the "real China" :) 

Not everyone is very open minded for different cuisine - but he tried it anyway ;)

It was fascinating to go to Shanghai, and not only because it was a city of which I had heard so many good things of, but also because it was the first contact point for my friend where he dipped his toes into the great country of China. As I was accustomed to the things that most Western tourists awe at and are flabbergasted or shocked when visiting China, it was most interesting to see my friend's reactions to all things Chinese. To me Shanghai was super modern and Westernised, so as my friend was so bewildered about the cultural differences I felt like it was indeed a great idea that he started his China tour in a mega city instead of coming straight to the provinces... Otherwise he might have landed to my little city and left immediately! Or would've been too culture shocked to enjoy his time in China. So as we were in Shanghai it was like a treat for me: being in a big, international city which was clean, beautiful and still you could get by with English (and my broken Chinese).

One thing that happened during my friend's visit was that I was forced to use my Chinese a lot more than I normally do. We went to non-touristic restaurants, shopped on the street, and I needed all the Chinese that I knew - and which I am normally quite shy to use because to be honest, it's not much! But it was such an amazing feeling realising that I could - and DID - get by with my limited vocabulary! It was such a big nudge once again for me to really continue my Chinese studies.

View of the Shanghai's famous Pudong district

Once we left beautiful Shanghai and headed home to Henan province, I had tried to warn my friend about how life in the provinces is totally different to that in big cities of China. I tried to make him understand that in my city he would not be understood if he spoke in English; that he would always need to have my home address written in Chinese with him in case he got lost; that there was not much choice for Western food for a fussy eater like him; that everyone WILL notice a Westerner no matter where he was and try to charge him extra no matter where he shopped. Just for starters. So when we arrived to my humble home city I tried to figure out how he felt: could I sense culture shock coming up? I guess it's fair enough to say that he seemed surprised. But as I headed to work and left him to his own devices, accompanied with a very basic Chinese vocabulary, I felt certain that he would have a great time. I later found out that he managed to buy a cold beer AND a hot coffee in several places, so it seemed like a great success :) (In China they will always serve you warm beer unless you ask for it cold.)

Amazing home cooked food my manager's mom prepared for us

Introducing my friend to my colleagues and the children at the kindergarten was great fun! The children were absolutely stunned: another foreigner! My friend was wearing shorts and his hairy legs and bald head were a constant amazement for the children! I laughed as I saw the kids stroking his hairy legs and bombarding him with questions - remembering my own experience first starting here I can only imagine what they were wondering about.

During my friend's visit my appreciation towards my company skyrocketed: the owner of the company told me that she would love to have dinner with us, but as she is very busy she will have my team take me for dinner. She paid not only for our dinner but organized a night at the KTV (karaoke) with my colleagues AND we were offered a tour around the city; my manager organised a car to drive us around and show us the countryside! Wow. I felt so appreciated and truly was happy and felt lucky to work for such a company that took care of me and then some.

My colleagues showing us a good time at the KTV

It was heart warming and funny as my friend and I were having dinner with my manager and a Chinese friend in a buffet restaurant: I told my friend he would have to try everything and kept lapping up food on his plate and explaining what things were. My manager was listening to me intently and in the end she exclaimed with joy, "Jenni, you are Chinese now!". She continued to praise me how I know so much about the Chinese food and customs and have completely immersed into the local way of life. I felt warm and fuzzy inside for reasons I did not comprehend. 

I realised that I am a chameleon; which ever country I have lived in, I have always been able to adapt to the way of life, make it mine and have it make me it's own image - and fully enjoy it. I guess that's why I love traveling: every time I let myself to be consumed by the local culture I learn something new, I see a new perspective in life and it broadens my mind more than anything else I've ever experienced.

I still have so much to learn from the Chinese way of life: these first 6 months have tickled my fancy and I am looking forward to finding out even more! I truly am living my own dream. And who knew China would turn out such an amazing experience! I recommend everyone to try it out :) 

Zàijiàn!

A beautiful water town in Shanghai