Immigration to China

Wow. That’s all I can say. It’s been just a few days here in China, but it seems like ages have passed. The things that I wrote in my notebook less than a week ago now look as really old memories. Still, here they are, mostly unedited:

1^st day in China, or rather the 1^st night

– can’t fall asleep because of jet-lag, feeling shocked and overwhelmed. Really didn’t expect the culture shock to be so severe.

– I guess the difference last time was:

a) I was just traveling

b) going from Russia to China is not the same as going from USA to China!

– Noticing more dirt and pollution in comparison

– Smells and sounds are different, cars driving like crazy

– At night, the city looks more foreign and unfamiliar

Guess it would take a few days to get used to my apartment. It’s not a bad apartment, but still not up to USA standards. It is:

– a lot smaller, with a bedroom bigger than a living room, why?

– only has a shower with no bathtub

– old building with no elevator to 5^th floor

– sliding kitchen door that blocks the bathroom when you open it

– feels like a studio, not a 1–br, but the furniture is wooden and sturdy

– dirty common areas in the building that remind me of “pod’ezd” in Russia, but no graffiti

On the bright side, what’s important is that the apartment is fairly quiet and doesn’t have any toxic chemical smells. It also has a small washer so that I can do my own laundry.

Really surprised at the initial shock, but the CSA (http://chinastudyabroad.org/) staff has been tremendously helpful:

– Program Manager meeting me at the airport and driving to the apartment in his car

– PM speaks good English, his assistant passable English

– check-in to the apartment and showing how appliances work, taking me to the store to buy bed sheets and water

– apartment is right near the entrance to the university campus, which is great

– “welcome pack” with a dictionary, Shanghai map, travel guide, and a working cell phone!

To tell you the truth, I am feeling some anxiety and depression at the moment. Guess it would take a few days to get used to the new environment…

Um… Well… Almost.

With just two days before the flight, I haven’t even finished moving stuff out of my apartment. Also, just began packing my suitcase… It seems like as soon as one big thing on my to-do list gets done, a few smaller one’s magically pop up from nowhere. Last minute shopping, packing, social occasions, arguments with parents, phone calls, etc. create a hurricane of activity that seems like it will never end.  Damn it, moving to another country takes some effort!

Oh well, at least all of the must-have items are completed and the rest will, hopefully, take care of itself.

Here’s my China Packing List,  where + means the item was completed, – means not yet completed, and crossed out means I decided not to bother with it at all:

Must-have items

+ Chinese visa

+ Cash $5000–$9000 $1000

+ 1–way air ticket to Shanghai

+ Summer clothing and shoes

+ Laptop

Nice-to-have items

– arrange Car shipping

– electronic translator

– favorite books, - DVDs

– winter clothing and shoes

– camera & mp3 player

– new binder, pens & daily organizer

+ Amazon Kindle

+ 4 passport photos

+ photo copies of important documents and credit cards

+ printed relatives and friend’s phone numbers

And here’s my St. Louis Departure To-Do List:

+ apartment lease termination notice (30 days in advance)

+ cancel Auto insurance

+ cancel Health insurance

+ cancel Electric service

+ cancel Sirius radio

+ change of address to my sister’s apartment

+ quit my Job!

+ start the Master Cleanse

– heal my arm (cast?)

+ trip to Alaska with parents

– trip to NYC to hang out with friends

– trip to LA to ship my car