Things I wish I'd known before spending a year in China
I started my journey on the 31st August 2017 when I travelled over to China with 21 other scots to spend the next 10 months there. Overall it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had and I would 100% recommend it to anyone. China is a beautiful and interesting place and I don’t think enough people appreciate that. When I was preparing to leave Scotland I didn’t know what to expect. Of course people tell you about the squat toilets, the possible staring and the cultural differences but everything is different when you get there.
- Internet/Wechat: When in China there are restrictions on all western social media apps so the best way to keep in contact with friends and family from both home and in China is to get WeChat. A Chinese version of Whatsapp that's free and so handy. WeChat is used for everything, talking to people, finding maps, sending your location to friends, paying for things, ordering taxis and ordering food, its amazing.
- Passport: In China, to travel anywhere on a train or plane, you need your passport to buy a ticket. Before going to China, I was told to bring paper copies of my passport and this was very important for me, as I did lose my passport. I lost it in Beijing and had to use a paper copy to get back to Tianjin, then to get back to Beijing to sort it all out with the Embassy. At the train station, they give you a bit of hassle for using the paper copy but if you explain the situation it will be fine, just remember paper copies and take a picture of it on your photo too.
- Taobao: You can get anything you could ever imagine from the shopping website Taobao: from clothes for a few pounds, to cheese, to kitchen utensils. Therefore, I recommend you don’t stress when travelling to China initially as if you’ve forgotten something you’ll be able to get it. Don’t take your whole wardrobe because I can guarantee you’ll want to buy everything on Taobao, it's that cheap. I ended up having to bring two big suitcases home full of stuff I'd bought.
- Sim Card: When I first arrived me and the rest of the scholars got sim cards in our own time. Our uni did bring in some people from the phone shop to make it easier for people but going to the shop worked in our favour as we found out about more options. We got unlimited contracts, for 200yuan per month. This seemed a lot of money but with the extremely unreliable Wi-Fi in the accommodation and the freedom it gives you to go out and explore it was worth it.
- Things that are a little harder to find: Although you can get just about anything you could want in China I found myself having to go the extra mile to find paracetamol and deodorant in the Winter. I couldn’t seem to find paracetamol at all, luckily a lot of people brought quite a bit over, so I didn’t have to keep searching but just been aware of that. Also in the Winter, very few of the shops sell deodorant. I ended up finding it in a shop called Watsons, with is like Boots. It was a little way from our uni, but you can get it, it's just a bit more inconvenient.
- Squat toilets: They are truly something. You do get used to it after a while. The university has squat toilets and no hand soap or toilet roll, so make sure when you’re going to uni to remember toilet roll and hand sanitizer. Of course, this is specifically for the uni I went to, but it's pretty standard in public bathrooms around China. To be honest, it wasn’t as bad as when we were travelling in Thailand: we stopped at a service station there and had to use a toilet that you poured buckets of water in to flush. It made a regular squat toilet feel like a luxury.
Overall, I wish everyone got the opportunity to spend time in China, it's just such a beautiful country. If you're heading over now, I’m very jealous. Have fun and take every opportunity thrown at you!