Moving to the other side of the world
With final hugs goodbye from tearful family and friends, we set off on our journey to Tianjin, China (天津，中国)。The mere hour flight down to London, Heathrow eased us into the way of travelling, excitement building about arriving in our new home which was only one more day away, we were then faced with the daunting 9 hour flight to Peking Airport. Thankfully with the huge variety of movies and TV shows to keep us entertained, combined with good chat and (surprisingly) tasty plane food, the journey passed quickly and we touched down in Beijing (北京), with only a four hour bus journey until we reached our new home. I don't think I'm the only one who can say that it was in those four hours that I actually managed to catch up on the nine hours of sleep I didn't get on the plane!
It only really hit me that I was actually moving to the other side of the world a day before catching the flight, as I was frantically trying to finish packing. Even having spent a month here, the whole experience still has a feeling of total surrealism. While doing the most mundane things like walking to the local supermarket to get our next fix of moon cakes, or waiting in line to get tickets for the subway, I often find myself thinking of the enormity of what I - a 17 year old girl, fresh out of high school, who has lived in Scotland her whole life, and had little to no experience in Mandarin - am actually doing.
After landing, then getting a very early night, the first week before classes actually started passed in a blur; between organising Chinese sim cards for our phones, getting bank accounts and getting an official medical examination to apply for our residential visas our days were quickly filled up, however we did manage to make time to explore the local area.
In our first week alone I felt like we discovered half the city, then with our introduction to Tianjin's subway system (which I have to say is 100% better than our own one in Glasgow, sorry guys!) we actually have discovered half the city in the short month of living in Tianjin.
Getting to know the locals is definitely one of the best things any of us could have done so early on in our stay, with our new friends kindly showing us around the city and introducing us to their hometown. After coming to China for the first time last year on the summer immersion trip, revisiting my favourite spots like the Ancient Culture Street and local Buddhist temple was a really enlightening experience with the addition of some local knowledge. We also managed to find our way to both the old Italian and French colonial areas. It was so bizarre seeing the old European architecture next to the towering financial buildings of Tianjin's city centre.
On the 24th of September, China celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival as it is based on the lunar calendar, and celebrated when the moon is full. To celebrate we were invited to a cultural afternoon with some Chinese students, learning about the history of the festival and how people celebrate it nowadays. We even got the chance to try on traditional Chinese clothing, which I think to be totally honest we looked amazing in!
Another one of my favourite parts of the festival were the mooncakes (⽉饼，yue bing) which in Tianjin is a sweet, round pastry filled with a thick paste of red beans, chestnuts or lotus root. Although traditionally eaten with family during the Mid-Autumn Festival, they were devoured by a load of Scottish students who thought they made a great snack for 2元! One month in and I feel like the magic of living in China is never going to wear off; everyone is so friendly here and will try their best to help you when you're attempting to speak a mix of broken Mandarin/ English. I've never really been one to suffer from homesickness, so it hasn't quite hit me yet. It is always nice to know your family and friends are easily reachable over WeChat, China's most popular social media platform, which can be used for everything, from video calls to paying for your dinner at one of Tianjin's many malls. I honestly don't think it would be possible to survive in China without it!
We're just about to leave for Xi'an next week over the October break, so it'll be interesting to experience the differences between Tianjin and other regions of China.
So, until next time 再⻅! (zai jian!)