20 days.

Today is the 25th of Feb, 20 days since the day I arrived in Shanghai.
Many people asked me how I am adapting to life here in Shanghai. At times, I would wonder how is life different here in Shanghai as compared to Singapore.
To be frank, besides the coldness and the predominantly Chinese speaking environment (not that I cannot accept), I think it is roughly the same. Of course, I came here with an open mind, not wanting to compare Singapore’s society with that of Shanghai as social norms are different everywhere.

I’m trying very hard not to divide the things I buy by 5, because that would make almost everything cheap, by Singapore’s standard. But because I earn the Shanghai pay, things are actually freaking expensive. Alright, I guess there is no secrecy here, I earn 2000RMB a month, and 1 cup of starbucks mocha is like 30ish RMB. Do your math. Haha.

Perhaps one thing very different is that I do not have the comfort of my immediate family, Sheena and my close friends here in Shanghai. But because I have wonderful house mates, it makes bridging this gap very easy. Maybe also due to the fact that due to army, I’m like only home on weekends, thus this sort of life is not say foreign to me.

Their train commuters are actually quite considerate to a certain extent; they will definitely close up the gap in the middle, but probably because some times it is due to the people outside pushing in. At the moment, it is still like 10 degrees or so, thus I think I can still accept it, but once it comes to summer imagining squeezing with people who are sweaty and sticky……

Food here is rather salty and oily. For a bland eater like myself, I find it quite sian, but nonetheless, I’m not complaining much. The food here can be quite similar back home. Of course there are places that sell Singaporean food.
So what do we normally eat for our meals? It’s probably different for every one of us since we are all working at different places. For me, usually I will go to the staff canteen at the basement of my building, it cost 8RMB to get a coupon and then we use the coupon to buy the food. It is basically like economical rice. So usually it is 2 vege, 2 meat, rice and a fruit. But if you go later when they wanna clear up the stock, you can get 3 vege and 3 meat by saying, 每一样来一点。So for dinner, I will usually meet my house mates back home and order home delivery, 外卖。It is quite convenient to just do that rather than going out to eat la. We can nua at home after eating as well. Hehe,

What is there to do over the weekends? Basically, we have been llike busy with school admin stuff, bargaining at Qi Pu, going to the tailor place over and over again (haha), attending some networking stuff. I guess life here is just busy! Haha. Since we are here for 1 year, we should make the best of the experience here rather than just concentrate on work and studies. Getting to know more people and who knows, perhaps we will need their help in the future.

A typical working day in Shanghai for me is as follows,
Alarm rings, snooze a few times. Wake up, shower if no one is showering, make a cup of hot drink, change into my office attire, spread bread, and eat my breakfast. Leave for work.

Walk briskly to the MRT station, grab a free mrt newspaper and squeeze into the train. After 8 stops, I will alight at 世纪大道 and then walk briskly to the office. Work is varied and I shan’t comment here. Haha Lunch at 12 and I off at at 6pm. So I will commute back, either I will meet TJ at Dong Chang if she is on morning shift if not, I will just head back to Zhong Shan Park and maybe meet the rest there, or go back home to order wai mai! Haha, After dinner will be a period of nuaness, especially since I haven’t started attending classes. So it is a struggle between nuaing or going to shower. Haha. Usually I will skype and msn and then maybe watch dvds until like past 12 then turn in for the night.

PS: Buddy, I think there really is a difference between the CPs around here.