ChinaTales - Vol1

ChinaTales - Nik@Shanghai


Nihao to whoever is reading this in whichever part of the world!! (Nihao = Hello!)

I had told Siddharth Kanoria (for those of you who don't know him, my classmate from SXC, now in DHL Singapore as an AIESEC Trainee), that I will write my updates about Shanghai before his mail comes for Singapore(he has been there for 2 weeks now), and here I am.... With my tales from the Dragon Land - china, from the city of the future - Shanghai!!

Caution - If you don't find my tales/writing interesting, please please email me back saying that you don't want to read it, and I will remove you from the list. What will follow is a small account of what I have done for the past few days, and will keep writing in the future as well!

Alrite, so here we go....

Have you ever thought about stepping into Sachin Tendulkar's shoes, going out there in the middle, opening the batting and facing fast bowlers, and having expectations of a century from a billion people.?

Well, I am in no way comparing myself with him, but that's what I felt yesterday, coming to an Alien Land, meeting people I have never met before, staying without family in a house, it was like batting on an Australian wicket without the helmet!!, you never knows whats coming up next!!

Ok, now a Detailed Account of what I have been Upto -

First and Foremost - Shanghai is an Amazing Amazing City, there is no comparison between Shanghai and Any City in India, trust me, its an exceptional mix of Development, Population, Skyscrapers, and futuristic infrastructure!!..

I got an amazing amazing small farewell from my friends back home, they all came to my house, swati, anuj, anu, prashant, divya, ankit, anurag, pooja, I had cut a cake, they made a PPT for me which almost made me cry and then all of us in one car to the airport singing songs, some funny, some senti, so a touchy moment for sure.

It was a long flight journey no doubt, no alcohol for me this time, as I have decied to cut down on my consumption totally, so started watching Shootout at Lokhandwala and slept midway!. Arrived in Shanghai on Time... carried 44KGs of luggage when 20 KG was allowed, and they didn't utter a word, so the start was perfect...

Arrived on time @ shanghai, dot on time, I wonder that will a flight ever be on time in India for domestic flights!!, anyways, but then the perfect times stopped a little, I could not find the person supposed to pick me up!!, exchanged money and gave him a call, and he was right there!!, reminded me so much of my AIESEC days, when I had gone for innumerable pickups, but now it was time to be on the other side!!

So, off we go, in a bus then a cab travelling across Shanghai!!, what a beauty this is...
Arrived at the house, and woooooooh, it's a huge complex!! 10 blds, all 15 floors high, and we live on the 14th and 15th floor, yea it's a duplex J

Bence, my flatmate, was there to receive me, I settled down in a medium to small sized room as all the big ones have been taken away before I reached, but I am damn happy with the house and the room!!...

So, so far so good.. went out with bence in the eve, and met up with some other trainees, and went to this 'veg' Chinese restaurant. Don't know why, but there, was the first time I felt terribly homesick!! It was all of a sudden, trust me, I felt like running away, catch the flight and go and meet everyone back home, I called mom, pooja, swati so many times, just to hear their voice!!, trust me it was damn tough!!, but after speaking to everyone I was fine..

Today Morning was a lazy one, got up late, and then was calming myself down, telling myself, this is what life is, full of challenges, and opportunities. If you want to gain something, you have to loose something, and right now i cant be homesick!, I have somuch to learn, so much to explore , the journey has just started!, prepared myself for al the challenges!

The First Challenge - Went to Peoples Square, an amazing place in the center of the city, with shopping malls, tall complex, etc. I was searching for a Citibank ATM - as I had to withdraw money desperately!!, I was out of cash... but woah, the card refused to work, maybe they have not activated it, so walked again for 2-3 KM to find a bank!, and then they said they cant change money without passport, which I wasn't carrying.. hmmmmm

So here I am, at an unknown city, with around 10-20 RMB(Chinese Currency , equivalent to 6RS/RMB). I had called up a friend, who I found on orkut - Soniya, an Indian living in Shanghai, and we were meeting up, she and her friends. So she said not to worry and she will lend me some money!. So for 2 hrs I was just walking here and there, @ shopping malls, lanes, etc. and finally we met. Soniya and her friend, chandini.

They were amazingly sweet ppl, very very helpful, no inhibitions, they took me to a movie, it was 4 girls and me(lucky huhJ), and then we went for dinner to an Indian restaurant!!, on the way I saw a bridge which was 6 floors high, the nangpu bridge!

Came back home late, but my fone wasn't working, and dad and mom had already got worried, have spoken to everyone, so all fine now!

Trust me its been an amazing start. I hope it remains the same. This AIESEC Experience of a traineeship simply can change a person and also ppl around u. Imagine, I am staying with 3 ppl, 1 from Taiwan, 1 from Hungary, 1 from Japan, there will be one coming from USA, 1 from Sweeden!!, so what a multicultural house it will be.

Cant wait to go to office tomorrow. So will write again with updates and pics!!

My Shanghai No - 0086-13917394344

Cheers till next timeJ