March

And with that being said, I am officially moved in to Shenzhen! It was a fun and restful vacation in Wuping with my family for New Years, but I am ready to keep learning and get some work done. My mom and I took a 9 hour bus ride down from Wuping to Shenzhen and stayed in a hotel for a few days exploring the city and apartment searching. Luckily, my mom has several college classmates in the city and they are all very nice and willing to help me get settled in. One of the aunties found a really cheap studio apartment just a 5 minute walk from the new Tencent building! And even though it has a squat toilet and no kitchen, it is still better than anything I imagined myself finding on my own.

Easy-to-use housing app:

Although I ended up not using the service, I was doing a lot of research on an app called ziru 自如 to begin my apartment search. Ziru is an app that lets you rent either one apartment or one room under the parameters you set. You can look for available rooms by area, price, square footage, etc. And because you are only renting one room, the prices are usually very reasonable. However, there is still a realtor's fee (which is usually have of the first month's rent).

Registering with the local police station:

Another thing to remember to do when moving to a new city is to report it to the police station. I know that it sounds rather excessive, but if you are going to be in another city for more than 24 hours, all foreigners must report it to the police. We had to go into a police station to do this before, but now you can do it online!

1) Follow the local 公安局 police station on wechat 微信

2) Find a tab that says 出入境

3) Then press 境外人员临时住宿登记

4) Then agree to the terms and fill out the form (You'll need the address of the place you are staying at)

**You only need to do this if you are NOT staying at a hotel/hostel. If you are staying at a hotel/hostel, they register for you automatically. That is why you always have to have your passport on you when you are checking in.

Moving into Nanjing was nerve-wracking and out of my comfort zone. And now as the only Flagship student in Shenzhen, I have entered a new tier outside of my comfort zone. However, if the first semester taught me anything, it's that I have a lot more in me than I think. More confident, independent, adaptable, and hardworking than I think I am, I just need the opportunity to prove that to myself and others. Please enjoy some photos of Shenzhen.

First week at Tencent feels:

First off, I’ll mention some obvious differences in the work culture. These may be things specific to the company itself, but still worth mentioning as a cultural comparison. Also, there are some things that I am not too sure of yet, but plan to see how it goes and learn throughout the process.

1) Nap time. Nap time may or may not be the best thing that ever happened to me as a 20-something year old. Every work day from 1-2pm, the office is silent. Lights are off, sleeping cots are pulled out of under the desk, and everyone simply rests. It’s beautiful. I have come to think that this is highly efficient and contributes to a more effective workday. Of course, the normal work schedule continues well into the night, so I think that an hour nap break is well deserved.

2) Work culture. It may be because Tencent is a tech company, but work here is very teamwork oriented and project based. Majority of the employees are young professionals who really bring a fun atmosphere and make the department feel like a family. Also, everyone wears regular clothes (no blazers or business flats here), so it's overall a really comfortable work place.

3) Cafeterias. A few of my classmates have said that they have a cafeteria and others have said that they don't. I'm lucky enough to be in the group that has many cafeterias to chose from! Tencent has employees in multiple buildings and every building has a few floors of cafeterias where there is food that is cheap and good! I'm enjoying eating lunch everyday with my coworkers and getting to know them.

Trip to Guangzhou:

I had the opportunity to visit Guangzhou (a 30 minute train ride from Shenzhen) this past weekend to visit Grace, another Flagship student. It was a fun little trip and nice to see an old friend! Everyone says that the food in Guangzhou is amazing, and they are right! This city is definitely worth visiting for cultural reasons as well. As the capital of the Guangdong province, Guangzhou has a lot of historic and cultural sites that are very interesting. We checked out the Chen Family Home and walked along the river at night. See below for some photos.