This post is long overdue and it's been like 6-7 months since I went to China for my overseas immersion program (OIP) but it's never to late to reminisce right?
I'll have to say that I'm not a stranger to China but it's the first time I've been to Tianjin and Beijing. Back in June 2008, I actually went to Guangzhou for a 5- day CCA trip. You can actually find a post about that in my old blog but be warned, my writing standard back then just makes me cringe right now.
*Tries to find picture of me back in 2008.*
geez.
Fast forward to the year 2014, it's been 6 years since my last visit and I decided why not take a trip to Tianjin for 5 weeks, complete 2 modules (Feature Writing and IS) and try to enjoy my time away from the hustling and bustling city of Singapore. What was supposed to be a simple exchange program had actually turned south but I won't go into details.
Now you might be wondering, "Why on earth are you going to China for 5 weeks, can you even speak Chinese?" I have to say that my number 1 concern before the trip was my mandarin speaking ability. Especially having to have graduated from secondary school with just Basic Chinese (Not O Level Chinese, but really Chinese B). Worst of all, having to do feature writing would mean conducting interviews in a language that only they can understand. But surprisingly, I managed to survive and my friends keep telling me that I still annoy them with the fact that I still speak in Chinese even after coming back to Singapore but ultimately I'm just trying to practice and brush up on my skills.
Prior to my trip to Tianjin, I had absolutely no clue or idea where Tianjin was but that didn't stop me from travelling there anyway.
*Some of the pictures are from my phone and some are from my DSLR, so picture quality will differ! Some of them are also taken by my friends, Vinice and Rachel!
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The very well-known Taobao Street. So many of my friends were really excited when they found out that there was such a street but it's still unknown whether or not the street has any connection to the popular china e-commerce website. However, I felt like it was your usual Bugis Street but it'd be like shopping paradise if you like cheap and affordable clothes that you might never be able to get in Singapore.
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Prior to my trip to Tianjin, I had absolutely no clue or idea where Tianjin was but that didn't stop me from travelling there anyway.
*Some of the pictures are from my phone and some are from my DSLR, so picture quality will differ! Some of them are also taken by my friends, Vinice and Rachel!
I was really thankful that some of my friends came to send me off at the airport and I reached at the airport like super early (8 hours before check-in) cause I had nothing to do and didn't want to wait at home cause I was just super excited. It was also a really long time since I've been to the airport so I thought why not? Come to think of it, I missed that feeling of leaving the country and going to the airport to board your flight and having your friends send you off :P
If I remember correctly this was taken at 1am while we were boarding the plane? We looked really excited but it's only just for the photo, most of the time we would just be dead inside, or maybe just me.
The moment we reached we were treated to an unexpected surprise because before the trip we were told we'll be staying at the university's dorm during our 5-weeks exchange. So in my mind I was expecting the worse because I didn't want to get a rude shock. This was what I pictured my home would be for 5 weeks.
Photo Credit: https://futurechallenges.org/local/difficulties-of-students-in-china-in-the-labour-market/
However, we still got a shock because when they drove us to our so called dorm, which is actually a hostel, it looked kinda like a hotel and the rooms are like an exact replica of a standard hotel room with room service (YES, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO CLEAN YOUR ROOM WHEN YOU'RE IN CLASS) that none of us expected at all. But we still had our complaints that the Wi-Fi was slow, but honestly? I rather have a nice room and slow Wi-Fi any day.
Yes, the brand of the bread is called Bimbo, surprisingly it tastes not bad, but I would usually have this chocolate bun under the same brand and call it Bimbo Bread. This was like my daily breakfast that got me through most of the mornings just before classes.
Speaking of classes, even before classes started, we had orientation to get us settled down in the campus so that we'd know where to go cause the University is just huge.
Like how Ngee Ann has their different faculties, our classroom was at the School of Chinese Language and Culture, you'll find like many other foreign students from all around the world studying there as well.
The trains in Tianjin aren't normally as crowded as you can see here, we still had sufficient space to take a selfie, but if you were to board the train in Beijing, you can pretty much forget about using your phone cause there's just literally no space at all.
Normally if you're a tourist or you just moved in here, you can either get a card or this token for transport on the train which meant you better keep this token with you during your entire train ride or you'd either have to get a new one.
The shopping paradise, also known as the Tianjin version of Orchard Road with much more taller buildings and shops. I really liked this place because it's like the city area whereas our campus hostel is kind of secluded from the city and you'll only find university students there but here is just like a whole new world.
The great thing about Tianjin is that the weather, lighting and surroundings are just so different from Singapore that makes it perfect for taking #ootds and selfies that you can never get in Singapore. This is me trying to take an ootd and my friends tryna photobomb and I'm just like "come on guys..."
Taking a picture while in the midst of interviewing people on the street for our assignments. It wasn't easy at first because people would either not want to be interviewed or they just really couldn't understand what you're saying.
Like I said, Tianjin's a good place to take OOTDs.
Another great point about China in general is the wide variety of food choices. Normally you'd think they'll just have dumplings, paus and other traditional chinese food but they actually have a lot more food choices and at a really dirt cheap price but it tastes really good. I must admit that I put on quite a bit of weight during my time in China and realized that most of my money was spent on food, but I just can't help it! What's the point of travelling to a foreign country if you don't try the food there right?
The very well-known Taobao Street. So many of my friends were really excited when they found out that there was such a street but it's still unknown whether or not the street has any connection to the popular china e-commerce website. However, I felt like it was your usual Bugis Street but it'd be like shopping paradise if you like cheap and affordable clothes that you might never be able to get in Singapore.
One of Tianjin's tourist attractions would be their Tianjin Eye, it's actually very much like our Singapore Flyer, just that theirs is on a bridge which makes it different.
Well as the title says, during the 5 weeks, we went to Beijing as well, the capital of China. Why Beijing? I only just found out on the trip that Tianjin is just somewhat beside Beijing and there's also a 30-minute bullet train between Tianjin and Beijing. Beijing was really fun and what I really enjoyed most was the visit to the Friends Cafe, Central Perk. At that time I just got hooked onto the show recommended by a friend and when you're obsessed with a show, you'll want to visit anything that has any references to your show and I nearly thought it was impossible but I guess the phrase "nothing's impossible" is just an understatement.
A picture of me raising my laptop in the air tryna embrace all the good fortune I can get in the Temple of Heaven.
We tried to take shots like these at almost every tourist destination and act like we're some TV stars that probably nobody would want to watch.
What I loved about their Central Perk is that everything on the menu is named after the cast. My cupcake is named Ross and the staff there all have the name tag that says Rachel with reference to the show.
The moment I reached I just couldn't believe that I was at Central Perk, it looks exactly like the one in the show and I just kept spazzing and was lost for words cause I was still trying to accept the fact that I actually made it here.
Beijing was just great. Did I also mention how much I loved the hotel room there?! Wished we had spent more time there though.
Basically, to sum this up, Tianjin was great and the people are generally fairly nice as long as you don't piss them off I guess?
Would I go back again? Sure, there are still places that I'd like to explore and the fact that during that 5 weeks we managed to complete a module and try our best at having a break since it was during the holidays was just too cramped, it'd be good to visit when you're there purely as a tourist and not an exchange student. I still need to work on my Chinese before I go back though but I'd definitely go back for the food, sights and experiences.
Here's a video summary done by Yonas and Elizabeth to end off this post.
Till my next adventure.
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