First days in Tianjin
September 10th to September 13th
The first days in Tianjin were all about going around making documents for the university and buying supplies for my room.
For someone that had to enter the Chinese payment system for the first time, it was a complicated process. "Cashless city" is not a term I've really heard before, but it is a true description. Honestly, after traveling all this way, having to go around alone in a city where I do not understand anything was really stressful - when my roommate offered to go to dinner together the first day I was glad.
My room is on the 7th floor of the dormitory for foreign students. The window just out the elevator has a great view of the university, with the modern skyscrapers framing it in the background. While from my room I can see the sports field and the entrance to the two mini-markets of the university. There is always movement, and the sound of honking cars and people chatting.
While going around doing commissions, I crossed both the South and North Gate of the university. The South Gate leads to a commercial district. While coming back from the bank, I found a street filled with small shops and services on either side. In the part of the city where the bank was located, instead, there were enormous skyscrapers both old and modern.
The North Gate leads to the touristic part of the city. It has many beautiful building from the 1920s, in European style. The university is part of these tourist-attracting buildings. I definitely will go back with my camera to take some nice pictures ~
Tomorrow classes start. I am, rightfully so, in the beginners class. The foreign students I met until now all spoke and understood Chinese quite well, so I am wondering who will be in the class with me or how many will we be. I do hope I can find a good group to study and travel together!