13 Jul Day 5 in Shanghai
I cannot face any kind of Chinese food. It must have completely slipped my mind that here Chinese food isn’t takeaway but just food. You can smell it in different variations on every single street and can see noodles and rice being eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner. By day 3, I wanted nothing more than a sandwich. I can’t really complain though as I am not limited for choice on Western food, there is a Starbucks on every corner and I have seen a fair few KFC’s, McDonalds, and even a Pizza Express. If I start to feel homesick I know where to go.
Enough about food. The airport pick up took us back to the hotel and we had our first taste of driving in Shanghai, lots of beeping of the horns is all I can say. We then had our welcome dinner… I think I have exhausted the topic of food so shan’t go on. On Saturday we had our orientation, which taught us a lot about safety in Shanghai and the customs that were necessary for work. We then had free time to explore the city and decided to go to the bund and found ourselves surrounded by endless skyscrapers facing the Oriental Pearl Tower. Walking around Shanghai on our first day we noticed how clean the city was and how self we felt. There are even bag scanners like in airports before you go on the tube. I have an overwhelming feeling that they are just doing something right here.
On Sunday we had our scavenger hunt with the rest of the other interns. We had a list of tasks to complete around the city and got in groups to do so. Some of them were a little silly and it was fun to give them a try. I realised that a few of them told us to take a picture outside a certain place such as the Shanghai Museum and I just really wanted to go in! We soon gave up on the task and explored the city again. We ended up in People’s Square, and then took a ferry across from the Bund to Pudong, which allowed us to see the Bund from a different perspective and was very worthwhile.
On Monday I had my first day of internship in a start up company. The average age of my company is in the mid twenties and so the working environment is extremely relaxed, however given that it is a start up company there are many different tasks to complete.
The one issue I feel I have to contend with is how to reconcile my working week with the sightseeing I want to do in Shanghai- I know now that it is going to be a very busy month!
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