Relaxing trip to Yangshuo
Balancing between hectic work and being parents to an active toddler really makes “rush hour years” like we say in Finnish. During the workdays life is a triangle between home, work and daycare. During the weekends it’s either catching up with household chores or going out with friends. I bet many parents can relate, there is seldom time for just relaxing. So when we got a chance to escape the busy life in Guangzhou and travel to Yangshuo, we welcomed it with open arms. Fast trains operate between Guangzhou and Yangshuo many times per day and it takes just two and a half hours to reach Yangshuo station. Ticket for…
What should you really bring to China
That’s Guangzhou recently listed 18 Things All Newcomers Absolutely Need to Bring to Guangzhou and I would like to add a few words of my own to the list. Do you actually need to bring all of these? 1 Hand sanitizer I don’t personally carry hand sanitizer around with me, but I have seen it being sold on Minisoto and Watson’s for example. Feel free to bring a bottle, but no need to stock up. 2 Skincare and make up Brand products are more expensive in China than abroad so do bring your favorite products. I don’t do make up my self so I buy the skincare products I need…
So how easy is it for foreigners to study in China?
Recently Lena from Lenaaround shared an interesting article on Facebook: White Privilege as a Western Student in China. The article shares the experiences of foreign students and what privileges they felt they got during their studies, just because they were foreigners. I’ve done my university education in China first as an exchange student, then as a bachelor and master’s degree student. Did I get privileges as a white foreigner? As an exchange student Back in 2009-2010 it was easy to come to Guangzhou as an exchange student. My university in Finland had cooperation with Guangzhou University, but no one wanted to come. Officially you could stay for 1 semester with…
Change through the years
Living a Dream in China is a 7 year old kid already and even though blog’s birthday was two months ago already, a friend inspired me to look into the changes that have been happening. On of my first posts was Are they looking at me? and it discussed the problem of being watched no matter where you went. Now 7 years later more and more foreigners live in Guangzhou and I don’t get nearly as many looks as back then! Perhaps I’ve grown older, but it’s true that seeing a foreigner on the streets in Guangzhou isn’t as big of a deal anymore. The first apartment I rented defintely…
