John Daniel: 我在上海还没到一个月!I haven’t been in Shanghai even a month! July 2024

上海外滩的景色 The view from Shanghai Bund

上海外滩的景色 The view from Shanghai Bund

我在上海还没到半个月,不过这段时期的经历又丰富又复杂。

中国认可工党的成功吗?China approving of the labour party's success? (I am joking, its a hero's memorial I just happened to visit on the day the UK elected Starmer)

中国认可工党的成功吗?China approving of the labour party’s success?
(I am joking, its a hero’s memorial I just happened to visit on the day the UK elected Starmer)

今天我在上课的时候接受了个电话。因为我以前错过了几次他们给我的电话,当时终于地注意到他们在给我打着电话,所以我马上接起了电话。是警察! 幸亏,他们只要肯定是否我有没有在派出所填好境外人员住宿登记表。这篇登记表的目的在于保障所有住在上海的外国人都在一个名单。要是不好的事儿发生,政府可以容易地跟他们交流。 此外,这篇也是得到居留证的要求之一。

得到居留证真是个不容易做好的事儿。我在这个路上已经遭遇许多白跑一趟。不过我在慢慢适应这里官僚的重视。我还有几个要求该满足才能得到居留证,不过我大学的国际学生办公室在努力工作帮助我。

我觉得我的中文水平在日益提高!除了跟我的同学们说中文以外,我还在认识到许多中国人。 周一晚上我跟三个中国人出去吃晚饭。我们吃饭后去了一个著名的酒吧叫Sober Company。 以前这个酒吧在亚洲最好50酒吧的排行榜上。我们在那儿继续玩儿,整个晚上都是用中文沟通 – 一共5个小时。 我们快要回家之前,我头开始痛。 我没想到我会在这样的环境还活下去! 我以为在这样自然的环境只说中文会让我觉得有点儿尴尬,但是他们大部分听懂了我的意思,我5成左右听懂了他们的话!

我小区的一个大楼,很酷. A cool building in my neighbourhood

我小区的一个大楼,很酷. A cool building in my neighbourhood

我下个月必须做的事情很多。包括我入学之前的三个课程:会计、程序设计、统计数学。我猜这下几个月会非常的忙碌。我很期待。

I haven’t yet been in Shanghai a month, but the experience in this short time has been wonderful and complicated.

从农村来的中国人很少有机会认识到外国人。在上海看到从国内来旅行的人请外国人拍照是很常见的. 三个孩子请我拍照。 People from the countryside in China have few opportunities to meet foreigners. It is very common to see people from the inner country travelling in Shanghai and asking foreigners for photos. Three kids asked me for a photo.

从农村来的中国人很少有机会认识到外国人。在上海看到从国内来旅行的人请外国人拍照是很常见的. 三个孩子请我拍照。
People from the countryside in China have few opportunities to meet foreigners. It is very common to see people from the inner country travelling in Shanghai and asking foreigners for photos. Three kids asked me for a photo.

Today when I was in class I received a phone call. Because I had missed their calls a couple of times before, finally noticing them calling me then,  I immediately picked up. It was the police! Fortunately, they were only wanting to confirm whether or not I had filled our the foreigners accommodation registration form. This objective of this form is to ensure that all the foreigners living in Shanghai are on a list. If anything bad happens, the government can easily communicate with them. Besides, this is also one of the requirements for getting the resident card.

Getting a resident card is not an easy thing to do. I have already been on many wild goose chases. But I am slowly getting used to the love for bureaucracy here. I still have a few requirements I need to fill before I can get my resident card, but the international student office is working hard to help me.

I think my Chinese level is getting higher each day! Other than speaking Chinese with my classmates, I am also getting to know many Chinese people. On Monday night I went out for dinner with 3 Chinese

这些人都是我的同学们。 因为我们都来自不同国家,我们为一个共同语言是中文!再加上我们是高级班的学生,所以我们更好只说中文吧! These are my classmates. Because we all come from different countries, our only common language is Chinese. Furthermore, because we are all in the top set, its better we just speak Chinese right!

这些人都是我的同学们。 因为我们都来自不同国家,我们为一个共同语言是中文!再加上我们是高级班的学生,所以我们更好只说中文吧!
These are my classmates. Because we all come from different countries, our only common language is Chinese. Furthermore, because we are all in the top set, its better we just speak Chinese right!

people. After eating, we went to a famous bar called  Sober Company. The bar

我跟三个新的中国朋友。 在 Sober Company Me and 3 new Chinese friends. At Sober Company

我跟三个新的中国朋友。 在 Sober Company
Me and 3 new Chinese friends. At Sober Company

used to be on the list of Asia’s Top 50 Bars. We continued to hang out there, and the whole evening we spoke Chinese to communicate – a total of 5 hours. Just as we were about to head home, my head started hurting. I never thought I would survive in this kind of environment. I thought that in this kind of natural speaking environment, only speaking Chinese would make me feel a little awkward, but they mostly understood me and I understood about  50% of what they were saying!

In the next month I have many things I must do. Including the 3 pre-admission courses: accounting, programming, and statistics. I guess the next few months are very busy. I am looking forward to it.

我跟两位中国学生住在第四楼。 一位是我硕士第二年级的 第二位是经济硕士二年级的。 I live on the fourth floor with two chinese students. One student is in the second year of my masters programme. The other student is in his second year of economics masters.

我跟两位中国学生住在第四楼。
一位是我硕士第二年级的
第二位是经济硕士二年级的。
I live on the fourth floor with two chinese students.
One student is in the second year of my masters programme.
The other student is in his second year of economics masters.

我大学最著名的大楼 My University's most famous building 我的课都在里面进行! My classes are all held inside

我大学最著名的大楼 My University’s most famous building
我的课都在里面进行!
My classes are all held inside

这两个女生是我在上海最喜欢的朋友们。 他们俩是一半中国人,一个是一半法国人,另外一个荷兰热人。他们的中文很流利! 我们常常只说中文然后要是一个话题太复杂,用英文说明 These are two of my best friends in shanghai. They are both half Chinese, one is half french and the other is half dutch. Both of their chinese is really fluent. We often only speak chinese and if the topic is too complex then we use english to clarify.

这两个女生是我在上海最喜欢的朋友们。 他们俩是一半中国人,一个是一半法国人,另外一个荷兰热人。他们的中文很流利! 我们常常只说中文然后要是一个话题太复杂,用英文说明 These are two of my best friends in shanghai. They are both half Chinese, one is half french and the other is half dutch. Both of their chinese is really fluent. We often only speak chinese and if the topic is too complex then we use english to clarify.

Graduating from Edinburgh University in 2024 with an undergraduate degree in Chinese, J.J. Daniel is now preparing for his Master of Finance at Fudan's Fanhai International School of Finance in Shanghai 2024-2026. Alongside his Masters J.J. will study Chinese part-time, with an initial two month Summer intensive programme at Fudan's School of International Cultural Exchange.

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