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The morning started around 9 am with a peaceful wakeup on my own terms. I was really excited to see Guangzhou in the daylight for the first time. I had found the night time so beautiful that I expected to be let down. I was as blown away by the city now as I was the night before.
I got ready in a heartbeat. I threw on whatever colors I like at the moment and headed to the lobby. According to the law, foreigners must register at the police station closest to their place of residence when they arrive in the country. The deadline for registration is 24 hours in cities and 72 hours in rural areas.
I’m staying at a hotel so in my case the staff will register me.
In Chinese culture, 4th floors are almost non-existent, because the number four sounds similar to ‘death’. I didn’t see a fourth floor on the hotel. There are numbers on the elevator from 6 to 19. The bottom floors are marked bigger with text to let the quest know what is on those floors.
I came back up and started unpacking my things into drawers and closets. I emptied all of my bags in 35 minutes and took a shower. The tap water in China is not consumable, but it is safe enough to wash your face with and have a shower. The water felt “softer” compared to water in Finland, it could’ve also been because of differences in water pressure from the shower head.
Jenny had made her and me some lunch. Chicken and vegetables with a lovely mix of jasmine rice and couscous. It was the first authentic Chinese meal I ate. Perfectly spicy.
After eating I called back home but got interrupted by the host family’s arrival. I had been the first 12 hours with Jenny. The host family flew home from Dubai and the youngest child enthusiastically showed me a souvenir of a skyscraper.
After everyone settled, the oldest child and I went out for shopping. He had a 5-day school trip coming up and needed a rain jacket aswell as some socks, a flashlight, a water bottle and snacks.
We went to a shop called Decathlon, it is the world’s largest sporting goods retailer. It was quite a challenge getting there, as the family hadn’t been in China for a while and the oldest child had forgotten where the store was located. Luckily we found the store and everything.
We then headed out grab some snacks.
There’s a lot of bikes and electronic motorcycles. They travel in on sidewalks, driveways and on cycle paths. I never know when an electronic motorcycle is coming because they are silent. I have to stay mindful of staying to either side of the road or actively watching out. In many cases, the drivers give sound signals at regularly.
There are also many rentable bikes. WeChat is used throughout China, most commonly to pay or receive money, but you can also rent out blue bikes with WeChat.
Later in the evening I played catch with one of the dogs -Apex. He’s a rescue dog and has only three legs but that doesn’t stop him from zooming around the house as fast as he can. Apex is very social and has helped me settle in.
Sunset view from our living room
became close with Snickers. She’s very curious and really social. Snicker got their name from the younger child. He’s quite mischievous and loves to scratch the door when I’m in the bathroom.
That’s it for this blog. Thank you for reading!
