Julia's Blog

Two months ago I arrived in China. Today I want to share with you my thoughts about my time abroad. I remember that when I arrived I felt like entering a whole different world which at first felt very foreign to me. The beginning was not always easy, there were some cultural and linguistic differences which made some situations challenging. But now I definitely feel like Shenzhen is my second home and even though I sometimes miss Switzerland, I am very very happy to be here!

After two months I feel very comfortable in Shenzhen. I got used to the life here and I also saw that it’s not that different from Switzerland. I love how lively this city is, there are always a lot of people on the streets and your are never alone. Shenzhen is a very convenient city to live in, all the services are very easily accessible, there are so many shops and restaurants and the public transportation system is very good.

With the University and my job I started to get a routine in my daily life, which makes me very happy. In my free time I love to explore the city and there are so many beautiful and interesting places in Shenzhen and I still have a lot of plans that I want to do. I love to just go out and have a walk around the neighborhood, just to soak in the atmosphere.

Looking back I can’t really believe how much I’ve achieved in these two months: I started learning a new language, I moved into my first own apartment, I found and started working at my new job, I made a lot of new friends and I managed to take care of myself for this whole time. I can definitely tell that I got so much more independent in a very short time.

Because so much happened in this time it sometimes feels like I’ve been here for much longer, but time also goes by so fast and sometimes I feel like I just arrived one week ago.

I am so thankful for the opportunity I have to live here in Shenzhen and I’m really looking forward to all the experiences, moments and challenges that are still about to come during my time in China!