Landing in 北京
This summer I packed my bags and hopped on a flight to Beijing to intern at Xberts in 中关村, Beijing’s technology hub. Prior to leaving a had many conversations with friends and family that went like this:
“So you’re going to Beijing?”
“Yes I am”
“How do you feel about that?”
“Well… I don’t really know. It hasn’t really hit me.”
At the time Beijing seemed distant, I just couldn’t imagine how different things would be especially as a Chinese Canadian I thought I would quickly fit into the city. After all, I can speak Mandarin without an accent and I look Chinese. Still I didn’t really know what to expect and how I would cope. I had mixed feelings, certainly a bit anxious but overall I was just excited to spend my summer in the bustling city of Beijing.
Beijing is Big
When I finally landed at PEK, the nerves finally caught up to me. As I exited the airport with I was lost. Normally I’m okay with directions but coming from a place where the subway lines look like this
to this
was a bit overwhelming. Just today I walked nearly 30 minutes in the wrong direction of my workplace because I tried a different route. I was surprised by the size of the city. Not only is Beijing massive, it’s dense throughout. I got a sense of the scale when I rode the subway for several stops. Instead of seeing shorter buildings and detached houses as I moved away from the city centre, the neighbourhood I found myself in was just as urban as the last.
Awkward Communications
The second thing that struck me was the difficulty in communications. Since I look the part and can speak without an accent, I would often be spoken to like I’m a native. I nod politely but really I just missed half of what’s been said. My Chinese vocabulary is poor and when it comes to idioms and jokes, they go over my head. Still I am thankful for having this opportunity to improve my second language.
Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work
I can already tell that the startups here have the special brand of hustle called 加油(add oil), which kinda loses its meaning when translated. It’s this mentality that keeps 中关村 up into the evening with Saturdays included. I certainly did not expect to work six days a week but when in 中关村…Although the hours and weeks are longer, work itself doesn’t feel labourious. In many ways it feels like a group project where we don’t notice the passing hours because we enjoy each other’s company and believe in what we do. Deadlines such as Demo Day for the Y Combinator Summer batch 2016 coming up at the end of August is also good motivation for us .
Well am I still a bit anxious? Yep, but not as much now that I’ve settled and started getting the hang of navigating Beijing.
Am I still excited to spend the rest of summer in Beijing? More than ever.
Special thanks to The Cansbridge Fellowship for making this summer possible.
