Getting settled in Shanghai

I arrived in Shanghai September 5, 2011. It was scary just seeing the city coming in from the taxi. I got settled into Shanghai at the Rayfont hotel to start searching for apartments. I was, I believe, ridiculously lucky in being able to get a lot of things settled in the first day of arriving. It helped that a friend of mine was able to take a look at the place that I was already considering. Still, looking back at things, I'm amazed at the fortune I had in getting a phone and a signed contract to stay in my apartment within 4 hours of arriving.

My apartment was really small, 46 square meters including the bathroom and a small washing machine. You could describe it as a loft, with a small bed constructed close to the ceiling so that there's a larger floor area. It was actually a very quaint but homey place, a huge shift from the places i've stayed at in Manila and Vancouver. I liked it, I liked the privacy it afforded me and the sense of independence... it was liberating. I got it furnished the day after from Carrefour; got my wifi fixed; finalized the situation with the Ayi; and settled into my apartment on day 2 in Shanghai. Big woop.

The first days in Shanghai was made easier by having friendly faces around with me. Matthias, Sunny and Roger made the whole adjustment period a lot more approachable. There's a tangible value in having a friendly face in a new environment. Maybe not codependence but the knowledge of having a community there; even just one with fairly loose connections just to break bread with and understand your perspective along with you... there's a security in that. I'll talk a bit more about community later on when i eventually talk about the friends i made. But safe to say that having fellow UBC people there was reassuring that I wasn’t crazy for going to China.

I also had a purpose for the first couple of days which i was grateful for. It just so happened that there was a polyurethane conference in Shanghai. I was seriously uncertain the first couple of days, something that i think everyone will go through. But a jump from the pleasant Vancouver summers to the Shanghai heat was a pretty big one, having a purpose to wake up and immerse myself, forcefully most of the time, was helpful. I learned to appreciate that value of purpose to give yourself a reason to wake up and engage the world in China, this was one incident, the other one i'll talk more about during our trip to Xi'an.

Embracing Uncertainty

I like this title, I think I'll name my blog this.

So it's been the better part of a month here in Shanghai and I have to say I'm starting to settle in. I like the fact that things here move fast. It feels like a country more receptive to new things, new ideas, crazy ideas at that. Rules are pliable to the extent that you can compel. It's so fast paced that slowing down seems like cheating the city of what it can give you. I'm not one to say but as how see it in movies, I guess the allegory of Shanghai now and the wild west before would be fairly accurate albeit a little more order but the spirit stays the same.

I'm not certain if it's because of the timing and the situation of my life and how it matches to the youth and exuberance Shanghai. It's just been a little over a year since the MBA and I can't just imagine how far things have changed. A little over a year ago, I was in Fresh Direct trading fruits and vegetables. I was looking for a way to get excited professionally again, hence the MBA.

I can't fathom how fast life has moved on. If you told me 18 months ago that I would be sitting in an apartment in Shanghai pondering new jobs in private equity or business development for a huge multinational instead of sitting in Vancouver with the same professional track, I wouldn't have believed it. But in between that I found a fire, learned how to sail, learned about the professional world that I would have never even been able to come close to had I not taken that plunge.

I like uncertainty. I wonder what's next.