Blog | Dominik Mayer – Products, Asia, Productivity
The story of my life in China is here.
Cloud Nine Shopping Mall
The first time I’ve been to a Sushi bar. I found out that I’m not that much of a Sushi fan.
Learning German
Here’s a text from a German exam in China. It explains why Germans like women with darker skin while Chinese prefere those with a lighter tone.
But my favorite is still this dialog from a textbook:
A: Hello, Mr. Muller. B: Hello, Mrs. Krug. A: How are you? B: Good, thank you. A: Really? B: Yes, everything’s ok. A: Really? B: Yes, I am very well. A: Aha. B: Wonderful. A: Aaah. B: Yes, life is so beautiful.
Chinese Household Remedy
Waxberry against diarrhea.
First Day of School
We only sang pinyin and my Korean classmates repeated every single Chinese syllable the teacher said. Even when it was in the middle of a sentence. I don’t know if they understood the teacher at all as their English is not the best. Too bad, we could hardly talk.
Tongji Daxue
Construction site in front of Tongji University. The main entrance is on the left side. The tower in the background is the newest building on campus. Jan wrote about it some time ago.
The International School in the shabbiest building around. We didn’t even find it at first because the sign says something like “gas building”.
Another image you might not find on the Tongji website.
I don’t get the purpose of this building. What is a “National Demonstration Center for Teaching and Learning”? They also have a “Basic Teaching Experimental Building” whatever this might be.
Cats… They’re everywhere.
Hongkou
Old Chinese houses. I think they’ll tear them down to build more compounds. At least that’s what a model in Rainbow City 2 suggests.
The view from my window. You can see the Oriental Pearl Tower and the Word Financial Center in Pudong.
The Mall of Rainbow City 2.
Don't Call Me
I just learned that I have to pay when someone calls me because the costs are shared. (The headline is just a joke, calls are very cheap here.)
Out of Kabul
First time in another part of Shanghai. No debris, dirt and construction sites. Instead: Nice streets with trees, little houses and great clubs. We’ve been to four of them.
Please Sign Here
In order to take the extensive language course at the International School I had to resign at the School of Economics and Management. It’s not possible to be enrolled in both without paying extra.
Today I got my Chinese books and had to sign with my Chinese name: 马德. The first one means “horse”, the second one “kindness”, “morality” or “virtue” and is also used for German things: 德国 = Germany, 德国人 = German (person), …
I could only write the first sign so they painted both and I tried to imitate them. To make sure it’s readable they repeated “德” in brackets…
Old Woman
Looking for a room, I visited the apartment of an old woman today. I could rent a room for 1500 Yuan and use bathrooms, kitchen, living room with her and another person that might move in. The good thing: She doesn’t speak either German or English so I’d be forced to learn Chinese. And she asked if I could cook and when I said not Chinese food, she said she could. The apartment also looks very nice and the price is good. But what if someone wants to visit me or I come home late?
For the Record
I’m still alive but very sick. Details of the trip to Shanghai will follow.
Twenty Kilograms
It’s a joke, and not a very good one. I don’t know how I should bring the most needed stuff if I am only allowed to take twenty kilograms. Why on earth did I decide to go to China? Why couldn’t I just stay here, keep the apartment, enjoy the semester break, …? Next week the lecture period will start at Tongji. The fun continues.
I Need Sleep
05:56 am. I’ve been in Cham for about an hour. Three hours until the furniture has to be lugged to the third floor. Afterwards, I have to drive 150 km back to Freising to clean the apartment. And nothing’s packed yet. The things I planned to take along are much heavier than 20 kg and more than I can fit in my suitcase.
Right Direction
Webware has an article about a change in facebook’s platform policy. It now forbids applications to force users to invite others in order to get to desired results. Bad luck, color app.
The next step should be the introduction of a minimum period of time between installation and the possibility to invite others. You wouldn’t recommend a book or a movie without having seen it or at least knowing more about it that just the title, would you?