As many people are busy thinking about August I thought it would be good to seek advice from previous interns. With your experience I'm sure many of you will have handy hints to share - you know those things that are not written in the guidebooks or on websites....

For example, ideas on what to bring, what to expect to buy , things that helped you settle in, any unusual things to consider etc etc .

Look forward to the replies and I'm sure other newbies will be too.

Cheers, Kate.

Great idea Katie! :)

I'd say if you drink a lot of coffee, definately bring a jar! Its expensive here! And I also found a little electronic translator is invaluable! Obviously a laptop or netbook too!

Thanks Rin e a little electronic translator. Given I only know ONE word in Chinese this could be a good investment. Any ideas on cost and where to get one from????

My lifelines over the past 4 months have been: cadburys chocolate, a selection of good books, English tea bags , hot chocolate sachets, jelly (have a bit of a wierd addiction) and my lovely little Dell laptop. I've been lucky enough to have quite a few of my friends and family members send over care packages with treats inside, but as we live closeish to Beijing and have been there on a few weekend trips we also get to raid the overpriced aisles at the ex-pat supermarkets when we really need our cheese / pasta / heinz baked beans fix!

Yep, i can second that coffee is expensive here. Also, tampons can be hard to find, as is reasonably priced suncream, or moisturisers without some kind of whitening formula in them.

I think its also nice to bring a few personal things from home to personalise / brighten up your accomodation a bit. I brought some photos of family and friends, and a colourful drawing by my little niece which makes me smile every time i see it!

Hope this helps!

Thanks Zoe, I've been reading your blogs with great interest - no doubt the visit from your parents was a godsend for you. Also your ideas of things to bring are greatly appreciated - its the little things that can make the world of difference and are often the things that we dont usually think of packing. I hope other people who are reading these posts also appreciate your input. Enjoy the rest of your time in China, it sounds like its gone all too quickly.

Cheers. 

Hey thanks for these great tips. I'll definetly be packing some chocolate, coffee and tea. I read somewhere that it's difficult to buy deodrants out there too, is that true?

Hey, can anyone tell me what it's like for vegetarians out there?  Is it easy to find food that is meat free or is it gonna be difficult?  Any tips would be much appreciated. 

Cheers

Kate

Hey Kate,

Being a veggie in China can be a little tricky, becuase there's quite a lot of 'hidden' meat in stuff (like fish sauce etc) - you'll also be up against a culture which doesn't really understand vegetarianism as a concept(!). But, that said, once you get the hang of which foods do and don't have meat in you'll be fine. I'd ask loads of advice from the guys at TTC during your orientation, and get one of them to write 'I am a buddhist and don't eat meat' on a piece of paper, which you can show to staff at restaurants (Buddists in China don't eat meat at all, whereas the idea of vegetarian just means a dish that's mostly vegetables, with a spot of meat for flavour).

When you get to your school also try to make friends with your liaison and get them to help you identify which foods in the school cafeteria do and don't have meat in (nothing worse than biting into a meaty dumpling as a veggie!) If needs be, ask them to write down the names of the dishes so you can show them to staff at the cafeteria and in restaurants.

Hope that helps - last but not least, don't worry about it - you won't starve!

Thanks again :-)

hey guys, anyone have a link to a UK-China plug adaptor that definitely works in China? Thanks!

(ps, thanks for the advice zoe, would not have thought of bringing that kind of stuff but it makes perfect sense when you read it!)

ok, if you bring coffee, you need to bring your own coffee filters, French press, etc. because if they sell the coffee, they don't have the coffee accessories!

Do not bring towels.  The towels in China are good enough!

bring your own pain medication.  It's pretty hard to find.  Your only other option is going to the doctor, and taking a mixture of 30 different pills for a headache, some of which include antibiotics.

deodorant can be hard to find.  Even if you can say deodorant in Chinese, they still might not know what it is. I think British people are used to spray-on deodorant.  I have never seen that kind of deodorant anywhere in China. 

keep in mind that the brands you are used to are not there. 

yeah it can be tricky being a vegetarian.  I have found many times when I asked them not to put meat in something, they quickly pointed out to me that if there was no meat in the dish that it wouldn't taste good, and put it anyway.  I'm not a vegetarian, but I had some friends who were.  Tofu is not seen as a vegeterian alternative.  I have only ever seen it served with pieces of meat in it.  Fish is not considered "meat" in China by the general public.  Buddhist temples have delicious vegan food.  You might consider eating there.  Muslim restaurants will also usually have at least a few vegetarian dishes.  There are a lot of Muslim restaurants all over China.

You won't need an adaptor in China.  All the sockets can fit every appliance from around the world.  It's quite amazing!  If you are from the U.S. you might need a voltage converter, though.

Chocolate in China is awful so definitely pack some of that. But my biggest gripe was no haribo! So make sure to pack a few bags of the sweet stuff for those emergencies! As for everything else I had no problem in finding what I needed. Deodrant wasn't a problem! If you get out there and realise you can get hold of something I'm sure someone would send it out to you! Ahh hope your having fun! xx

Hey,

They have deodorant, but it is twice the price it is in the uk.. around 30RMB.. and only the bigger places sell it. ( do they not sweat in China??? )

They do have dove chocolate ( Galaxy ) and Snickers and M&Ms but yea, chinese chocolate on a whole is awful!

The translator, I got a chinese friend to help me buy when I got here. It was about 300 RMB but worth every penny! It can translate sentences and speaks and stuff which is cool.

If you need something and get someone to send it to you from home.. be prepared for it to take about three weeks!!!

UK plugs don't fit the sockets, so you will need an adapter for those.

I knew a lot of Chinese people who never wore deodorant , and they never seemed to smell.  I guess they just don't have body odor? ? ?  When I went to the expo, they took out my roll-on deodorant from my bag during a security check, and they asked me what it was.

I apologize for the wrong info about the UK plugs.  I had a roommate from Germany and all her appliances fit, my American stuff fit, and my Australian co-worker's stuff fit as well, so I just wrongly assumed the UK plugs were all good too.