Since the 22nd of August I'm back to Shanghai. I quit my job in Tuebingen and currently start a new position as DAAD lecturer for the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology (USST). I will work in the current position for at least 2 and at most 5 years. Well, I hope for 5 years…

The last weeks in Tuebingen were very stressful with all the preparation, but right now I have quite relaxed days since my classes do not start before the 25th of September. I just need to do finish some leftover work, which I brought with me from Germany and also get my residence permit here. This week I had to take some medical examination. That is the third one I had to take recently… In Germany I first took a medical exam for the Chinese visa, which is necessary to get the visa to entry China, if you plan to stay for a year, but the certificate is not accepted as soon as you enter China, so in China you have to take another exam… Then in Germany I also had to undergo a tropical medical examination, which is obligatory, if you want to work for DAAD. In all examinations they took blood samples and tested mainly the same. I am so done with those medical health checks!

This week I also met my 15 Chinese colleagues. All are very kind and one new teacher, just has finished his studies at Tongji University, where he used to visit my German film evenings.

Ye Fan and me moved in together in the New Experthouse of the University and we already feel at home in our new place. Our apartment is nice (three rooms plus kitchen, bathroom and balcony) and situated on the campus, which is very green. Apart from the construction work going on in front of our house (the street is redone) and a noisy neighbor in the opposite house, who likes to quarrel every evening around dinner time, the environment is quiet and pleasant. There are hardly foreigners on the campus and around the campus, so we live in a totally Chinese environment.

Yesterday when I visited the Tongji Campus, where I used to work three years ago, I was astonished to see so many Western foreigners. On the way to the campus I also met an old acquaintance: My former phone card dealer. He had to move his shop to the other side of the street and even though I visited Shanghai twice during my time in Tuebingen, we haven’t met for over two years, but when I passed by, he immediately recognized me and called me and we had a little chat. I still have problems communicating in Chinese, but with friends and acquaintances it’s easier, because I don’t feel so shy and they are more cooperative. The other day I had a bit frustrating experience with a taxi driver with whom I had a long talk and when I had problems explaining where to stop the car, he said: “Ni de zhongwen hai bu xing.” (“Your Chinese is still not ok.” Thanks a lot. Great to hear that from a person, who doesn’t speak any foreign languages…