t01/03/2007: Arrival in Guangzhou !

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After 12 hours of flight, I finally arrived at Baiyun airport at 6:30 AM. Even if I look fresh on the picture, I was exhausted. As the day was just starting, I could not have a rest at all knowing that in France it was 11:30 PM.
Thus, note there are 7 hours of time lag between France and this part of China - Guangzhou.

I travelled with two colleagues from my university: Rym and Gilles. We met an Algerian in the plane who became very friendly with us maybe because Rym is a good-looking Tunisian girl… He invited us to drink a coffee at the arrival and he left us very quickly due to his connection plane time. What a nice guy or should I say, thank you Rym! ;-)

We took a taxi from Baiyun airport to our welcome chinese university called Sun Yat-Sen University. It is about 20/25°C in Guangzhou and it is humid due to the present rainy weather.

My first steps on the Chinese land were not bad at all. I discovered a huge and a very beautiful campus enclosed in Guangzhou city. Sun Yat-Sen campus has almost the size of my town Pertuis! I and my friends were welcomed very well at the international office of the university by Chinese students who helped us to register.

Then, we took the keys of our apartment on the campus and I should say that we have a very nice apartment. We are located near the West gate of the campus in the professor’s building. Foreign students live separately from Chinese students. As I understood, undergraduate Chinese students live at 5 or 6 persons in a same room whereas graduate Chinese students live at 2 or 3. The pre-doctorate Chinese students live alone in a room but we - occidental people - live in an apartment like Professors who live with their family here. We are so privileged!

When I say foreign students, I should say French students in fact because almost all the students of my building are French!
So we spent the evening with 10 French students and they show us the night view of Guangzhou from the building’s roof that I will present you when we will do a barbecue there!

Finally, I had a nice arrival in China even though a naughty cash machine took my credit card!!!

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Photos

Aurelie at Baiyun airport...
Finally arrived in Guangzhou! Youpi!

My beautiful building...
I am living here at the 5th floor of this nice building.