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When you first arrive in a foreign country everything seems mysterious. In the next few weeks and months you embark in the foreign culture, meet new people from all over the world and find new friends. However the family and friends back home seem so far away that you sometimes wish you would have something from back home. It is not necessarily homesickness but the desire to find something that feels familiar.

When I started my internship at the German Consulate-General in Chengdu the first event that I participated in was “Cooking with the Consul”, an outreach-event that was organized by the German Consulate-General in Chengdu. Getting to meet a real-life Consul-General in a kitchen and cooking with him might sound very out-of-the-box at first, but for me it was a welcome touch of home: Together with other living and working in Chengdu, we dined as if we would have been back in Germany. The invited Chinese guests were also impressed by the authentic food and good conversations between Germans and Chinese.

How did I get to work as an intern in the German Consulate-General? My Story began in September 2015 in Wuhan. Because of my studies in sinology I was studying Chinese at the Wuhan University (武大). During that time I registered for the internship program of the German Foreign Office in Berlin, without much hope of actually being selected for one of the prestigious positions. So when I was offered an internship at the German Consulate-General in Chengdu at the end of January, I immediately agreed. Not only did I agree because I had study friends in Chengdu, I also wanted to see the famous Chinese pandas - and where else to see them but in their hometown Chengdu, Sichuan.

In Chengdu I was amazed by the beauty of the city: blue sky, green trees neatly organized on the side of the road and friendly people. I have to say that compared to Wuhan, Chengdu is organized, not only the traffic does not seem to want to kill me but also the life in Chengdu is compact and friendly for newbies. Through the WeChat Account “Chengdubeer” I get weekly updates for events in Chengdu. It allows me to plan a nice weekend with friends and see the newest bars and concerts. Because of this account I was also able to get in contact with the international women’s football club “Chengdu Sunbirds” in which I hope to play football and make friends.

The international lifestyle is very up-to-date. Every Tuesday evening there is an International Corner at “Savage Bar” where people from all over the world meet, become friends and of course drink free beer for an hour. I was also pleasantly surprised by the famous Sichuan spices; everything is hot but still eatable. So do not worry, I survived even though my friends thought I would not. The people are able to speak English which helps a lot because sometimes the Sichuan dialect is hard to understand. However this dialect and the people here are unique, welcoming and always greet you with a smile.

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