I used the app Couchsurfing during my stay in the port city Guangzhou to meet up with Chinese. A woman invited me to go dancing and learn about Cantonese culture.
Part 01
I took a train from Changsha to Guangzhou to explore a new town differently. I booked a room with Airbnb, where I could stay a week. It was very convenient because the host had a large living room with a big desk to work on my notebook. The host gave me advice, and I went to a vast secondhand market to take out my bargain skills and buy an essential laptop. The device I eventually bought was set up with Windows 8 and fit perfectly in my backpack. Back at home, I could not use VPN services. So I erased the entire hard disk and put Windows 10 on it. Eventually, everything was prepared.
I had written diaries for the past year, and I decided to translate them from German to English. I started using English to communicate during my previous work, but my writing skills were basic. I also learned how to use HTML and CSS to create my website. Some pages of my writings I added to my blog to share with others. Luckily, I was not the only guest in the apartment, a local Chinese girl was preparing for her exam, and we could share some stories. Sometimes she cooked Chinese food, or we ordered it to the door. I got up early to buy some delicious Chinese steamed bread in the morning. They call them Baozi or bao. There are many variations of fillings with meat or vegetables. It was an excellent meal to start the day early and much better to write a few hours in the morning. In the afternoon, I could learn how to improve my website and do other things I need less concentration on. On the last day of my stay, I booked a different room on the other side of the town.
Part 02
I began to prepare my journey for the next months and had to wait for four different visas to explore South East Asia in the upcoming months. I realized I had not seen a lot of Guangzhou, and my new host gave me the advice to use the Couchsurfing App because, in this city, many young people use it to hang out. I do not prefer to hang out with other foreigners in China, and the app had a lot of opportunities to meet inhabitants. I created an account and sent messages to strangers if they had time to take me as a guest or hang out. I was too hesitant and did not get an appointment at the beginning. Couchsurfing is for hanging out or needing a couch for an overnight. Therefore I made many requests. A woman told me she had time to hang up on Sunday.
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