Geo hostel houses in China for the poor. The harsh spirit of Chinese hostelry

— (Author) I’m driving around campus now, I came to pick up my sister, I need to pick up her things. And, I hope, now I’ll show you how she lived, in which dorm. And hopefully my sister will want to say something to the camera.

Hi all! “Chinese Noodles” is with you. I met my sister, meet Nastya!

- (Nastya) Hello everyone!

— (Author) She is a student, has already entered her second year. In fact, already in the third year, because the first year she studied Chinese. She will tell us her story separately, how she got here, how she studied. He will tell you what it is like to be a student in China. And he will share very useful information for those who are interested in this, for those who want to come here.

Have you already subscribed to my YouTube channel about immigration to Canada?

- (Nastya) This hostel where I lived is called “Bai Low”. This is the second dormitory at my university for foreign students.

— (Nastya) Foreign languages. The hostel is not very big, but, in general, cozy. The rooms, look, are different. There is either for one person, or for two, or for one, but with a toilet and a shower. That is, in which I lived. At the moment I am leaving it, but we will now ask to be let into it to show it off.

- (Nastya) This is not like a hostel, it’s, as my brother said, more like a hotel. But on the floor there is a common toilet for those who live in a room without a toilet or in double rooms. There is also a shower and a small kitchenette on the floor.

There is just a small stand with information, announcements, whatever I appear. Letters come and come from abroad, they are delivered here.

- (Nastya) I do this too from time to time, I even read other people’s letters and these greeting cards.

- (Nastya) No, I don’t open letters. Here is also information, and for the lucky ones, who can order from Taobao, comes directly here, and they accept parcels.

— (Author) Here are all of Nastya’s belongings, which she has been diligently saving for the second year now. When I came to Beijing, I came with one bag. I had half of my clothes - T-shirts, a pair of pants, jeans, a jacket. And the rest was medicine.

- (Nastya) They gave me the key.

In China, student dormitories are divided into dormitories for Chinese students and dormitories for foreign students. The dormitory for Chinese students is divided into female and male buildings, with 6-8 people in each room. Of course, there are no amenities in the room; as a rule, there are no air conditioners either. In general, for a European person the conditions are very questionable, although for all Chinese these are normal conditions.

The hostel for international students is usually quite decent. There are universities where all dorm rooms are single/double, the rooms have amenities and sometimes there is a tiny kitchen. In some Chinese universities, the dormitory is divided into blocks (apartments), each block has a large room with a TV, a kitchen, a shower, a toilet and 2-3 bedrooms. Each bedroom is designed for 1-2 people. The size of the bedrooms varies by university. Sometimes they are very small, where only a bed, a table and a wardrobe can fit, and sometimes there are rooms of the usual size for us.

In some universities, the dormitories are of very dubious quality, and if two people are traveling, it may be more convenient and cheaper for them to rent an apartment. There is almost no information and photos of hostels on the Internet, so I decided to visit universities on the spot and decide where I would study and where I would live.

At my university, an apartment consists of a hall, a kitchen, two bedrooms and a toilet with a shower. The bedrooms have air conditioning. The apartment is designed for 3 people.

The first thing that surprised me was the bars on all the windows; in some cities in China, including Nanchang, this is a normal phenomenon, regardless of the floor.

Hall with access to the balcony. There is a washing machine on the balcony.

Bedroom 1.

Bedroom 2.

The bedrooms are equipped with air conditioning. All blocks are the same, below is a photo of another block.

Small kitchen.
The photo shows an old broken stove, but they bought me a new one. Thanks to the department for work with international students, all issues were resolved. A leaking faucet, a non-working stove and problems with the air conditioner - everything was solved!

The cleanliness of the apartment greatly depends on who lived previously. The university itself does not even check the cleanliness of the apartment after students move out.
The apartments for foreign teachers are the same and are located in the next entrance. Of course, one teacher lives in one apartment + the apartments are better equipped with technology.

Let me remind you that I study at the University of Nanchang (located between Guangzhou and Shanghai, the city’s population is 6 million people), and you can get to GZh, Shanghai, and Beijing in one night by train.
The cost of studying at my university, Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University, is only 7000 RMB per semester, including dormitory accommodation!
About 80,000 rubles for training and accommodation!
Our uni group.

Quarrels in line at the washbasin, large cockroaches in the kitchen, one toilet for the entire floor, regular checks... This is the list of daily everyday problems that awaits every student in the hostel. And if Russian students are mentally prepared to meet them face to face, then foreign students who come to study in Russia have no idea what they will have to face behind the doors of their new home.

Students from China, the USA and Vietnam will talk about what life is like for foreigners in an ordinary Russian dorm, and how they manage to cope with the barrage of difficulties that befall them. I am sure that their revelations will surprise you.

Weilin Zhou (China)

“I lived in an ordinary student dormitory, which is located almost a step away from the university. In Chinese dormitories they usually accommodate eight people per room, but here for the first few years I lived with just one roommate. In addition, there are many restrictions in Chinese dormitories. For example, at 11 pm everyone is required to turn off the lights and log off the Internet. You can't disobey. And here is freedom. In the first years, it was difficult for me to get used to the fact that my neighbor was solving her problems in the room until three or four o’clock in the morning and that life was in full swing behind the wall and in the corridor at night. “Drinking” in a Chinese hostel means drinking one or two bottles of beer with your neighbors. It turns out that drinking in Russian dormitories is a completely different matter; here students often drink until they start to feel sick. It's surprising but fun to watch.

But local hostels have kitchens—you won’t find such luxury in China. At the same time, Russia has a hellish bureaucracy. You can even pay for accommodation in a hostel in China at an ATM, but in Russia you have to spend a lot of time waiting in line. And in Russian hostels there are very aggressive commandants and duty officers. They think Chinese students are stupid and call us lazy. I miss discipline. I also miss the usual food in the hostel. All MSU dormitories have luxurious dining rooms. In the sense that there is a huge selection, but it costs every penny. However, Russian food is too bland and not spicy for me. Sometimes we prepare our food in the kitchen, but Russian students are so funny - they walk along the corridor as if we are frying something terrible there and they need to quickly pass so as not to smell. In general, in Moscow there are real restaurants with Chinese food, but they are far from the hostel. That’s why some Chinese classmates shop there and then resell it in the dormitory!”

Yaroslav Katkov (USA)

“I decided to go to a Russian university to learn the language. And of course, I was attracted by the size of this country. I decided to go to HSE because they have very good conditions for foreigners. The student dormitory in which I was placed here is like this, as I imagined it. I really like the location: near VDNKh, Ostankino and Sokolniki Park. Right next to the hostel you can rent a bicycle and ride around the area. I live with my neighbors in a simple, almost empty room, no luxury, but you can live . I try to spend as little time as possible in the hostel in order to explore Moscow and the surrounding area. The only thing I don’t like about everyday life is the widespread savings on electricity. I have to wait a long time for the stove to heat up to cook something. And There was also very slow Wi-Fi everywhere in the hostel. For my taste, the furniture here is uncomfortable: the desk and closet are too small. The neighbors were quite adequate. On weekends and holidays it can be quite noisy, but at this time I always try to go hang out somewhere in bar, so in the grand scheme of things I don't care. In fact, I really love my dorm. I will really miss this time when I finish studying. I noticed that Russians really like to scold everything they own, but as for student dormitories, I can say that here they are exactly the same as in the States."

Phan Bao Ngoc (Vietnam)

“Since I am a foreigner, I was placed in dormitory No. 2. The dormitory is located a stone’s throw from the university, it is very convenient and safe. In dormitory No. 2, mostly foreign students live, thanks to this I got to know the cultures of different countries, this is a big plus. The neighbors are very friendly and sociable. But among them there are also those who throw parties at night. I don’t really like this, since I myself don’t like noisy companies - sometimes it’s annoying, but you can tolerate it. But what’s much more annoying is that We have a lot of cockroaches! They are everywhere! Although, at the same time, living conditions in a Russian hostel are much better than in Vietnam. Here my neighbor and I live together, and in Vietnamese hostels there are 6-8 people living in a room. And also in Vietnam everything is very strict. There, in all dormitories there is a time after which you cannot leave or enter the dormitory, usually from ten in the evening. In Vietnam, guys and girls have to live not just on different floors, but in different buildings. Moreover, if When a girl comes to see her boyfriend, he must ask permission from the commandant. And even if the commandant allows him to go into the girl’s room, he will still look at them every 10 minutes. And here is freedom. Sometimes our Vietnamese community gets together and we cook something together. For example, on eastern holidays like the Lunar New Year."

After reading these reviews, I became a little nostalgic about student life. And now I solemnly want to apologize for all the rude words addressed to my home hostel! It turns out that everything was great with us. A Russian person cannot be kept in such discipline and severity as, for example, the Chinese. Yaroslav said correctly: “Russians love to scold everything they own.” We always feel good where we are not. And as it turns out, we are very much mistaken.

In which interesting citizens talk about their favorite places in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg. In the new issue, the 25-year-old owner of a chain of Vietnamese cafes, Anh Nguyen, talks about the life of the Vietnamese diaspora in Yekaterinburg, shows the airport cinema and shares the plot of his own cartoon.

Three years ago, with the support of the national community, Vietnamese Anh Nguyen opened a cafe in Yekaterinburg where they prepare pho soup, crispy nems and brew Vietnamese coffee. In May, establishments under the Vietmon guise became a chain: the young entrepreneur invested his own funds in exotic cuisine. Largely thanks to Anya, more and more Asian establishments are appearing in Yekaterinburg.

Despite his Vietnamese origin, the favorite of city gourmets was born and raised in Russia, where he graduated from the Faculty of International Relations. Mother Anya Bui Shen came to the Soviet Union on exchange, settled in Kemerovo and gave birth to a son in 1992. Afterwards the family moved to Yekaterinburg. His mother sold suits in the Chinese market, leaving Anya to a Russian nanny, and in 1998, due to financial difficulties, she sent the boy to Vietnam for five years. There, the future restaurateur learned the Vietnamese language and became closely acquainted with his native culture.

Chinese hostel at Uralmash

From 1995 to 2010, my mother and I lived in a hostel on Mashinostroiteley Street. Everyone called the hostel Chinese, although in fact the Vietnamese diaspora lived here. It was safer for the Vietnamese to be here - those who rented apartments were often attacked by racketeers and demanded money. And here we could all fight back together. We lived in a small room of 18 square meters and paid 12,000 rubles for it. At home we had a washing machine, a refrigerator, a wardrobe, beds and a TV. Mom worked a lot, came home and went to bed. I turned off the light and went out to read books in the corridor.

There were 40 rooms on the floor, and in the evening each family rolled a cart with spices and a wok into the corridor and prepared food. There was a fog in the air and everything smelled of spices. I used to think that this smell was everywhere at Uralmash, but then I realized that I was the only one smelling it. After dinner, the neighbors opened their doors, turned on music, and the floor turned into a big noisy Vietnamese disco. You could visit each other, sit on the floor and listen to stories. Or you could go play ping-pong or cards.

Vietnamese in the washbasins slaughtered pigeons, ducks and chickens bought at the market, and then they cooked it right away

A Russian alcoholic lived next door to me, I once went into his room and saw a large library. They told me that he used to be an engineer at UZTM, but something happened and he began to become an alcoholic. I saw a neighbor pour alcohol into himself, he felt sick, but he still continued to drink. There were also prostitutes living nearby. A man from our floor often came to see them, and I heard him quarreling with his wife because of this. The prostitutes stayed in the room almost all the time and only came out at night to shower.

All the Vietnamese threw garbage out of the window. We were too lazy to go down and walk 10 meters, so the diaspora hired a woman to clean up this garbage. She waited for a larger mountain to accumulate under the walls and gradually transferred it to the tanks. I think she hated us.

The Vietnamese slaughtered pigeons, ducks and chickens bought at the market in washbasins, and then immediately cooked them. On the ground floor there was a warehouse for clothes that were sold on Tagansky Row: slippers, tracksuits and jeans. My friends and I loved to sneak through there and climb among things.

Since the majority lived illegally, the police often visited the dorm. When the raid began, the manager ran across all floors and screamed. The residents were hiding in rooms behind iron doors. Those who didn’t have time to run there hid in the toilet or jumped out of the window. One man is still limping after the jump. Riot police caught me twice. They put me with other illegal immigrants and drove me through the forests so that we would be scared. But then we still returned to Uralmash, because the police station was located right next to the hostel. The police released me after calling school No. 49, where the teachers confirmed that I was really studying there.

In the next house there lived a Dagestan gopnik named Ali. He constantly pestered me when I passed by. He repeated the same phrase as if routinely: “Do you have any money?” It all ended in a fight. We agreed to meet after school and got into a fight. It was a draw.

After moving, I like to walk around the hostel, remembering how we played volleyball in the yard and grilled kebabs. There was an abandoned hospital nearby, and my friend and I were skateboarding there. The building was guarded by a watchman, but he never forbade us to run through the ruins.

I made money for films through massage. The loader neighbors shouted to me: “Hey guy, stretch me!” and offered 50 or 100 rubles.

Cinema "Znamya"

When I was 10 years old, I didn’t know about the existence of cinemas. A Russian language tutor took me to the Salyut cinema as a New Year's gift. We watched a Christmas cartoon about elves. From then on I started going to the cinema often. The Znamya cinema was located closest to the school. The first time my classmates and I ran away from the school summer playground and came to watch a film about Harry Potter.

Nothing has changed here since then. The same paintings on the walls and drawings on the ceiling. I like the festive atmosphere here, as if I were not at Uralmash. I get the feeling that in just a little while I’ll be leaving somewhere or flying away - it’s like an airport for movies.

At first I loved science fiction and adventure, I loved the X-Men and Pirates of the Caribbean. Then tastes changed and I moved on to Quentin Tarantino, Jim Jarmusch and Takeshi Kitano. I watch Russian films, but your humor is too hidden and incomprehensible. I have lived almost my entire life in Russia, but I am still a stranger to you. For the Vietnamese I am too Russian, and for the Russians I am too Vietnamese. So I'm in a cultural no man's land and watching each side.

I made money for films through massage. The loader neighbors shouted to me: “Hey guy, stretch me!” and offered 50 or 100 rubles. I hid the money in a dead end on the first floor under the linoleum, because my mother would have taken it away from home.

Simple Coffee on Lenina

I come to a coffee shop to read or relax, it’s a good place to think. I like a seat in the middle of the room on a high bar stool. I usually order an Americano with cream and watch the visitors, feeling like a lighthouse. It was here that I got the idea to open a second cafe. I walked along Lenin Avenue and saw that the premises were for rent. I thought - why not. I sat down at a table in a coffee shop and began to figure out how much equipment and people would be needed, what the menu and design would be.

It was also here that I came up with the idea of ​​creating a cartoon, and now I’m looking for artists for it. It will be divided into 12 stories. Each part is a story from my life or about the life of my Vietnamese neighbors. One of the stories will be about my nanny. She looked after me in the dorm while my mother worked. She had a husband who was fired from the factory, and he started drinking. One day he stole money from her and she became very angry. I heard them screaming at each other in the kitchen, ran in and saw her strangling him. I was little, I didn’t know how to separate them, and I decided to portray a dinosaur. I haven't decided how I'll end this story yet. Maybe the ending will be open and end with the boy who became a dinosaur.

Many people think that a Chinese dormitory is some incredibly dirty, cramped and smelly place, where it is almost impossible for a normal person to live. If you think that I will now refute these words, then no, it is so. But this is a brief description of a Chinese hostel for the Chinese, and for foreigners everything is much better.

When I was still in Russia and they told me that I would live in a block with five more girls, I was not happy, I couldn’t imagine anything. But as soon as I entered my block, all the nightmares that I could only imagine disappeared in an instant.

Our block consists of three rooms, each of which is designed for two people, all rooms are connected by a corridor or “mini-living room”, there are also two sinks and two bathrooms. node. The “mini-living room” has a large table, a bench and a TV (we never even turned it on). The rooms have the usual set: two beds, two tables with shelves, chairs and two wardrobes, and each room also has a balcony covering an entire wall, which can be considered both a plus and a minus, since it is very cold in winter. The rooms are not small, you can easily do exercises without suffering from lack of space.

The most pleasant surprise (for us) was the news that two girls from our block refused grants and will not live with us, that is, there are four of us living in a block for six of us :)

The hostel also has rooms for 2 and 4 people.

In the very first week, my neighbor and I decided that our room should be cozy so that we could call it “our home” and be happy to come there. So the first thing we did was go to IKEA. Of course, there we managed to buy everything we needed, lie on luxurious beds, and eat delicious European meatballs :)

When we arrived, we laid a carpet on the floor, made the beds with blankets, lit the tables with lamps, we even bought two small cacti, but due to our inability to care for them (or simply stupidity), they did not live with us for long, we decorated the walls with drawings and photographs of our relatives, so as not to get bored, as well as motivational phrases.

The dorm has one laundry room with seven washing machines for the entire dorm. There are not always free machines, but in principle, if you wait 10 minutes, some might become free and you can pay your 3 yuan for washing. But it also happens that all the machines are empty and you can even wash them in a newer machine (which is paid for with a Wichat wallet, I talked about it in a previous post). There are also boilers with hot water, which costs pennies.

We pay for electricity and water in the hostel ourselves. Interestingly, the fee for sockets, lights and air conditioning + hot water boiler is separate. We pay for everything using a student card, onto which we first deposit money from a bank card. You don't need any cash and it's very convenient. By the way, we use these cards to pay throughout the campus in shops, canteens, and cafes.

Visiting hours in the dormitory are limited, as are the times when you can enter and leave it. Our hostel closes at 23:00 and opens at 6:00. Not without checking the rooms. Basically they check for the presence of everyone in their rooms and the presence of equipment (yes, any equipment is prohibited, even a hairdryer, even a kettle).

Not all photos belong to me.

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