End of July I came to IMR in to do my research in detonation gun sprayed wear resistant WC-Co coatings.

The travel to was decided at the beginning of May this year, so there was not so much time to organise the important things like visa, passport, flight, etc., but I have managed it and my journey to could begin.

When I arrived in , I was picked up there by some members of the Lab. As we drove back to IMR my first impression about the traffic was that there are no rules existing. Everything, so it seems to me, was allowed. And the most important part in every car was the horn. But the streets were very clean and beautiful decorated with flowers. It has looked very inviting.

Then I got to know my new classmates in the Lab. All of them were very friendly. This was something what have never changed during this time I have stayed here in IMR. Whenever I needed help I could ask someone and I got this help.

The Chinese food was good. But the first weeks I have to learn handling the chopsticks, because in I have never eaten with them before. So the times for my first meals were much longer than at the end of my stay, but not for eating only for catching the food with the chopsticks. Now I think I can handle these chopsticks in a passable way.

My first visits in the city of Shenyang were very impressive. There are so many people and so much traffic. In normally you never see so many people at one place like for example here in the middle street. Maybe short before Christmas you can get the feeling like you have here every day. And another difference are the opening hours of the shops. In the shops close at in the week and they do not open on Sunday. Here you can go every day whenever you want till , and buy whatever you need.

At the end of September I have started to learn Chinese. But the time was too short to learn this language in a way to communicate with the people. Only a few sentences are possible for me to say. So I will further study Chinese, when I go back to . And maybe then the next time I can speak with the people Chinese in a simple way.

Another positive aspect here in IMR is the vacation with many activities like climbing, karaoke, rafting, swimming… It is really funny to do these things together with the whole group. That’s something I haven’t got to know in this way in . In you always do your own thing.

During my staying here in IMR there were some activities which the graduation school did for us foreign people. We visited the opera, what was very interesting to see it live. Another journey was to the summer palace (故宫) in . With these visits we got the possibility to learn something about the culture and the history of china.

And to work here in China is a great challenge. No one is in hurry and everything needs time. So at the beginning of my work I was sometimes frustrated because things didn’t go like I wanted. But with the time elapsed this effect became quite normal for me. The way to use equipment is also not the same as in . In I can use the equipment whenever I need it without to wait for over one week. Here in you must inquire for example the SEM one week before you want to use it. If you know this you can organise your work properly, but I was very surprised at the first time I heard this.

As a conclusion I must say that I have enjoyed these four months here in IMR and I would like to come back if it is possible. All the people here are very kind and obliging. But the time was too short to see life in .

Deep in my heart I hope I can come back to learn more about the people, the history and to get an access to the culture. But now I am very sad that I flew back and left my new friends behind. 

 

谢谢大家对我的帮助!

欢迎你们去德国. 

再见!