TL, DR: Essentials Day 1–What You Need to Survive Your First Day in a New Country…*Emotionally*

For those who couldn’t care less about my little stories, I’ll provide shorter entries that list helpful things from each blog. As always, if you click a link, I might make money–but it’s never more expensive for you!

So, based on yesterday’s “China Day 1” entry, here are Day One Survival Tools to soften the emotional landing in a new nation. At least, these are the things that have carried me through!

• Practice a habit the first morning like you do in your home country (ex. meditation, prayer, calling a loved one, or for me, journaling)–I prefer Moleskine because its lines and little pocket in the packet satisfy my obsession with narrow rows of a particular width. This is also where I put my boarding pass and other paraphernalia; unlike domestic US travel, many airports abroad still use physical passes, at least for non-citizens. If you like pretty designs (or, like me, have cycled through each color they offer multiple times), Moleskine also has gorgeous special editions that I’ve allowed myself to indulge in, since the “pay-per-use” ration ends up quite small after the up-front cost.
• Your favorite tea or coffee–since I was a teen, I have loved Boston Coffeehouse‘s beans in the US, more for nostalgia than any concrete cupping exercises. In China, there are a plethora of fancy local roasters, but for efficiency, I like Sinloy Coffee, based in Yunnan, China’s most well-known coffee province. Finally, I personally adore Oak & Bond Coffee in recent years; I usually bring it back with me to China from the US, in addition to Boston Coffeehouse’s. Oak & Bong barrel ages their coffee beans and the result is remarkable. (No money or affiliate links from any of these–I just really like them!)
• A guide… I am working on one for China, but ask your new employer to share the basic rules about where you’re staying, as well as nice places nearby to get the basics! Hopefully, they will provide a few things for new expat employees, especially if you just flew in from outside the country, too. Ken Abroad (no relation) also has some good guides for a few Asian countries. If you use a book or website instead of a person, note the pubilcation/update date (for China, information quickly becomes outdated or incorrect–for example, AirBnB and Uber used to be here, but no longer are.)
• A familiar “face” (food or drink)…I was strangely excited to see Coke Zero at the local bodega that first day, as well as ramen. I knew how to make that! Have no shame in the early days about going after your “comfort foods” or things that make you feel more relaxed.

BONUS TIPS:

• Bring your favorite pillowcase from home and keep it in your carry-on so you can feel further reassured. Especially helpful for curly girls, as this blogger explains.
• Get a new SIM card as soon as possible. In most countries, but especially China, you can access a ton of services with a local number that you cannot otherwise. Some foreigners have been able to use E-SIMs from abroad, but E-SIMs are not officially present in China or offered on local phones, so for now, here, physical SIMs on arrival are best. You just need your passport.
• In China, go for China Mobile over China Unicom. In my experience, and according to others with whom I spoke, it’s better than China Unicom. You can find stores for both providers anywhere, though. They also provide wireless Internet (for those who live here).

And, that’s it! There are many things to do before and later after you arrive, but for today, we just looked at a few things that can improve your headspace in the first hours of this big life transition.

🗞️ Want notified about future posts? Click here to sign up for notifications, and receive a Quick Reference Guide to China free, too!