World traveler stumbles on SZ

    YOUNG German Martin Weise has a passion for travel. At the age of 23, he has already been to more than 20 countries in Europe, Central America and South America.

    “My parents helped pay some of my expenses and I also earned some money by teaching German or English along the way,” said Weise.

    He had intended to visit Hainan Province last year but later dropped it from his itinerary after he heard it was terribly hot in summer. He went north instead to Yangshuo in Southwest China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, where he met his girlfriend who was studying English at a language school in Yangshuo. Weise stayed in Yangshuo for only about 10 weeks before following his girlfriend to Shenzhen.

    He confessed that he had never heard of Shenzhen before he came here two months ago. He was amazed to see it was such a big city. “It is much bigger than Berlin where there are only some 4 million people,” he said. “I’ve seldom seen so many modern buildings in one place, except in Hong Kong.”

    Although no stranger to Chinese food, he was still surprised to find such a variety of cuisines from different parts of China in Shenzhen. “The Chinese food available in Germany doesn’t taste as good as that offered in Shenzhen,” he said.

    To “impress” friends back in Germany, Weise has tried some unfamiliar dishes such as frog and dog meat after he came to China. “Some of my friends are crazy about their dogs. They treat dogs even better than humans. They would call me a murderer if I told them what I had eaten.”

    Weise said he didn’t really miss German food, but he did miss his friends and the parties in Berlin which would sometimes last until early morning. “The nightlife here in Shenzhen is not comparable,” he said.

    Weise is quick to notice a “cultural difference” when it comes to partygoing.

    “Chinese like to go to parties in groups and stay in groups during the parties,” he said. “In Germany, we leave our friends after arriving at a party and then enjoy ourselves as an individual. We like to talk to strangers.”