If it weren’t for the help I received from the relocation company, I’d likely still be trying to obtain a local SIM card for my phone (which allows me to have a local phone number and use cellular data). It’s just as confusing in China as it is in the USA. The one difference, the company I went with, China Unicom, had only two plans to choose from. I paid for a few months up front (about $70 USD total for three months) and then the next bill will have to be paid online. Which means it’s time for the bank account.
The person I was working with suggested we go to ICBC (one of the three or four largest consumer banks in China). The staff there spoke fairly good English so setting up the account wasn’t difficult but there was a TON of paperwork involved. The account I opened is basically a savings account with a debit card attached to it and it came with this strange little random number generator I’m supposed to use when accessing the account online. At least I think that’s what it is for since I had to set up a six digit PIN as well.
Lots of paperwork, pictures of my passport — some of which I had to be holding as the picture included me in it — and a couple hours later add up to me being able to receive a paycheck at the end of the month! And once that happens it’s time to go apartment rental shopping!
Tonight is the weekly poker game at Ollie’s. Wish me luck!