Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Evil Shanghai Markets

After 3 weeks of heading to the markets to do some last minute shopping, I have come to the conclusion that in Shanghai they are certainly evil. Thanks to the foreigner’s the prices even after bargaining are becoming a bit steep. For example, I went to one lady at a fake bag market and I have to say she has some really nice designer bags. Most of them are made with real leather but at a hefty price of $100! For me, that is a bit steep, but for others that take pride in their bag collections in might be OK. I just couldn’t bare to splurge at her shop.

The whole market experience is a hoot within itself. You have shopkeepers that have mastered a couple of English words including: HELLO LADY, JUST HAVE A
LOOK-A (the “a” needs to be placed on the end), or FRIEND COME IN, WATCH, BAG, DVD. As they are saying this they can start to pull on your arm or move into a defensive position blocking your walking path. It is also literally a shouting match between shopkeepers.

So with all of this in mind, I have to say that shopping a local Chinese shops is heaps better than the foreigner’s fake bag market. At least you walk out with some pretty good bags and no headache. It is just knowing the right friends to ask that know those shops.

Gift Giving

Many Westerners are always perplexed on what, how, and when to give gifts in China. I just want to share with you…it’s still a mystery to me. All I know is that the Chinese basically are expert gift givers. There is usually a deeper meaning, even if it is a simple pen. My remaining week in China I was showered with many random gifts. My students, coworkers, company, and even friends found a way to surprise me. I received famous cookies for the Chinese city of Tianjin, a symbolic Chinese calligraphy painting, a Beijing opera mask letter opener, a Mickey necklace (too funny) and framed photos of a department trip I took last week. Craziness! Glad I bought an extra suitcase to lug everything back to the UK. When each person handed me the gift they had a good explanation for the gift, more than just a simple “Thanks.” I have to give the Chinese a big clap on this one!

Sino-Style Training

Training classes at a Chinese company can take many shapes and forms. Being one of the only foreigners, they started me teaching an Advanced English Class, but what I found is that many of the students are more interested about other cultures and communicating with Westerners. They can certainly speak English, however maybe a bit shy. So I decided the best thing was to start a “club.” Actually my company has many different types of clubs: photography, English, even Cheerleading (which I think is just to go and watch sports matches)…so why not add the International Culture Club?!
I only wish I had more time because I started a small set of workshops called Globalize Yourself. My first class was an Introduction to Wines. The whole concept of drinking good wines is quite foreign to the Chinese. They have a particular taste for rice wine and another soy sauce tasting, Yellow wine, but really have no clue about international wines, how to drink them, where to buy them. So I felt have a small lesson and a tasting and keep it simple. About 10 people dared to come to the class and we had a bit of a laugh together. They tried their hand at pouring and when it came to tasting the look on their faces was stellar. I think they found that with time an acquired taste will develop, but now they want fruity and sweet. I just told them to stay away from China’s own Great Wall wine!

Another training that went over well was Western food and International music. I decided to base it around the holiday season and brought in some Thanksgiving favorites: stuffing, roasted pumpkin soup, and pumpkin pie (the Chinese frozen version, which was quite good). They also learned about some quirky things such as how many Americans go overboard decorating their houses, probably eat too much food which results in weight gain, and that we name each of Santa’s reindeer..and one of them Rudolph has a shiny red nose. Yup, these kinds of things sound really funny to a country that does not believe in religion really.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Sundays: The Unofficial Pajama Party

Just an observation....my local community really has a pajama party on Sundays. It is OK to stroll out in your bathrobe and slippers just to get a breath of fresh air, walk the dog, go to the shop, etc. No worries! Join in and you will feel relaxi taxi.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Soy Eggs

You would think that these two words couldnt be used in the same sentence, but they are really some of Chinese people’s favorite foods. Although, when I see people eating hard boiled eggs boiled in soy sauce I question how they can possible do it. Finally I had a taste and it is quite good. Although, walking past the boiling pots filled with soy eggs on the streets aren't too appetizing.

Another mention on the egg front.... Soy Eggs are given as small gifts after a baby is born. It has been a big part of tradition and I have been told that historically eggs were hard to come by and prized when eaten. Personally, I thought that by giving an egg to all of your friends the Chinese are really trying to promote fertility...NO WONDER WHY THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH OVER-POPULATION. I think there is a secret campaign going.

Retirement Age

I was given a bit of a shock today after I learned that retirement age for females is 50 in China! For males it is age 60. Now I can see why so many new mothers already have easy access to help. “Lightbulb moment”

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Translation Tools

Translation tools from Chinese to English (vice versus) are still not really up to par. This is a recent translation performed from an email sent by the Admin department. The emails are all in Chinese and sometimes I use the translation tool to decipher. Let's have a look.


Dear All:
随着生活节奏的加快,环境污染的日益严重,以及亚健康对都市人的侵袭,健康成为一个重要的话题。身体是革命的本钱,健康是享受工作和生活的保证,请你在忙碌工作的同时也要随时关注你的健康。为保障大家的身体健康及提高自我保护意识,一年一次的“关注生命,关爱健康”----健康体检即将开始。具体安排如下:(女生需参加妇检,请在10月23日下周二前回复“参加妇检”,否则此项目不另行安排)

- Basically this email talks about the mandatory medical inspection which took place. It is required by law for employees to get the periodic health check.
An attachment to the email outlined the specific inspections taking place.

体检项目明细
Ⅰ 常规
A 内科 1)心律 2)杂音 3)锁骨上淋巴结 4)腹部 5)心率
6)血压 7)神经系统 8)肺 9)肝 10)脾
B 外科 1)甲状腺 2)颈 3)淋巴结 4)疝 5)脊柱 6)四肢 7)肛门检查
8)外生殖器 9)前列腺 10)皮肤 11)双乳
C 眼科 1)眼底检查 2)眼脸 3)结膜 4)角膜 5)晶状体 6)玻璃体
D 五官科 1)耳(左、右) 2)鼻 3)咽 4)鼻咽 5)扁桃体 6)喉
Ⅱ 妇科
1)外阴 2)阴道 3)宫颈 4)宫体 5)化验:滴虫、霉菌、白带常规、宫颈防癌涂片
Ⅲ 心电图1)心律失常 2)心肌梗塞 3)心肌炎 4)心肌病 5)冠心病 6)心包炎
Ⅳ B超1)肝 2)胆 3)胰 4)脾 5)双肾
Ⅴ 血液生化
1) 尿素(Bu) 肾功能检测标志
2) 肌肝(Cr) 肾功能检测标志
3) 表面抗原(HBsAg)如检查结果呈阳性,免费加查二对半(新检查方法)
4) 肝功能(ALT) r-GT 慢性肝炎诊断指标
5) 血糖(Glu)
6) 胆固醇(Tcho)
7) 甘油三脂(T.C)
8) 血常规
9) 甲胎蛋白 肝肿瘤检测标志
10) 尿酸
11) 尿常规
Ⅵ X光胸片

Now onto the translation...

Medical projects Details
I conventional
A medical
1) rhythm
2) murmur
3) supraclavicular lymph node
4) abdominal
5) HR
6) Blood Pressure
7) nervous system
8) lung
9) hepatic
10) Spleen

B surgery
1) Thyroid
2) carotid
3) lymph node
4) hernia
5) spinal
6) limbs
7) anal inspection - I wonder what this is??!
8) genitalia
9) prostate
10) Skin

C Eye

1) fundus examination
2) eyes Face
3) conjunctival
4) corneal
5) lens
6) vitreous


D facial features
1) ears (left and right)
2) Nasal
3) pharyngeal
4) nasopharynx
5) tonsil
6) jets


Ⅱ gynecological
1) genital 2) Vaginal 3) Cervical 4) Palace 5) Laboratory: Trichomonas, Streptomyces, Leucorrhea conventional, cervical cancer prevention smear

Ⅲ ECG 1) arrhythmia 2) myocardial infarction 3) myocarditis 4) cardiomyopathy 5) CHD 6) pericarditis
IV B-1) Liver 2) bile 3) Pancreatic 4) spleen 5) renal

Ⅴ blood biochemical
1) urea (Bu) detected signs of renal function
2) muscle liver (Cr) detected signs of renal function
3) surface antigen (HBsAg) in the case of positive results, two pairs of free check-plus (the new method)
4) liver function (ALT) r-GT indicators of chronic hepatitis diagnosis
5) glucose (Glu)
6) cholesterol (Tcho)
7) triglyceride (T.C)
8) blood
9) AFP liver tumors detected signs
10) uric acid
11) urine routine
X-ray chest film Ⅵ

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Chinese View on Eyelids and Noses

I have been enlightened by a couple of things just this week. Today, I learned that there are two different words for eyelids in Mandarin. You can actually have one or two eyelids. Since the almond shape eye is common the eyelid is used as the distinguishing factor rather than the shape of the eye. People say that having two eyelids can make a person more beautiful. I am now paying closer attention to differences in eyelids.

The whole nose topic has to really do with the old adage – you want what you can’t have. I learned that people get cosmetic surgery to make the bridge of the nose more prominent. And more than one person has complimented my nose for its beauty. HA! I think placing my nose and beauty in the same sentence is unheard of. I am always shocked when people say this to me in China. Alas, small people that appreciate a more prominent nose!

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Japan: The Side Trip Part 1

Japan: The Side Trip - Part 1

If you happen to be on this side of the world, I recommend you pay a visit to Japan. Yes, there is a wonderful massive country to explore in China, but Japan is will be WELL worth the visit. Save up your pennies, yuan, euro's because you will probably spend it all and then some. The warning was made very clear to me that although Japan is a beautiful unique place, the country is dead expensive. Dead = more expensive than London, Oslo, NYC...I am guessing that is why it can make it to the top of the world's most expensive city every year.

Thanks to my friend Kay, we had a packed itinerary. When I touched down I can already feel a more civilized surrounding. Clean became an understatement when I travelled around. I was trying to look for a word after staying in Tokyo a couple of days and just basically said this: the place is kept so that anyone can pretty much walk barefoot in the city. I know the Japanese like to walk barefoot at home so I am guessing common practice should be try and walk barefoot everywhere.

Back to the itinerary topic. If I can give a piece of advice when visiting Japan, spend at least 2 weeks. I only had 10 days and packed as much as I could in. So here is the notorious checklist:

Kyoto - to get a feel for "old Japan"

Tokyo
Kibuki
Fish Market - fresh off the docks at 5am - Sushi for breakfast?
Roppongi Hills - a good view of Tokyo from the top
Harajuku - to see all of those outlandish teenagers all decked out and grab a crepe
Ginza
Shibuya

Kamakura and the coastline

Hakune - for the natural hot springs and view of Mt. Fuji

Thanks to my Japanese friends, I got a great taste of local cuisine, prayed to many buddhas, and got the scoop on cultural in's and outs. Many people will try to ask how China and Japan are different/similiar. I don't think even a blog can sort the differences out. I will keep my mouth shut on that topic and let you see for yourself!

Cactuses and China

Back to Writing!

Yes, they can be used in the same sentence here in China. Who would have thought? Basically my office is filled with medium sized catcuses on people's desks and one day mine looked a bit sad. My boss and I got into talking about the poor cactus and she asked me if I knew why it was sitting on my desk. I might have shot her a dumbfounded look because in the back of my head I didn't know what she was getting at. But then she said Chinese actually think that the cactus provides a defense against the computers radiowaves? Oh! Wow, I thought to myself very interesting. It sounds like an old superstition. The physical nature of the plant looks like it can protect anything?! Hmm..that is just a guess.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Babies, Babies, Babies...

2007 is the Chinese year of the GOLDEN PIG. Those 99.9% of Chinese that follow superstition believe that it is a very lucky year according to the calendar. This basically means that it is time to have a baby and indeed it is time! Approximately 18% of my company is pregnant. In a country that had a strict one child policy for many years and just started to open it to 2 children, there will be a baby boom in 2007..Mark MY Word. I have never seen so many round tummies. And China just started to control the birth rate..hmm.

Laugh of the Day

Emails that can be passed to you while you work for a chinese company:

Good morning Estee,

Could you explain to the meaning of Bull Sh-ting someone, thanks.

Best regards

Bessie Ma
DEPT: TBC-GP

EXT: 6636

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Organizational Behavior

I was thinking the other day, how on earth can I really express the organizational differences that I am experiencing. To make this as clear as possible, it is important to understand there is one major difference with that in the West: cheap labor.

So here is this long-winded flow chart of where the differences stand. Maybe compare to what you experience in the office and see if these are really differences. Perhaps they are not the same for you:

Cheap labor = more employees --> which in turn decreases the scope of job tasks --> effects the way Chinese think on a strategic, holistic level because of doing only a set amount of taks BUT makes them a very efficient and GREAT at execution --> BUT can't get them to think on a broader level (being creative, expressing ideas, being innovative, etc)

This whole flow chart can explain most of the middle management and entry-level employees. I also found the same experience when working in groups throughout the Shanghai MBA courses. It continues to follow through with the communal vs. individualistic cultural difference. "Power in Numbers?" It is certainly obvious in my organization. It has been 4 weeks and I have already been named some sort of creative wiz?! It doesn't take much people.

Forward Thinking
I think that the multinationals coming into China are slowly changing the way of thinking to a more individualistic way, based on the employee incentive schemes - more western organizational behavior thought processes, etc. This principle combined with the newer generation of Chinese just coming into the marketplace will progress. Most of this new generation were the first to be brought up as single children and are highly competitive.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Company Basketball Tournament

The basketball tournament has begun! The one sport that everyone loves in this vertically challenged country is basketball. Basically all of the mill workers come out to throw down their best basketball moves. If they don't play then they all watch. It's a good excuse to get some sort of a break from the double shift.

So I am on a team with only one guy who speaks English. So now I really get to practic mandarin and body language at the same time. There are some taller players, but they are few and far between. I feel like I am back in junior high school playing recreation b-ball. I rate the level of play a high school level at best. I am not complaining, it really works for me. Men play like boys and funny enough the sound of long nails trying to claw at the ball is a regularity. Yep, many of the men have longer nails than I do.

The only bugbear I have is that females are not athletes in China and I fall into this category that girls can't really play sports...hmm. At least I feel this way..slowly I will prove them somewhat wrong. I mean, girls still sit side saddle on the back of motorbikes/bicycles/you name it...SO we are a long way away from tough and rough sports becoming more of a "ladies game."

Subway Etiquette

I figured it is about time to give everyone some hints on how to really get on the Shanghai subway and ride it to your next stop just like the Chinese like to do. Here are the etiquette rules:

Numero Uno:
1. Scratch the word etiquette out of anything that has to do with getting on the subway.

Prior to Train Arrival:
2. When you get to the platform, find a standing lane line sectioned off right where the doors stop
3. Place your feet face front of the standing lane lines. If there is a person already there get close enough where you can stick your tongue out and lick their earlobe. Be prepared for others to do the same.

As the train approaches:
4. Place your hand on the lower back of the person in front of you and push them slightly...they should get the hint and move up until they are almost on the tracks.
5. Gently lift your other arm and elbow, locking it in place. Braise yourself for a running marathon start with your free arm ready to flail.

When the train door opens:
6. Don't wait for anyone to get off.
7. Push the person in front of you with full body force.
8. Use the other arm to push people out of the way (HINT: If you have a bigger bootie, the basketball box out move works great too)
9. SPRINT
10. FIND A SEAT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
11. Try to do these all at the same time!

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Shanghai Smells

It is now only appropriate to accompany the Shanghai sounds with the smells. I sometimes don't know which is worse. On a hot summer's day (30 degrees celcius) down a back alley, the smell is definitely worse. Downtown and developed Shanghai is pretty clean and surprisingly green. However, again..I have to revisit those lovely back streets (the old Shanghai). They are the smell culprits! I didn't lie when I said you hear bodily functions..well you might as well hold your nose in order to stop from the disasterous whiff of X, Y, and Z you are going to encounter.

On my walk to the train station every morning, I take the "smelley" shortcut. I told my roommate that is what I named the street. She fully understood and said she normally takes that road but jumps on the back of a moto-taxi to by-pass the smell. Smart girl! The "smelley" shortcut is thankfully only a 5 minute walk to the train, but I pass by about 10 hole in the wall restaurant stalls, a shack-community, and a new construction site. So when you think about it - the 3-combo deal on one small street is never going to be a pretty picture. Sometimes I wonder why people are even eating in those small shack restaurants. Even my Chinese roommate is sensible and warned me not to stop at those places. Well, granted there is a community of 1,001 shacks then they need to eat somewhere because some don't have kitchens. I even see people washing hair and brushing teeth when I walk down that street in the morning. Enough said.

Shanghai Sounds

Living in an overpopulated city you know the usual street sounds: car horns, screeching bike brakes, and loud engines can make you deaf within themselves. They actually made it illegal to beep your horn in downtown Shanghai about a month ago. Maybe it is a bit quieter, but I am not convinced.

So you have these usual sounds and they seem quite normal. But let's put additional sounds on top of that.

1. The first sound almost has a slight resemblence to an ice-cream man, but at 6am, it is no ice-cream man it is the man with the watering truck. Yup, he isn't sweeping the streets, he is watering the streets. They have to think of any way to employ people to "clean" something in this city. I actually don't think that the street can possibly get clean. Maybe the granny's that come out with their handmade brooms after the watering episode and happily clean their stake of street/sidewalk make some sort of dent?! Hmm.

2. Another sound is the constant rinking of a bicycle bell. People on bikes tugging a small cart usually ring bells to collect recyclables. Now this is entrepreneurial! Right. Thanks to the Chinese gov't. people have made a living through daily collection of recyclables..hop on your bike and ring your bell! You can get in on the recycling frenzy and continue to keep fit.

3. Bodily function sounds. Yes, everything happens on the city street. If it doesn't come out of the mouth, it comes out the other end in broad daylight. Normally this is the difference between old and new Shanghai. After walking on a bustling modern city street you might just turn the corner of a small shack community where only public toilets exist (more or less in the street). Where there is a construction site as well, the workers live at the site in make shift housing and also use the land around them to "feel at home." So, the sounds that come out of the mouth doesn't really constitute a normal spitting sound. No. This sound resembles the type of "hock a loogee" spit. The sound comes all the way from your guy and literally these people are removing something from deep down there to bring it to the surface. This even happens in the office (thankfully not as frequent).

Needless to say my iPod has become my best friend while walking on the city streets and the volume keeps getting louder and louder!

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Added to the Funny Name List

HUNK! Yes..not kidding. I met Hunk today. Another gentle Chinese man in my company. I can't really say if I rate him a hunk or not. I guess he thinks so!

Salty Ice Pops and Jamaican Weddings

It was one thrilling day! So why the strange title..just wait.

I found out that you can get salty lemon ice pops in China. Not the best taste but ok it does serve a purpose for trying to lower body temperature in the Chinese heat. I think it might suit the Scandinavians quite well. Since they like salted licorice for dessert than this might be a good treat. I think it might be my first and last time trying that one.

Now the whole Jamaican wedding thing is pretty hilarious. On Wednesday's I teach an advanced English training class with my fellow Jamaican colleague. He asked the students to put together a presentation on something about Jamaica. Somehow..there was one odd student that introduced the country quite well and then brought up the real topic he was to speak about: Jamaican Weddings. He pointed out how Chinese and Jamaican weddings are similiar?! Well they are according to him and the Jamaican guy who was invited to a co-workers wedding about 2 weeks into working with the company. The best part about the whole presentation were the cute graphic images he put in. It was a nice Chinese touch! Oh the joys of teaching English with a Jamaican.

Monday, July 30, 2007

The Up and Leave Concept

Have you ever sat down at a restaurant and felt that you wanted to leave, maybe because it wasn't up to your standard (smelled bad, silverware dirty, etc)?

Well, the Chinese have no problem upping and leaving from restaurants, taxi's, toilets, you name it. I have been in the same situation a couple of days apart where we sat down at a restaurant, tea was poured, and someone didn't like the look and feel of the place, so off to another place. Another time it happened when we got in a taxi. We let the taxi move about 200m before we just opened the door and hopped out. Those offering their services are usually passive to the whole up and leave concept. I guess with a city of 20 million there are plenty of customers.

A bit confused...
I am still trying to understand where and when the saving face concept comes in. I think there is more of a social contract formed through people that you know and for those that you don't, then you don't have to really consider saving face. I just think it is funny that when conditions are more than smelly and the Shanghainese tend to make a stink about it quite easily (no pun intended)!

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Free Yoga Classes + Massage

I found out the company has it's own Yoga room and conducts classes on Thursday's. I like yoga and figured why not see how I fair with a Chinese teacher. At first I was the only student and she actually spoke a bit of English to my surprise! Then 2 other students came to the class and that felt a bit better. I didn't want to look like a fool considering it has been about 5 years since I last attended a yoga class. The class went on and I was pleasantly surprised how fair she was speaking both English and Chinese and then coming over to everyone to make sure that you were in the right position. I think the icing on the cake had to be the ending bit of relaxation and head massage.Yeah! I think many people in the company don't know what they're missing! Shh..I will keep the secret to myself so I can get the extra bonus at the end everytime =)

Monday, July 23, 2007

One Step Back

Okay...just decided to start posting a random blurb, but didn't do it in the right order so let's take one step back.

I worked one week in the company so far. Some of those "note to self" moments (pretty much the shortened version):

Lunch at noon (sharp). The whole company heads to the dining hall to see what the special of the day is...if you blink and miss the fast foot movement then nothing for you.

Nap time after 30 minutes lunch. The logic is eat fast, have more time to nap.

People's English names can be a bit funny at times:
  • Nokia
  • Person
  • Black (who is a tall white guy and when he met the Jamaican was pretty embarrased)
  • Shutz (is there a meaning to this one?)

Expect documents in English to have poor grammar. Sometimes you don't know what they are trying to get at, but expect being one of two Westerner's in the company you will be asked to correct something.

The cleaning ladies: about 5 on the premises - cheap labor at its best
  • they will normally come in to your workspace 3 times a day with the broom and throw the wastepaper out
  • they dust the plants about 3 times a day as well (mind you, the plants are not looking too spiffy - perhaps it is a bad thing)
Expect to be in a meeting where somehow the conversation turns from English to Chinglish to Chinese for the rest of the meeting. '


Health Exam - almost failed to mention. Every Chinese or Foreigner, newly hired, needs to get a mandatory health exam. The health exam consists of nurses dressed in 70's nurse uniforms with the little hat asking you to go between 10 different rooms for xray, eye check, sample check (meaning your blood), EKG, blood pressure, etc. The big benefit is that your company pays for it. It was a blast from the past with the look and feel though.

New Lesson of the Day

Umm..don't create a powerpoint with 4, 14, 24, 34 slides..etc.. I created a PPT with the only feedback being that it was 14 slides and the number 4 in China when spoken also sounds like death.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Apartment Hunting Time

The next phase after finding the work placement was to up and move from the northeasten part of the city to the far southwestern suburbs. Shanghai is no small city, 20 million give or take, and it took about 1 hour to drive from the NE to the SW. My last classes conveniently was with Ronna and she worked with her company to set up viewing appointments with an agency. As we drove down to the area I was thinking to myself what type of places are these going to be. You know most of the housing is pretty much communist-style bars on windows, stark in the "model quarters" they have all over town. Of course you can live in the center of the city high-rise but you are going to pay a pretty penny for it...even by London standards! Real-estate prices are going through the roof. On the other side of the spectrum you can find cheaper places where you can pay $100-150 per month.

So on the road with Ronna..we went to meet a gal from her company Lydia who works in Admin and she called the real estate agency company on my behalf for viewings. This night they took me to some nice places that felt like they were in the middle of the boonies. Pretty much one university with 70k students, not close to the subway was really not what I was looking for. AND..this one is really important..a PROPER supermarket..with an imported goods section. Once you have that you are all set. After the first night, I wasn't really convinced that the area was for me...big places in nice communist-like communities but too far in the middle of knowhere.

Onto the next day...well LUCKILY the day before we dropped off another gal before heading to do some viewings. She admitted that another guy at her company was looking for a place and he was about the same age as me. The strange thing was her and Ronna kept questioning me on living with a guy..apparently it is taboo here. You live with a guy only if you are basically engaged. But I think that is changing. So I had a quick chat with the guy and he was already looking for a roommate plus he already viewed 7 places and found a good one that he wanted to show me..phew..thanks mister. Apparently the gals told me is a Korean/Chinese - minority in China. The funniest thing is his name: Crane..sounds like his Chinese name so I guess that is why it came easily in English.

Well Crane took me around with Ronna and Irene (his boss and student in my exchange)...more communist-style housing communities and smaller 2 bedroom apartments. Nothing REALLY caught my eye. Yes, they were all fully furnished but some a bit too far from the subway. Although I was pretty content with the area. It had a traditional chinese community feel with really no Westerners. There is a massive mall with Western supermarket 10 minutes walk away and the metro is the same distant.

So the night went on and Irene, Crane's boss and gal in my exchange program had the best proposal of the night so far. She offered me to rent a room in her place which was even nicer than the places I had seen and closer to the mall and metro. Phew! Well I just thought about it for a split second and made sure that Crane was okay with that. Apparently they were discussing in Chinese all about the situation and thought it would be better for me to stay for the short-term because in China you would usually take a lease out for a year.

My new home: Lianhua Road

Well I knew already this would pretty much be a communist-style community fit with bars on windows. Bars on windows in China is a must..this country is not safe..RIIIIGHT! Probably the safest country I have been in..with undercover police everywhere. Lovely lil 2 bedroom pad with a nice entertainment system and big bedrooms. I was looking for the karaoke system but unfortunately that's a no go...there is a good selection of pirated DVD's to keep me busy and a small garden in the back.

Life after MBA classes

A bit about Sino-Stee

This is the first blog of many that will elaborate on being a young professional in China. I know there will be many twists and turns to some of the work stories and additional stories about living in general...humourous, negative, depressing, positive, etc. Please enjoy and perhaps enrich yourself with a bit more understanding of the Chinese people, culture, and business ethics.

Life after MBA - Take 1
Last weekend I officially attended the last class of my MBA exchange program at SIMBA, Aslaug left on Tuesday, and I started working (Monday) with Intradin Machinery Co. in the Minhang District of Shanghai.

Just a bit of background on how I found the work placement...
Thanks to one of my fellow Edinburgh classmates and his International Business Negotiation group work, Jens spoke with Ronna (Marketing Director) at Intradin about any opportunities for work placement with the company. After a small conversation, Jens put me in touch with Ronna. The first time I spoke with Ronna I was about to board a plane for Sanya and it was a bit awkward for an informal interview to hear boarding announcements in the background, but I guess when your in China noise isn't an issue since there is always excessive noise. We got through it and Ronna seemed very interested in taking me in as a Marketing Analyst. So really what does that mean, it isn't necessarily an assistant or a researcher, perhaps it is both. I went to Sanya and layed on the beach for 5 days with Aslaug thinking well what should be the next step. Since I needed to do a work placement, would it be more beneficial in China or in UK. Since I arrived in China, the light bulb went off and I continued to say "stay." So maybe I was just waiting for some way to convince me to stay. More thoughts on what the marketing analyst role was all about continued to linger...

Back in Shanghai after 5 consecutive weeks of travel, I had a work placement, but not without some drama...nothing is really "too easy" in China. I started as a marketing analyst on 16 July, but before that I needed to find a place closer to the office.

Next up..finding a place in Shanghai.