Well today is my first day back from China and I am exhausted. I am super behind on my training for the 5K I am running in with Brian just 2 weeks from yesterday and I ran today and thought my lungs were going to explode! Confession is I didn't run at all last week. YIKES and in 2 weeks I have to run this route .
I have a lot of work ahead of me if I am going to run the entire 5K. I am doing ok, got in a little over 2 miles today, but it hurt so I am just going to have to push myself more...
~Erin
Monday, April 12, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Day 4 - Shanghai
Welcome to Day 4, I am now officially losing my voice, which I am sure my family will love when I get back home. I've been teaching a training class and I am not used to talking so much and have strained my vocal cords significantly. It hurts to just swallow at this point.
The training has been going well and I've actually gotten quite a few questions over the past 6 hours when we didn't expect to even have 1 question. I am less jet lagged than yesterday and hopefully tonight I will be able to sleep better than last night.
I've determined I need to learn a little bit of Manderin as it has been very difficult for me. Don't get me wrong, many of the people in the class speak excellent English however when they talk amongst themselves I have no clue what they are talking about. At times I have heard "American" and "Erin" in their conversations not to know what it is about. From a cultural standpoint it is very frustrating. I now know that I need to be a better example when I have guests in the US that have English as a second or third language as well.
Tonight we will be going to dinner as a group at the hotel that I am staying at so thankfully if I am feeling jet lagged I will be able to just head to my room. Only a couple of hours and then on to my final day in Shanghai! Hopefully the remainder of today as well as tomorrow proceeds well.
Update......
I had dinner tonight with the regional team it was the most traditional I've had yet, it consisted of chicken feet, Duck Livers, Bejing Duck, Fish Balls and a very potent liquor. I "tried" everything, but definitely only liked some of it. So now I am eating Pringles and drinking a Coke in my hotel room! The company was of mixed cultures, some Chinese, there were people from Korea, Japan, Thailand, and Australia as well. The Thai colleague brought gifts for all of us and I now have a beautiful back scratcher and some other items that I am not quite sure what they do... At first dinner was a bit uncomfortable as our Chinese colleagues continued to speak in Chinese which was very uncomfortable. However the women were corrected by my new Korean friend that they were in mixed company and needed to speak English. I am now back in my room getting ready to "try" and sleep tonight. Wish me luck!!!
~Erin
The training has been going well and I've actually gotten quite a few questions over the past 6 hours when we didn't expect to even have 1 question. I am less jet lagged than yesterday and hopefully tonight I will be able to sleep better than last night.
I've determined I need to learn a little bit of Manderin as it has been very difficult for me. Don't get me wrong, many of the people in the class speak excellent English however when they talk amongst themselves I have no clue what they are talking about. At times I have heard "American" and "Erin" in their conversations not to know what it is about. From a cultural standpoint it is very frustrating. I now know that I need to be a better example when I have guests in the US that have English as a second or third language as well.
Tonight we will be going to dinner as a group at the hotel that I am staying at so thankfully if I am feeling jet lagged I will be able to just head to my room. Only a couple of hours and then on to my final day in Shanghai! Hopefully the remainder of today as well as tomorrow proceeds well.
Update......
I had dinner tonight with the regional team it was the most traditional I've had yet, it consisted of chicken feet, Duck Livers, Bejing Duck, Fish Balls and a very potent liquor. I "tried" everything, but definitely only liked some of it. So now I am eating Pringles and drinking a Coke in my hotel room! The company was of mixed cultures, some Chinese, there were people from Korea, Japan, Thailand, and Australia as well. The Thai colleague brought gifts for all of us and I now have a beautiful back scratcher and some other items that I am not quite sure what they do... At first dinner was a bit uncomfortable as our Chinese colleagues continued to speak in Chinese which was very uncomfortable. However the women were corrected by my new Korean friend that they were in mixed company and needed to speak English. I am now back in my room getting ready to "try" and sleep tonight. Wish me luck!!!
~Erin
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Shanghai Day 3 - UGG Jet Lag!
Hi everyone!
So I am writing this at 2:26 am as I fell asleep last night at 7:00pm and woke up at 1:30 am. This is getting super frustrating, but I am trying to sleep as I get tired. Yesterday (Wednesday) was a very rough day. I was super jet lagged and also very homesick. I don't think I've ever been this homesick before!
It was a very "fruitful" day at the office. I had a wonderful lunch that consisted of a noodle dish that was superb and Jasmine tea. After a full day at the office my hostess Sunny and another Finance staff member took me to the Market. To get there I had the great pleasure of riding the subway in Shanghai, the ride there was not bad as it was not during "rush hour" time. The Market is located in the Science and Technology subway station and it is full of all these little stores. This place is full of people "pushing" purses, wallets, jewelry, etc. I did find some very good deals although I think I got taken on my purse/wallet purchase because after I got back to the hotel I have no clue what a Gacho purse is, it is beautiful, but still not exactly what I was expecting but what can you expect for $20 USD (for both the purse and wallet). Then I did buy some pearls and they are not perfect, but for real pearls, matching earings and bracelets for my daughters I paid 110 RMB or $16 USD I think this was my best purchase yet. Although I bought scarves (for my mother-in-law and mom) and paid $16 USD total for both although initially they offerred them to me for 580 RMB or $84 USD. What helped me was that I brought my hostess with me to help in the negotiations. Although I am proud of myself for not getting to invested. At one point we actually walked away from a stand, but there are so many similar shops that we were able to find what I was looking for later on. I would call it a very sucessful day as I have a lot of great things to bring home for my family and spent very little USD on them.
I am exhausted and plan maybe go back to sleep here shortly but wanted to blog about the day in Shanghai. Today and tomorrow look to be very full working days and should go fast.
~Erin
So I am writing this at 2:26 am as I fell asleep last night at 7:00pm and woke up at 1:30 am. This is getting super frustrating, but I am trying to sleep as I get tired. Yesterday (Wednesday) was a very rough day. I was super jet lagged and also very homesick. I don't think I've ever been this homesick before!
It was a very "fruitful" day at the office. I had a wonderful lunch that consisted of a noodle dish that was superb and Jasmine tea. After a full day at the office my hostess Sunny and another Finance staff member took me to the Market. To get there I had the great pleasure of riding the subway in Shanghai, the ride there was not bad as it was not during "rush hour" time. The Market is located in the Science and Technology subway station and it is full of all these little stores. This place is full of people "pushing" purses, wallets, jewelry, etc. I did find some very good deals although I think I got taken on my purse/wallet purchase because after I got back to the hotel I have no clue what a Gacho purse is, it is beautiful, but still not exactly what I was expecting but what can you expect for $20 USD (for both the purse and wallet). Then I did buy some pearls and they are not perfect, but for real pearls, matching earings and bracelets for my daughters I paid 110 RMB or $16 USD I think this was my best purchase yet. Although I bought scarves (for my mother-in-law and mom) and paid $16 USD total for both although initially they offerred them to me for 580 RMB or $84 USD. What helped me was that I brought my hostess with me to help in the negotiations. Although I am proud of myself for not getting to invested. At one point we actually walked away from a stand, but there are so many similar shops that we were able to find what I was looking for later on. I would call it a very sucessful day as I have a lot of great things to bring home for my family and spent very little USD on them.
I am exhausted and plan maybe go back to sleep here shortly but wanted to blog about the day in Shanghai. Today and tomorrow look to be very full working days and should go fast.
~Erin
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Shanghai Day 2 - cont...
Ni Hao to all of my friends or Hello! I found a Starbucks! For those of you who know me well, I LOVE Starbucks and this one is just as good as the one back home.
Today I traveled to our office in Shanghai and met with my counterpart Sunny as well as one of the other Finance Leaders Kenneth. It was a productive day in the office (I think because I was able to cross a lot off of my to-do list) as well as a wonderful start to my time here.
For lunch Sunny and Kenneth took me for Dim Sum. The food was wonderful. I think it helps that I am open to trying new food and I was ready today. We had shrimp dumplings, pork dumplings, as well as Lo mai gai (rice filled with chicken, Chinese mushrooms, Chinese sausage, scallions and shrimp.) Additionally we had some type of custard for desert. I loved the green tea. Not a ton of food just enough to fill you up without feeling too full.
This evening my colleague Sunny took me on a tour of the city. Some more interesting learnings include the differences in the districts of Shanghai, they are all very unique. I am staying in the PuDong district and today I visited the PuShi district. I have to say PuShi is beautiful. The architecture is older so the buildings have much more character. The PuDong side is beautiful as well in it’s own way as the architecture is much more modern.
So I had the joy of riding in a taxi this evening and held on for dear life! Then as we were site seeing the rain started up as did the wind and I will be lucky if I don’t get pneumonia. But the city in the evening is amazing which made it all worth it. We also went to Yu Garden and saw some amazing architecture as well as gardens (pics are on the site as well). We had a horrible dinner at a Gino’s bistro. The place Sunny had planned on taking me to was closed due to construction. For many of us that don’t know (I can admit I was one of them), Shanghai is hosting the Expo this year and it begins on May 1, 2010. The government has poured money into the city widening streets, beautifying buildings, etc. So many places are in the process of remodeling or reconstruction to get ready for the Expo. Therefore several of the restaurants she had planned to take me to in PuShi were closed. Therefore we at the worst Italian food I’ve ever had but then we headed out for a boat ride on the river and got to see Shanghai at night and it made it all worth it.
Other key learnings from Shanghai – In most parts of the city tipping your waiter, waitress and/or service person is not customary unlike in the States. Women in Shanghai are very fashionable more so than in the US. Riding bikes and/or mopeds are very popular watch out for the mopeds they will run you down if you’re in their way (I almost got hit twice). I know there is more but I am so tired I can’t remember.
Tomorrow is another full day including shopping!!! Yippee!
Today I traveled to our office in Shanghai and met with my counterpart Sunny as well as one of the other Finance Leaders Kenneth. It was a productive day in the office (I think because I was able to cross a lot off of my to-do list) as well as a wonderful start to my time here.
For lunch Sunny and Kenneth took me for Dim Sum. The food was wonderful. I think it helps that I am open to trying new food and I was ready today. We had shrimp dumplings, pork dumplings, as well as Lo mai gai (rice filled with chicken, Chinese mushrooms, Chinese sausage, scallions and shrimp.) Additionally we had some type of custard for desert. I loved the green tea. Not a ton of food just enough to fill you up without feeling too full.
This evening my colleague Sunny took me on a tour of the city. Some more interesting learnings include the differences in the districts of Shanghai, they are all very unique. I am staying in the PuDong district and today I visited the PuShi district. I have to say PuShi is beautiful. The architecture is older so the buildings have much more character. The PuDong side is beautiful as well in it’s own way as the architecture is much more modern.
So I had the joy of riding in a taxi this evening and held on for dear life! Then as we were site seeing the rain started up as did the wind and I will be lucky if I don’t get pneumonia. But the city in the evening is amazing which made it all worth it. We also went to Yu Garden and saw some amazing architecture as well as gardens (pics are on the site as well). We had a horrible dinner at a Gino’s bistro. The place Sunny had planned on taking me to was closed due to construction. For many of us that don’t know (I can admit I was one of them), Shanghai is hosting the Expo this year and it begins on May 1, 2010. The government has poured money into the city widening streets, beautifying buildings, etc. So many places are in the process of remodeling or reconstruction to get ready for the Expo. Therefore several of the restaurants she had planned to take me to in PuShi were closed. Therefore we at the worst Italian food I’ve ever had but then we headed out for a boat ride on the river and got to see Shanghai at night and it made it all worth it.
Other key learnings from Shanghai – In most parts of the city tipping your waiter, waitress and/or service person is not customary unlike in the States. Women in Shanghai are very fashionable more so than in the US. Riding bikes and/or mopeds are very popular watch out for the mopeds they will run you down if you’re in their way (I almost got hit twice). I know there is more but I am so tired I can’t remember.
Tomorrow is another full day including shopping!!! Yippee!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Day 2 - Shanghai
Well it's early morning day 2 in Shanghai. I tried to stick to the new schedule but ended up in bed and asleep by 8pm Shanghai time and was up at 3:30am. So now a quarter to 6am on Tuesday I am back on my blog. A few more insights from yesterday.
Going through immigration is very interesting. They take your passport and scan it in the China database. When I checked into my hotel then they scanned it again to show that I checked into my hotel as planned. I am amazed at how high tech everything is... Can you say "big brother?"
Thankfully there is some American television here, but the Chinese programs are very interesting so I think I could adapt. I haven't tried any "ethnic" food per say, last night I played it safe and ordered a ham and cheese sandwich from room service. Seafood is not sounding appetizing to me as I had a stomach virus last week and still don't feel that my stomach is at 100%.
So we shall see what today brings. I am headed to the office at 9am and will spend part of the time at the office and then my collegue Sunny is going to take me sightseeing in Shanghai in the afternoon. I am very excited to see more of the town as well as maybe purchase a few purses...
More to come later. Hope this finds everyone well.
~Erin
Going through immigration is very interesting. They take your passport and scan it in the China database. When I checked into my hotel then they scanned it again to show that I checked into my hotel as planned. I am amazed at how high tech everything is... Can you say "big brother?"
Thankfully there is some American television here, but the Chinese programs are very interesting so I think I could adapt. I haven't tried any "ethnic" food per say, last night I played it safe and ordered a ham and cheese sandwich from room service. Seafood is not sounding appetizing to me as I had a stomach virus last week and still don't feel that my stomach is at 100%.
So we shall see what today brings. I am headed to the office at 9am and will spend part of the time at the office and then my collegue Sunny is going to take me sightseeing in Shanghai in the afternoon. I am very excited to see more of the town as well as maybe purchase a few purses...
More to come later. Hope this finds everyone well.
~Erin
Shanghai
Well I made it! What a trip it was... WOW! First off let me just say that 14 hours on a plane not all that fun, especially when a 400 lb man (I'm exaggerating more like 350lb man) gets plopped right next to you on the plane. That mixed with the wonderful body odor = not a great flight.
That being said, I am here and WOW is all I have to say. The city of Shanghai is huge!!! My hotel was moved to the Purple Mountain, which is closer to the office that the training is being held, and it is beautiful. I made it through immigration ok, and found out that it is illegal outside of the US to talk on a cell phone once the plane has landed. The drive from the airport to the hotel was in one word "interesting". I am not sure if they have speed limits or laws, but wow it was worse than being in a cab in downtown NYC. The buildings are huge, the area is phenominal. I am at a loss for words.
The hotel is beautiful and I am posting pics from my room. I am heading out here to go and get some dinner as well as find the office for tomorrow. I hear it is just around the corner, so I figure I'll check it out before I have to go there tomorrow. More to come on my Shanghai adventures...
~Erin
That being said, I am here and WOW is all I have to say. The city of Shanghai is huge!!! My hotel was moved to the Purple Mountain, which is closer to the office that the training is being held, and it is beautiful. I made it through immigration ok, and found out that it is illegal outside of the US to talk on a cell phone once the plane has landed. The drive from the airport to the hotel was in one word "interesting". I am not sure if they have speed limits or laws, but wow it was worse than being in a cab in downtown NYC. The buildings are huge, the area is phenominal. I am at a loss for words.
The hotel is beautiful and I am posting pics from my room. I am heading out here to go and get some dinner as well as find the office for tomorrow. I hear it is just around the corner, so I figure I'll check it out before I have to go there tomorrow. More to come on my Shanghai adventures...
~Erin
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