Off To Work We Go

As many of you know, the very reason that I am in Shanghai is to manage a project for my employer.  I am currently living approximately 2km (that is the extent of my metric prowess) from our Shanghai offices, so I am able to enjoy the sights and sounds of Shanghai each day as I commute to the office.  I have sampled three different commuting methods:  Taxi, Metro (subway), and by foot.  Typically I find myself walking to work, however, when feeling like I need to become one with the people, I take the metro.

The metro is absolutely great.  From what I understand, Shanghai completely renovated the subway system prior to their hosting of the 2010 World Expo.  I have found it easy to navigate,  quite clean, and well lit.  Apparently lots of people have the same sentiment because LOTS of people use it, as outlined in the following photos.

As you can see, by choosing to board the Metro, you are voluntarily opting into a group hug with all of Shanghai. 

Though walking is a bit less crowded, the traffic in Shanghai, as mentioned in previous posts, is somewhat tumultuous.  I was told by a coworker that each month 300 people in China die from being hit by a car.  One of my personal goals during this trip is to avoid becoming one of them.  Fortunately I had an ATARI when I was growing up, and owned the game FROGGER.  I'm sure my parents would have never guessed that the hours spent playing video games would yield such benefits today.  The video below gives you a brief sampling of what crossing the street is like.

The project that I am working on here is proving to be quite challenging, which is a good thing.  I often find myself working into the evening trying to learn more about the inter-workings and nuances of the Chinese market.  One of many blessings is the ability to work in an incredible setting.  I am working in one of the newer high rises located off of Nanjing Road in Western Shanghai.  I have tried to capture some of the views in the following pictures. 

It seems that each time I turn away from my PC during the work day, I am struck with the beauty of the views. 

I look forward to posting more updates soon!

There's No Place Like Home

As mentioned in the previous post, I arrived safely in Shanghai over four days ago.  I boarded a direct flight in Frankfurt, Germany at 5:30pm which landed at the Shanghai PuDong Airport at 9:55am the following day.  Fortunately, I was well fed and entertained on the flight, and was also able to catch a few hours of sleep during the voyage.

Upon my arrival, I was able to navigate the airport and Chinese customs quite smoothly.  Shanghai PuDong airport is the newest airport in Shanghai and many of the signs and placcards are in many languages, including English.  I successfully secured my baggage, found the driver, and began the journey to my new digs.

I was first struck by the sheer mass of the city.  For those of us who frequently visit Manhattan, large cities are not a novelty, however the skyline of Shanghai is absolutely massive by comparison.  The second thing that I noticed was the number of vehicles (specifically high-end imported vehicles) on the roadway.  The wealth of China has increased so rapidly, that many of the cars have been purchased in recent years.  Realizing that the highway infrastructure has not grown at the same rate, it has led to some of the planets worst traffic isses.  This, combined with many other issues, has also come a rise in pollution (seen in the photo above).  There will be more both traffic and pollution in future posts.  The video below was caught during the ride in.  The video will not be representative of the traffic, but will give you a glimpse into the size of the city.

About 2 hours after landing, I arrived at my apartment.  I am living in what's referred to as a “Service Apartment”.  It is equipped with many typical apartment amenties, but also has housekeeping service and a reception desk.  I was met at the door by a smiling attendant who very energetically asked, “Hi!  You American?”.  I replied, “Hello, and yes, I am from the US.”  Upon hearing this he immediately replied, “I could tell!!”  Hmmm…still not sure how to take that one.

Anyway, I could drone on and on about the apartment, but little could do better than the video below.

Lastly, after a long day of travel, I was ready for some adventure.  So, I headed out to stroll up Nanjing Liu (Nanjing Road) to grab some authentic Asian cuisine. 

Thanks for reading!

Next Time, I'll Do the Ordering

I am going to err on the side of blogging out of chronological order.  This is due to a particularly interesting experience today that I wanted to pass along.  Here goes. 

So, today was my first day in the office in Shanghai.  The building is magnificent and the company I work for occupies the top three floors.  Geographically it is across from the famous Jing'an Temple, which is majestic in it's own right.  Therefore, as of 9am this morning, my project was underway (more news to come in later posts). 

The high point so far was lunch.  The team leader here in China wanted to show some real Shanghai hospitality so he took us out for a traditional Shanghai lunch.  When he asked “Is there anything you no eat”, I replied, “I typically like cooked food – no raw”.  I thought I was safe…

I will try to give you a perspective of the meal.  The lunch cuisine was as follows:

·         Chicken Claws – They actually taste like chicken…the feet of the chicken

·         Boiled Pig Skin – yes, you read that correctly.  It tasted like regular skin but with less taste.

·         Jellyfish – Somewhere between cartilage and tendon.  But not as tender. 

·         Broccoli – Thank heavens

·         Barbecue Pig Fat – Was described as a “very special dish”.  Was a lot like large cubes of unflavored gelatin coated in a rich barbecue sauce. 

·         Pickled Turnip – A solid option vs. everything else on the table

·         Pig Stomach and Intestines – Not kidding.  I laughed when they said what it was as though they were joking.  They weren’t.  Taste was indescribable.  Not necessarily in a good way.

·         Dessert – Cubed Watermelon – By the time it came, I was no longer hungry.

Just wanted to keep you informed.  Regretfully, I did not take a photo because I left my camera in the office.  When I expressed my regrets for this, one of my Chinese colleagues stated “No worry, we will have many more time”.  YIKES!!!

"Why yes, I'll have the Schnitzel..."

As mentioned in the previous post, the journey began in Mainz, Germany.  While in Mainz, I took part in a week-long traning class which was facilitated by Duke University.  Not only did the class allow me to technically refer to myself as a "Duke Alumnist", it also contained some exceptional content delived by many terrific facilitators.

The hotel itself was called the Novotel.  The hotel was quite nice and each room reminded me of something out of last season's IKEA catalogue (notice the "European Style" spelling).  All of our sessions were held in the hotel, however each evening allowed us to take in the local Mainz food and local festivities.  Mainz is a beautiful town, and some of the areas that we visited were simply spectacular.

I am attaching some various photos from around Mainz.  It seemed as though there were new streetside cafes, churches, or open city squares around each corner.  The first photo is of St. Stephan's Church which holds nine stained glass windows.  What makes these windows special is that they were constructed by Marc Chagall, considered by some to be the finest artist of the 20th century.  What makes this even more interesting is that Mr. Chagall was Jewish (by birth and by faith), and his making these windows for a German Catholic church marked a significant moment in the post WWII reconciliation process.

I do hope you have enjoyed the post, my next will outline my first several days in Shanghai.  Danke Schoen

The Journey Begins

Greetings, and thanks for taking a moment to stop by my first-and-only blogging attempt.  The intent of this blog is certainly not to secure a ticket into blogging stardom, but rather to keep friends and family informed of my travels over the next several months.  As you may know, the trip begins in Mainz, Germany, where we have stayed for the last several days.  Tomorrow evening, I will fly to Shanghai, China where I will be for the next several months.

This past Sunday was a very bittersweet day.  We spent the day as a family making final preparations prior to departing.  Packing for three months proved to be quite a challenge.  Simply identifying the correct clothing (i.e. no cowboy boots or NASCAR t-shirts) was challenging enough, however it was further complicated by the laundry list of medication recommendations from the travel medicine clinic.  I have a medicine list that would rival a small hospital tucked away among my luggage, and am anticipating several questions from kind and gentile custom authorities in China.  However, with the packing finally complete, the family decided to take a moment to bask in their labors...or at least Kate did...

Preparing for a trip to a totally different culture can be quite challenging.  So, it was with the assistance of several expat sites, blogs, and former Shanghai residents that I finalized the pre-trip to-do list.  The first item that was to secure a visa (which was made possible by paying a number of fees to a "visa consultant").  The second was to insure that I had enough cash on hand, both Chinese yuan and American dollars.  Also, transporting this currency would need to be done in a secure manner, which gave me an excuse to buy a James Bond-style hidden wallet.  Lastly, nearly every business etiquette book indicates that position or "title" is very important.  So, with about 30 seconds and a ball-point pen, I fixed that as well.

Once all these steps were complete, followed by a bittersweet farewell, I was off to the airport.  I boarded a flight at 9:40pm at JFK which landed in Mainz, Germany at 11:20am on Monday, September 12.

The next post will cover the time in Mainz.  Talk soon!