A Short Thankyou

Hi Everyone,

I just want to give a big thanks to everyone back home for checking my blog, even though I wasn't updating! (blame the government!). It was reassuring, and motivating, when I saw the stats for how many people were checking up on me. I should now be able to access my blog easier thanks to some VPN software, so watch this space, I intend to update as often as possible!

Hope everyone is doing okay! Can't wait to get home and mingle again come Christmas time!

Good luck!

Michael

Day 5 in China: Trying to get into a routine

I woke on Tuesday morning, bright and refreshed at about 5am, read for about an hour, then got showered and ready for day 2 at work. My team leader sent me some reports documenting the sales, stock, and returns of our clothing. She wanted me to put all the information together into one excel spreadsheet. I had a lot to learn in a small space of time to be able to do this, but completed it within 10 minutes of the deadline, thanks to Sandy's generous assistance!

Mid day I was invited to a team meeting. Now this was very interesting, I am very glad I was asked to attend. I sat as Karl the boss, and the rest of my team, began to discuss sales strategies, they addressed customer issues to some of the clothing that was sold, amongst other things such as checking quality issues and sales figures of some clothing. It was exciting to be able to sit in an environment where real decisions are fire across the conference table, ideas are juggled, and conclusions are met. Hopefully I can contribute to the next one!


Another interesting thing happened today. A woman was walking past everyone's desk, and leaving 2 small packages tied together with a bow on each desk. I accepted my package and said xiexie (谢谢） which means thank you! I later found out that when a couple in China are getting married, it is traditional for the groom/bride to be to pass out these small red packages (red is the colour for weddings in China) to friends and colleagues as a symbol of happiness. Inside the boxes were just different kinds of candy. I thought it was a very nice gesture.

Again, exhausted, I arrived home, ate, then slept. Must try and become more active, I won't experience much outside the office like this!

I will try be more charismatic tomorrow!

I'll keep you posted!

Michael

Day 4 in China: First day at work

I am very nervous, I am not sure what to expect. But let's go, life isn't slowing down one little bit, so I just have to try keep up. Bring it on!

I drove in with Karl and arrived shortly before 9. My Working hours are 9am - 6pm weekdays, and 9am - 12 every other Saturday I think, with a 1 hour break for lunch at 12. The building is very impressive, pretty huge. We walked in the the big main entrance, and grabbed an elevator to the 11th floor, that's where our office is. Karl brought me to his office (which has a great view by the way, I will post pictures) and I waited for other staff to arrive so I could meet them. First up was a man named Rain! Very pleasant man, he is the computer technician for the company. I then met Tina, one of Karl' secretaries, then I met Sandy, a very lovely girl. She is my team leader, looks like I will turn to her if I have any problems. Following this I was shown to my work station.


I walked past rows and rows of tables filled with computers, books, stray pieces of garments and fabrics. The office is very busy! People were rushing around and on the phone and taking pictures of clothing items on dummies. I'm really in for it now, hope I can cope. Rain set me up with an old laptop and a phone at my desk, helped me set up my email account, and let me sit and fidget about.




Was really really far out of my comfort zone at this point. Sitting with nothing to do, surrounded by people speaking in a language I don't yet understand. I could feel the glares as well, wasn't feeling to happy there and then. But, had to stick it out. Lunch time rolled around, and I went to the canteen with a team member named Alice, seem's we're both very shy. We didn't talk too much, and headed back to the office afterwards. I spent the rest of the day browsing through the company websites and trying to understand/decipher the Chinese. Work should pick up tomorrow when I have something to do.

Travelled home with Jimmy and Karl, and one of the maids had dinner more or less ready for us when we got home. Going to be spoiled as long as I stay in the house. After dinner, I plodded up to bed, and was asleep by 8 o'clock. Very exhausting day!

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

I'll keep you posted!

Michael

Day 3 in China: Home to Hangzhou

Day 3: I am travelling with Karl's wife; Yanti, and the kids back to their home in Hangzhou today, Karl will be going ahead of us on his Harley. He had just been on a 7 day bike ride with about 200 other bikers during the week, it sounded like great fun, he had many stories to tell, including getting an interview with the Wall Street Journal!  I woke and packed up my things from the hotel, then left with everyone at about noon.

Delicious Cantonese meal in Shanghai

We decided we would get some food in the city before going home, so we hopped in the taxis, driven by Jackie and Jimmy, Karl's taxi drivers! They dropped us off on a busy street in the middle of the city, and Yanti the kids and I went to find somewhere to get some food. I wasn't picky, so I let them decide. We ate on a street filled with many different small restaurants, ours sold Cantonese food. Time to put my chopstick skills to the test! We took our seats, and I let Yanti order my food (I had no idea what anything was), and after a short while, small plates and dishes were laid in front of us. Everything was presented very very well, very beautiful looking food. Smelled great too! I will post a few pictures later on. We all had a bit of a laugh at my attempts to pick up food with chopsticks, looks like I'll need a bit of practice if I want to survive in China. I started to get the hang of it, and tucked into some delicious food. I honestly can't tell you what I was eating, it was interesting to say the least. I know I had some spare ribs with a great sweet sauce, I had some spring rolls and... some strange looking small cylinders with prawns in them, some nice noodle soup, some savoury rice, and all washed down with green tea. I have taken a real liking to Chinese tea, it is so light and refreshing! I will be sure to take some home with me.

My room at Karl's place, complete with balcony!

After food I drove home to HZ whilst the others went to one of the clinics as there seemed to be a mild cold spreading around. The flat looks great, Karl was waiting for me to arrive, he had arrived a couple of hours before. He showed me around the house, then showed me to my room. Which I love by the way. It isn't very big, but I have always wanted a room of my own. There's even a small balcony, it's perfect. I unpacked all of my stuff. I am looking forward to living here, apparently there will be two maids working during the day as well. I have been laid in the lap of luxury.

Tomorrow is my first day at work.

Lets hope I can leap this next hurdle...

I'll keep you posted!

Michael

Day 2 in China: Shanghai

Day 2: Had a bit of a restless nights sleep, probably because of jet lag, but woke up around 8am. There was a full breakfast sitting ready for me from a fresh food shop downstairs, Karl and his kids (who I will be living with until I decide I'm ready to move out) left me to eat while they went for a walk. Omelette, pancakes, potatoes, melon, orange juice, coffee. Very nice food, glad the food here isn't as far off what I'm used to as I thought it would be.

Nice architecture in the hotel

Really enjoyed a bit of the Chinese culture later that evening. Karl, Ian (a friend of his) and I went to a local Irish pub to watch the rugby, they drank and we all got a good feed. I was sitting at a pretty interesting table, where at one point there was sat 2 Irish guys, a Welsh guy and girl, an American guy, and a Turkish guy, including a young man named Mark from Wales, who runs a program that brings students from the UK into Shanghai to learn a little about business, and see some of China and how fast it is developing. I will post the link to his website for those who would be interested in such a fantastic opportunity, he is a very nice guy. So it was an eventful day in the bar.

View from my hotel room

Travelling back to the hotel at night allowed me to see a little of the city at night time. Shanghai is a beautiful city, people are on the move at all times and the buildings and surroundings are really a sight to behold. I will upload some photos in a slideshow later so you can all see.

Very sleepy now, still adjusting to the time difference, so time for sleep!

I'll keep you posted,

Michael

FINALLY! VPN access!

A fine afternoon to you all!

Firstly, a huge apology to everyone trying to keep up to date with my happenings. China is very much under the thumb of the government, therefore, I have EXTREMELY limited access to certain websites, including the likes of Facebook and youtube, which are non existent in China. A couple of days ago I finally got my hands on a new laptop, and have spent my time since trying to find my way around 'the great firewall of China'. Today at work I got our technician, a man named Rain, to help me. We found software that can bypass the blocks, so i have finally access to my blog again!

I am living 100 miles an hour at the moment. I will now be able to make a post or 5 about the past few days and what i have been getting up to. I have a few images to post as well. 

I will get to it then! Hope you enjoy the read.

Michael

Hello from China!!

Hi everyone!

I'm finally here! After an exhausting 10 hour flight from London Heathrow airport this morning, I am really happy to finally be on the ground again. Such fantastic sunny weather as well!

I had a driver waiting for me on arrival, holding my name up on a big board and everything! He is a very nice man, and I'm sure I will be seeing more of him. He drove me through some of Shanghai city to a hotel where I will spend the next couple of nights. The roads were really busy, and roughly 4-5 lanes wide both ways too! The buildings and architecture I could see from the road were truely breathtaking, nothing like the little baby sized buildings in Ireland. I will be sure to have some photos up soon!!

For now I rest, it's been non stop this past 20ish hours. Then I must try sort out something to eat soon after that.

I'll be sure to keep you all posted.

Later!

Michael

It's the sixth already!?

I really didnt expect the time to pass so quickly, but here i am! I leave on my journey to China in less than 6 hours. Again i wish to extend my thanks to everyone who has supported me and helped me get to this position!

I leave from Dublin at 9:50 am, and will travel to Heathrow airport, London, before boarding a flight directly to Shanghai, in total i will be in the air for roughly 13 hours. At about 7.10 am on the 7th, i will touch down in China, where i will meet my driver who will then take me to where i will be staying for a few days before i move into Hangzhou, where i will be working.

I am very much looking forward to arriving, i will have a couple of days to myself before beginning work on the 10th. This will give me a couple of days to adjust, taste some food, and go out for a walk to take in my new home. When i get access to a computer in China, i will post again to inform you all about  how amazing my flight was, and  what i think of the area. Hopefully i can take a few pictures by then too!

I wont sleep tonight, too excited! Wish me luck!

Michael


 

A Short Introduction!

Hi everyone, I guess it's about time i wrote my first blog entry!

I think i'll begin by just explaining the situation so far, so listen up!

As you can see in my 'About Me' section on the right hand column there, i am currently studying Computer Science, at the Coleraine campus of the University of Ulster. The course i am studying is a four year sandwich degree, meaning the third year is taken out to get a years work experience. The job must be related to the course you are studying, and must be approved by the university before you can begin working.

Along came June, and i had completed my exams, so it was time to begin the job hunt! I applied to a few different places, and had a couple of job interviews, unfortunately they were unsuccessful, but at least i was lucky enough to get some, the job market is VERY competitive at the moment. So it was time to branch out and try something else. I contacted a man who i knew had a pretty high up position within a business which has a large focus on e-commerce. I sent him a copy of my CV and explained the situation i was in, he later responded to me with extremely exciting news, he may have a position within his offices in China for me!

We stayed in contact for a few weeks, swapping details and trying to come up with a plan, i informed the university of all new information i acquired so i could see what they thought. My contact in China explained where the business was located, what my job description would consist of, and we discussed details of where i would be staying for the duration of my placement. When everything began to come together, i applied for my visa so i was allowed to work in China. We have just been tying up a few loose ends this past couple of weeks and everything seems pretty solid at the moment.

So that's where i am now! Flights booked, travel shopping done, and impatiently waiting for my flight on the morning of the sixth of October. Thursday really can't come soon enough! Of course i will miss everyone back home, but this is a once in a life time experience, not to be missed!

I will keep you all posted on the big happenings closer to the time of my departure! 

Wish me luck,

Michael