Post Shanghai blues.. Part 1(Work)

Its been exactly a month since I've returned from Shanghai (12 July 2010) and now I'm actually beginning to miss China having spent 7 whole months there travelling, studying and working. The experience is indeed priceless and memorable for me, adding something special to my bland university life, having only joined Insinyur and being CCAless for the past 3 years in NTU. I would love to say that I have unknowingly changed and that I'm beginning to understand myself better. I can actually be very independent, confident and brave, and a strong side of me that I have been hidden inside me for the past 22years. But I have also discovered another side of me, the weak and emotional side, which in some way freak myself out.Recalling the 1st few weeks in Shanghai where everything seems so foreign and scary, having to brave through the freaking cold weather (-2 deg cel), huge crowd of rowdy people and trying to navigate our way using road signs written in Chinese. (At work)

My company being strategically located at one of the busiest business distrinct at Golden Bell Plaza ( 大世界，黄埔区)in Shanghai, made my journey to work a tough but fun one, having to squeeze and battle the morning office crowd. Every morning there will be drama on the metro, with people quarrelling, faces being squash ( v funny expression on their faces, as though they are in pain), people being "kiap" by the door and those that still push their way into the train despite it being filled to the brim (China people can be compressed), sometimes its so full that even when the train brakes suddenly you wont even jerk or fall to one side,without even holding on to anything in the first place (defying inertia). Taking a bus 581 to work can be an enjoyable experience also as I can enjoy the nice scenery from the Nanpu bridge, while listening to the songs from my ipod. Whenever I get caught in a traffic jam, I'll have my own personal time when I'll start thinking about alot of stuff, my family, my friends and everything nice in Singapore.

I was given lots of opportunities by my boss as compared to the other local interns in AL. Being able to learn and work with other regional Marcom personnel, participate in global events like the World Expo (Swedish Pavilion) and being involved in the planning of the annual National Meeting for AL was indeed an eye opening experience for me. I have learnt technical stuff like web designing, maintenance, use of other communication and marketing tools, practised public speaking and presentation skills and other important soft skills like teamwork, responsibility etc.

The only disappointed and sad moment that I had in AL was the time when my boss broke to me the news that I had to be stationed in the office alone to provide assistance and oversee other matters, and the excuse given by my boss was that AL had better internet connection which is needed for the duty I was assigned to which is the mass sending of SMS to remind our clients regarding their registered seminar schedule. Felt really devastated and down for the next few days, as I have put in lots of effort and hardwork for this project, since the beginning of this project (attended web training session via video conference during the chinese new year holiday, with only me and Apple left alone in the whole company), followed by me pieceing the whole webcampaign site together, updating it daily with the latest information, to the final lap which ended with long working hours and OT for several nights. I could still recall the times when me and my colleagues admire the breath taking night view with all the buildings lighted up by the colourful LED neon lights, overseeing Shanghai Times Square, Infinite mall, Shanghai concert hall etc. from our desks. Really miss having lunch with my colleagues trying out all the different cuisine in Shanghai, strolling and htht sessions at parks after lunch and shopping at the baazar (level 6 of shanghai times square) having different sales ranging from clothes to imported food items etc.

Really glad and fortunate to have JK and Kas as my housemates, hearing me pour my sorrows and encouraging me during my sad times. My happiest moment in AL was definitely the last day of our event(30 June), where my boss gave me an expo day pass to visit the VIP section of the Swedish pavilion where all our seminars and products are exhibited and even enjoy the Happy hour session at the glass rooftop terrace at night.

Asian Communications Training Program

Attended the annually Asian communication training program last week from 16th to 18th March 2010. Shanghai was the host country this year, welcoming colleagues from Asia. We have Neeru Pant(India), Miyoung Yoo(Korea), Naomi Shimura(Japan), Christine Phu(Taiwan), Julie Yeo(Singapore), Zoe Zhou, Apple Zhou, Ann Guo and myself(China, Shanghai), Annika Mansson(Sweden) and lastly Maren Rose(Germany).

Day 1
Was assigned the task to pick up my colleagues from Fraser Residence Shanghai which was a 5 mins walk from my office. Went to work v early that morning, reached office at around 8 am to leave my stuff at my seat before heading down to pick them up. Felt really excited and a little lost initially as it was my 1st time meeting these people and I don’t have the slightest clue how they look like, the only info I had was their name and the country they are from. Sat at the lobby of the posh hotel alone trying my best to look out for them. To my relief, after 10 mins of wait I notice someone familiar and that was Julie from SINGAPORE!! We started chatting happily while waiting for the rest, it really feels great meeting someone from sg after 3 months in sh. Julie was a v outspoken and experienced (35years) stuff (human resource manager) in Alfa Laval SG, with her around I felt quite relieved. Managed to pick up Naomi and Christine from the hotel too.

Day 1 began with self introduction for the new comer in the communications team where everyone had to talk more about ourselves and share our experience. The day continued with Maren Rose the Corporate Communications Manager(Central) and Ann Guo Corporate Communications Manager(Asia) giving us talks on overview of the communication organization, The Alfa Laval Brand, MARCOM and Regional Communication Handshakes, Policies and ROComs, Press release and HERE magazine (our company magazine), internal communication, Asian Communication Council Processes and Targets and World Expo. Had group lunch at 河河亭 a posh Japanese teppanyaki restaurant at Shanghai Times Square. Miyoung, Neeru and Annika arrived in sh around evening to join us for a group dinner at 花马天堂 a Yunnan, Thai fusion restaurant which serves v delicious food, the ambience there was great too ( didn’t managed to take a picture of it, too paiseh to do so later people thought I sua ku..lol). Julie took great care of me, keep serving me food fearing them I could not reach them as I was seated at the far end of the long table. Sent Miyoung, Neeru and Julie back to their hotel before heading home tt night. Everyone was sharing their personal experience on the different countries they’ve travelled tt night on our way back. Felt really proud to be a Singaporean then, as Miyoung n Neeru enjoyed sg v much both of them were full of praises for sg. Miyoung visited sg during her honeymoon period 10+ years ago as she had an uncle working in sg. Neeru visited sg not long ago on a holiday trip with her family to sg and Malaysia.

Day 2 web training sessions begun, the training was conducted by Annika Mansson, web communications trainer(central). Had a fun time learning with the rest, these aunties are really damn funny especially when there com got problem, was trying v hard not to laugh at them most of the time. Had lunch at 翡翠( Crystal Jade restaurant) at Hong Kong Plaza before proceeding to the visit the World Expo exhibition which acts like a preview before the actual commencement on 1st May. Julie left for sg after lunch, as in terms of the web context, it is not really applicable for a small market like sg. Was assigned to bring Naomi around the exhibition. Naomi is a v talented and interesting lady who knows several language (English, Japanese, Chinese, French), she studied wine making in France, learned Chinese in Beijing and worked in a Japanese firm in sg before. Day 2 was a free night for everyone. Volunteered to bring Miyoung and Neeru around for some shopping near their hotel. Neeru bought a few tops from ZARA for her 19 yr old daughter but couldn’t find the latest G-Shock watch for her 23 yr old son. Miyoung bought 2 kg worth of 美珍香 bbq pork and beef for her 2 daughters (11, 13 yrs old), she even gave me her membership card as it can only be used in China. 美珍香 is a quite a popular brand in Shanghai for their bbq meat and pork floss biscuits, but most people actually mistook it for being a china brand rather then sg. The ladies were here in Shanghai in 2007 for another meeting and they can still vaguely remember the hotel they stayed at, near Hong Kong plaza. Had a simple dinner of xiao long baos and la mian with them before sending them back to their hotels. Had a nice long chat with them during dinner, we talked about marriage, having kids, education system and the youngster of my age in our countries, come to realize that our cultures are pretty different even though we are all Asian countries.

Day 3 web training session continued with handson exercises. Had takeaway lunch from 新元素(element fresh) at the meeting room together with my colleagues. Christine was a v elegant, gentle, soft spoken lady from Taiwan who has a 12 yr old daughter. As we all know, Taiwan is famous for its drama politics, variety shows, music and night markets, Christine was really nice to share these info with us. Went to a v nice Chinese restaurant with superb view of 外滩(the bund) where we could see 东方明珠 and 黄浦江 tt night for dinner. Among all the dishes served, I enjoyed the lobster the most, the foie gras was quite special too. We had a nice long chat while waiting for the food to arrive, talking about how working mums balance work with family, problems faced, different countries travelled, different cultures in their countries etc. We also had a nice laugh at Annika and Maren who tried using chopsticks to pick up their food, while Neeru requested for a fork immediately having known tt Chinese food will be served. Annika took our pictures with her v pro Nikon camera. Bidded everyone farewell tt night after dinner, really enjoyed myself a lot for the past 3 days, the company was definitely awesome. Headed back home in a 8 seater car with my boss, Ann who also stays near 大拇指广场 in PuDong while the rest headed back to their hotels in PuXi.

1st month in Shanghai

Time flies today official marks my first month working and staying in Shanghai.. Weather's been v cold lately, with wind speed at 16km/hr (can feel it sweeping me away a little) and temperature falling to 1 to 2 degrees C, yesterday kas, jk and dn even experienced slight snow or mayb v tiny ice cube at their work place.. Had reunion dinner with the whole wan bang estate gang (24 people) yesterday, booked 2 tables at a cantonese restaurant near our place. For the first time in our lives, we played firecrackers and fireworks (and its completely legal).. The experience was awesome and breath taking.. Jk, dn and I combines 3 big firecrackers together and lit it up, creating the largest boomz last night.. The mini firework display was also v nice, everyone was busy filming down the whole process, never once did I see a firework display so upclose, it was definitely a memorable night. Shanghai is like ghost town recently, everyone is busy returning to their hometown to spend their 1 week long cny holiday.

Kas, Jk, Dn and I will be visiting beijing during our cny holidays, Cl, Xs, Ly will be joining us from suzhou. This is by far our longest break from work (so far only visited suzhou), before school starts in March. Beijing is pretty far from Shanghai (10+ hours), we'll be taking dong che there. We'll be satying over at Dn's sister apartment in Beijing. Looking forward to snowskiing, climbing of great wall and the other attractions over there..Our return ride should be a more comfortable one as it is double the price, we'll be having a cabin of our own, there will be 2 double deck beds installed in it and seems like we will have our own personal mini tv and earphones too..

Today is the last working day before the cny holidays and we're suppose to end work 3pm.. But I've a web training session for work expo, the training will be conducted through net meeting from 3pm till 6pm.. omg.. how sucky is that.. I'm gonna kill the angmoh trainer now.. roar!! (just kidding)

Goodbye Singapore.. Hello Shanghai

In a few hours time I'll be leaving Singapore on a 1.15am flight to Shanghai for a 6 months long Global Immersion Programme. This is the 3rd time I'll be going abroad without my parents and sisters by my side, the first 2 trips was with besties to Macau and Taiwan. This would be by far the longest period of time I'll spend away from my family and friends. Under this GIP, we will be studying on the Chinese culture and economics in Shanghai Jiaotong University for 1 1/2 days weekly for 13 weeks and we'll be working for 4 days for 22 weeks as part of our industrial attachment component, the rest of the long holidays will be spent travelling to different states of China. Hopefully through this trip I'll be a more independent, streetwise and matured person. I'm definitely going to miss my family, friends, favourite food, Singaporean slang, efficient transport system, the sunny hot weather etc. Farewell guys, take care!!