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.
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.
